📖 Meaning
Originally described mournful yet beautiful writing or music that moved both the dull-witted and the clever alike. Now commonly used to describe emotionally touching scenes in romantic novels, plays, and films that combine sorrowful content with elegant expression.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from a letter titled 'Letter to Emperor Wen of Wei' written by Fan Qin, a scholar of the Cao Wei dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. In the letter, Fan Qin described a performance of northern frontier music—the distant marches and the long neighing of barbarian horses—saying the sorrow penetrated the liver and spleen, moving both the foolish and the wise. Over time, the expression came to characterize literary and artistic works whose mournful themes and beautiful language evoke deep emotional responses in all who encounter them.
💡 Example Usage
这部小说写得哀感顽艳，打动了无数读者的心。
This novel is so mournfully beautiful that it has touched the hearts of countless readers.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 哀感顽艳
- Pinyin: āi gǎn wán yàn
- Literal Translation: sorrow, move, dull, brilliant
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4