📖 Meaning
Describes carriages and horses racing swiftly and forcefully. It is commonly used to depict troops, riders, or traffic moving at great speed with relentless momentum.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom appears in the Qing dynasty work 'Yanjing Suishi Ji' (Records of Annual Customs in Beijing) by Fucha Duncong, where it vividly describes a revolving lantern (走马灯) whose paper-cut wheels spin ceaselessly when heated by a candle, as if carriages and horses were racing without end until the flame goes out. Later writers such as Cai Dongfan adopted it in historical fiction, for instance in 'Popular Romance of the Yuan History,' where Yuan troops surge into an unprepared enemy camp with unstoppable speed.
💡 Example Usage
大军接到号令，顿时车驰马骤，直扑敌阵而去。
Upon receiving the order, the army surged forward with carriages galloping and horses charging, straight toward the enemy lines.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 车驰马骤
- Pinyin: chē chí mǎ zhòu
- Literal Translation: carriage gallops, horse charges
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4