天下为家 tiānxià wéijiā The world as home

Explanation

原指将君位传给儿子，把国家当作一家所私有，后泛指处处可以成家，不固定居住在一个地方。

Originally meant to pass the imperial throne to one's son and treat the country as private property of a family. Later, it generally refers to being able to make a home anywhere and not living in one fixed place.

Origin Story

话说唐朝末年，天下大乱，战火纷飞。一位名叫李白的书生，为了躲避战乱，不得不背井离乡，开始了他的流浪生涯。他走遍了大江南北，看尽了人间百态。他曾在长安城中饮酒作诗，也曾在江南水乡泛舟吟唱。他虽然没有固定的住所，但他有一颗乐观的心，他把天下的每一处地方都当作自己的家。他时而住在山野村舍，时而住在朋友家中，有时甚至露宿街头，但他从不抱怨。因为他知道，只要有诗情画意，哪里都是家。李白的足迹遍布天下，他的诗歌也流传千古。他用他的人生经历告诉我们，家并不仅仅是一座房子，而是一种精神寄托。家可以是山河，也可以是故乡，更可以是天下。

huà shuō táng cháo mò nián, tiānxià dà luàn, zhànhuǒ fēnfēi. yī wèi míng jiào lǐ bái de shūshēng, wèi le duǒ bì zhànluàn, bù dé bù bèi jǐng lí xiāng, kāishǐ le tā de láng luàng shēngyá. tā zǒu biàn le dà jiāng nán běi, kàn jìn le rénjiān bǎitài. tā céng zài cháng ān chéng zhōng yǐnjiǔ zuò shī, yě céng zài jiāng nán shuǐ xiāng fàn zhōu yín chàng. tā suīrán méiyǒu gùdìng de zhùsuǒ, dàn tā yǒu yī kē lèguān de xīn, tā bǎ tiānxià de měi yī chù dìfāng dōu dàng zuò zìjǐ de jiā. tā shí'ér zhù zài shān yě cūnshě, shí'ér zhù zài péngyǒu jiā zhōng, yǒushí shènzhì lùsù jiētóu, dàn tā cóng bù bàoyuàn. yīnwèi tā zhīdào, zhǐyào yǒu shī qíng huà yì, nǎlǐ dōu shì jiā. lǐ bái de zújì biànbù tiānxià, tā de shīgē yě liúchuán qiānguǐ. tā yòng tā de rénshēng jīnglì gàosù wǒmen, jiā bìng bù jǐngjǐng shì yī zuò fángzi, ér shì yī zhǒng jīngshen jìtuō. jiā kěyǐ shì shān hé, yě kěyǐ shì gùxiāng, gèng kěyǐ shì tiānxià

In the late Tang Dynasty, the country was in turmoil, and wars raged. A scholar named Li Bai was forced to leave his hometown to escape the war, and began a life as a vagabond. He traveled throughout the land and experienced all the ups and downs of human life. He drank wine and wrote poems in Chang'an, and sailed and sang songs in the water towns of Jiangnan. Although he had no fixed residence, he possessed an optimistic spirit and regarded every place under heaven as his home. He sometimes stayed in rural huts, sometimes in the homes of his friends, and sometimes even slept under the open sky, but he never complained. For he knew that wherever there was poetry and picturesque beauty, it was a home. Li Bai's footprints spread across the entire country, and his poems became cultural heritage. Through his life, he taught us that a home is not just a house, but a spiritual home. A home can be mountains and rivers, the homeland, or even the whole world.

Usage

常用来形容那些居无定所，四处漂泊的人。

cháng yòng lái xíngróng nàxiē jū wú dìng suǒ, sì chù piāobó de rén

Often used to describe those who have no fixed abode and wander.

Examples

• 他一生漂泊不定，可谓天下为家。

  tā yīshēng piāobó bùdìng, kěwèi tiānxià wéijiā

  He spent his whole life wandering, so it can be said that the world is his home.

• 这支队伍常年在外奔波，早已习惯了天下为家。

  zhè zhī duìwǔ chángnián zài wài bēnbō, zǎoyǐ xíguàn le tiānxià wéijiā

  This team has been traveling for many years and has long been accustomed to living without a fixed home.

Related Idioms

• 四海为家

• 浪迹天涯

Opposite Idioms

• 安居乐业

• 定居