老蚌生珠

lǎobàngshēngzhū
  1. lit. an old oyster producing a pearl (idiom)
  2. fig. birthing a son at an advanced age

CEDICT

  1. (originally) to have a virtuous son
  2. to have a child at an old age
  3. to have a virtuous son

Wiktionary

稱人父子都有美才。語本漢．孔融〈與韋休甫書〉：「不意雙珠近出老蚌，甚珍貴之。」後引申為老年得子。宋．哀長吉〈朝中措．自從佳偶共黃姑〉詞：「方喜階庭聯玉，又聞老蚌生珠。」又戲稱高齡產婦生子。如：「她四十歲才生子，老蚌生珠，真不容易啊！」

重編國語辭典

  1. 年老得子
  2. 養育出優秀的兒子

維基詞典

Entry Composition

1 老 lǎo
  1. prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity
  2. old (of people)
  3. venerable (person)
  4. experienced
  5. of long standing
  6. always
  7. all the time
  8. of the past
  9. very
  10. outdated
  11. (of meat etc) tough
2 蚌 bàng
  1. mussel
  2. clam
3 生 shēng
  1. to be born
  2. to give birth
  3. life
  4. to grow
  5. raw
  6. uncooked
  7. student
4 珠 zhū
  1. bead
  2. pearl

classifiers: 粒, 顆