📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a state of extreme terror or alarm, so intense that even ghosts and deities would be frightened. It is used to portray scenes or events that evoke overwhelming fear and dread.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from 'Water Margin' (水浒传), a classical Chinese novel attributed to Shi Nai'an of the Ming Dynasty. In Chapter 70, the hero Zhang Qing (张清), nicknamed 'Featherless Arrow' (没羽箭), is famed for his deadly skill of hurling stones. The text describes how, when he drew a stone from his brocade pouch and flung it, the throw was swift as a shooting star or flash of lightning, and the impact so fearsome that it made ghosts weep and gods tremble. Over time the expression came to signify any sight or sound that provokes extreme terror.
💡 Example Usage
那一声巨响，震得鬼哭神惊，众人无不瑟瑟发抖。
That deafening crash struck such terror that even ghosts and gods would tremble, and everyone cowered in fear.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鬼哭神惊
- Pinyin: guǐ kū shén jīng
- Literal Translation: ghosts weep, gods startled
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4