8 Poetic Chinese Idioms About Beauty (闭月羞花 & The Four Beauties)

Exceptionally beautiful

Literal meaning: Moon hides flowers shy

Originating from descriptions of the legendary beauty Yang Guifei, one of China's Four Great Beauties, this idiom suggests a beauty so radiant it could cause the moon (月) to hide (闭) and flowers (花) to feel shame (羞). The phrase first appeared in Tang Dynasty poetry, reflecting the period's aestheti...

Beauty so stunning it affects natural world

Literal meaning: Sink fish fall geese

Han Dynasty legends tell of beauty so extraordinary it caused fish to sink (沉鱼) and flying geese to descend (落雁). The phrase combines two legendary beauties: Xi Shi, whose reflection mesmerized fish into forgetting to swim, and Wang Zhaojun, whose appearance caused migrating geese to pause mid-fligh...

Love extends to all connections

Literal meaning: Love house and its crow

This tender expression describes how love (爱) for a house (屋) extends (及) even to the crow (乌) perched on its roof. Dating back to the Warring States period, it first appeared in texts discussing how affection naturally spreads to associated things. The crow, often considered an unremarkable bird, b...

Gentle, nurturing influence

Literal meaning: Spring wind becomes rain

This poetic metaphor traces back to the Han Dynasty's educational philosophy, where ideal teaching was compared to spring winds (春风) transforming into nurturing rain (化雨). The imagery draws from agricultural wisdom – spring breezes and gentle rains nurture plants without forcing growth. Scholar Han ...

Instant friendship

Literal meaning: Tilt hat like old friends

Dating to the Spring and Autumn period, this elegant idiom describes the instant rapport between kindred spirits, comparing it to tilting (倾) carriage covers (盖) while greeting as if (如) old (故) friends. The image comes from ancient Chinese road etiquette, where travelers would tilt their carriage c...

Perfect artistic understanding between friends

Literal meaning: High mountain flowing water

This aesthetic idiom pairs lofty (高) mountains (山) with flowing (流) water (水), originating from a famous friendship between Zhong Ziqi and musician Bo Ya during the Spring and Autumn period. Historical texts recount how Bo Ya would play his qin while Zhong Ziqi perfectly understood his musical inten...

Hope appears in darkness

Literal meaning: Dark willows bright flowers

This idiom comes from a line in Tang Dynasty poet Lu Zhaolin's work, describing a moment where a traveler, surrounded by dark willows (柳暗), suddenly discovers a bright clearing filled with flowers (花明). The imagery draws from classical Chinese garden design, where winding paths deliberately obscured...

Childhood sweethearts or friends

Literal meaning: Green plums and bamboo horses

This nostalgic idiom pairs green plums (青梅) with bamboo horses (竹马), originating from Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai's verse about childhood playmates. It described children gathering plums while riding makeshift hobby horses crafted from bamboo—a common children's game in ancient China. The specific imag...