📖 Meaning
To be startled in the heart and shaken in the eyes; describing something so extraordinary or dramatic that it deeply impresses or alarms those who witness it. It is equivalent to the more common phrase 惊心动目, conveying a sense of awe mixed with shock at a remarkable sight.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Song Dynasty writer Su Shi's essay 'Record of the Newly Obtained Stone Arrow at the Temple of King Shunji' (《顺济王庙新获石砮记》). In the story, an ancient stone arrow was found and passed around among those present, but someone accidentally dropped it into the river. After praying to the deity, the arrow was miraculously recovered. Su Shi wrote that the arrow would be kept in the temple as a startling and wondrous spectacle for all who passed by, using the phrase 骇心动目 to describe the awe-inspiring impression it would leave on visitors.
💡 Example Usage
那幅壁画的色彩之浓烈，骇心动目，令所有观者久久不能忘怀。
The intensity of the mural's colors was so striking that it left all viewers unable to forget it for a long time.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 骇心动目
- Pinyin: hài xīn dòng mù
- Literal Translation: startle, heart, move, eye
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4