📖 Meaning
Literally 'pouring through a gorge like a rushing river,' this idiom describes writing that is vigorous, fluent, and overwhelmingly powerful in its momentum. It is commonly used to praise prose or calligraphy that flows with unstoppable force and grandeur.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the novel 《平山冷燕》(Ping Shan Leng Yan), a Qing-era vernacular novel. In the ninth chapter, a character's writing is described as being like a dragon flying and phoenix dancing when the brush is held, and like water pouring through a gorge and rushing river when it lands on paper. The comparison conveys the sweeping, majestic force of the writer's pen, capable of overwhelming a thousand troops.
💡 Example Usage
他提笔成文，如倒峡泻河，一气呵成。
He took up his brush and composed the essay with a force like water pouring through a gorge, completing it in one breath.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 倒峡泻河
- Pinyin: dǎo xiá xiè hé
- Literal Translation: pour, gorge, rush, river
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4