noun
rising into the heavens; soaring skyward
Literary or poetic expression for something ascending high into the sky. Often used in fixed phrases or classical contexts.
龍が冲天する姿を描いた絵。
A painting depicting a dragon soaring into the heavens.
彼の野心は冲天の勢いだ。
His ambition has the momentum of something rising to the sky.
昇天 means 'ascension to heaven' and is more common, often used in religious or metaphorical contexts, while 冲天 is more literary and emphasizes the soaring motion itself.
Compound of 冲 (high, soar) and 天 (heaven). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of rising skyward.