呼风唤雨

Pronunciation: hū fēng huàn yǔ Literal meaning: Summon wind, call rain

Origin & Usage

To summon (呼) the wind (风) and call up (唤) the rain (雨). The image comes from the world of ritual weather-working, and the phrase has kept the sense of power over things that ought not to be controllable. It is rarely admiring. People whose informal influence over an institution or a market exceeds anything their position accounts for — and the implication is usually that the arrangement is neither visible nor legitimate.

Examples

English: "The influential investor could transform market trends with a single public statement"

Chinese: 这位有影响力的投资者可以用一个公开声明改变市场趋势