📖 Meaning
Literally 'wind cart rain horse,' referring to the chariots and horses of deities and spirits. It is used metaphorically to describe something extraordinarily swift and rapid in movement.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem by the Tang dynasty poet Li Shangyin (李商隐), specifically from his 'Yantai Poems — Winter' (《燕台诗·冬》) sequence. The line '风车雨马不持去，蜡独啼红怨天曙' depicts the celestial chariots and horses of wind and rain that fail to carry away the poet's lingering sorrow. Li Shangyin was renowned for his richly allusive, emotionally intricate verse. The phrase evokes the swift, ethereal mounts of the divine realm.
💡 Example Usage
他风车雨马般赶到现场，却已为时已晚。
He rushed to the scene as swiftly as wind-driven carriages and rain-drenched horses, but it was already too late.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 风车雨马
- Pinyin: fēng chē yǔ mǎ
- Literal Translation: wind, cart, rain, horse
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4