📖 Meaning
An idiom describing a delicate, gentle, and detailed style of writing or depiction. It originally referred to the unhurried, leisurely prose style of traditional novels, where scenes unfold softly and gradually rather than with dramatic emphasis.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Huang Yuanyong (黄远庸), an influential journalist and essayist of the late Qing and early Republican era, in his work "新剧杂论·说脚本" (Miscellaneous Essays on New Drama: On Scripts). Contrasting novels with stage scripts, he observed that novels could unfold leisurely and windingly with light, delicate description — like a traveler on a long road who pauses at relay stations every few miles. The phrase thus evokes a meandering, finely textured narrative style.
💡 Example Usage
作者在小说中淡写轻描地刻画人物的内心世界。
In the novel, the author delicately and gently portrays the inner world of the characters.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 淡写轻描
- Pinyin: dàn xiě qīng miáo
- Literal Translation: light, write, gentle, depict
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4