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

称人父子都有美才。语本汉．孔融〈与韦休甫书〉：「不意双珠近出老蚌，甚珍贵之。」后引申为老年得子。宋．哀长吉〈朝中措．自从佳偶共黄姑〉词：「方喜阶庭联玉，又闻老蚌生珠。」又戏称高龄产妇生子。如：「她四十岁才生子，老蚌生珠，真不容易啊！」

重編國語辭典

  1. 年老得子
  2. 养育出优秀的儿子

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 outdated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