📖 Meaning
To ride the wind and drive the rain, moving with extraordinary speed and vigor. It describes someone or something advancing swiftly and forcefully, as though commanding the forces of nature.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single definitive literary origin. It is formed by pairing the verbs 驰 (to gallop) and 骋 (to ride freely) with the natural elements 风 (wind) and 雨 (rain), a common classical Chinese compositional pattern for expressing speed and power. Similar phrasing appears in various Tang and Song dynasty poems describing heroic or supernatural movement. The expression conveys an image of unstoppable momentum akin to racing through storms.
💡 Example Usage
将军率军驰风骋雨，一日之内连克三城。
The general led his army riding wind and rain, capturing three cities in a single day.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 驰风骋雨
- Pinyin: chí fēng chěng yǔ
- Literal Translation: gallop wind, ride rain
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4