📖 Meaning
Free-spirited and unrestrained yet endowed with talent and charm. It describes a person whose bearing is elegant, romantic, and effortlessly brilliant. The phrase is a variant of 跌宕风流.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Qing dynasty writer Yu Huai's work 'Banchiao Zaji' (Notes from the Wooden Bridge), in a section titled 'Supplementary Notices of Famous Courtesans of Zhu Market.' Yu Huai describes Bai Men Juanjuan, a courtesan, as gentle and beautiful, yet free-spirited and charming—skilled at singing opera tunes and adept at painting orchids. The description conveys a refined elegance mixed with a bold, untamed artistic temperament.
💡 Example Usage
她生性跌荡风流，琴棋书画样样精通。
Born with a free-spirited and elegant temperament, she was accomplished in the lute, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 跌荡风流
- Pinyin: diē dàng fēng liú
- Literal Translation: fall, sway, wind, flow
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4