万古长青
wàn gǔ cháng qīng · HSK 7
remain fresh
🌲 万古长青 = 万 ten-thousand + 古 ancient + 长 long-lasting + 青 green: forever evergreen
Literally ten-thousand ages staying green. Like a pine that never sheds its needles, it describes things that endure and stay fresh across all time.
万 — top 一 + 𠃌 (hook) over 丿
Originally a pictograph of a scorpion, used in oracle bone script. It was borrowed phonetically to mean 'ten thousand' and the original scorpion sense was lost. The traditional form 萬 shows the scorpion more clearly; 万 is a simplified variant long used as a common shorthand.
古 — ten 十 + mouth 口
古 is traditionally analyzed as 十 (ten) over 口 (mouth), suggesting words passed down through ten generations — hence 'ancient' or 'old.' Some scholars view the top as a stylized helmet or skull shape in oracle bone forms. The core meaning of 'ancient, old, former times' has remained stable since early Chinese writing.
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.
青 — 生 (growth/sprout) on top + 丹 (well/cinnabar) below
青 originally depicted young plants (生) growing above a mineral pit (丹, cinnabar well), suggesting the fresh blue-green color of new growth and natural pigments. Over time it came to cover a range of cool colors—green, blue, and even black—and by extension means 'young' or 'youthful.'