📖 Meaning
Literally 'crane bones and dragon sinews,' this idiom describes something or someone that is slender, upright, and gracefully gnarled or twisting in form. It is most often used to evoke the rugged elegance of ancient trees such as pines and cypresses, or the lean and wiry physique of a person. The phrase conveys a sense of refined strength combined with distinctive, weathered beauty.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Northern Song dynasty poet Su Shi (苏轼), specifically his poem 'Two Poems on Solitary Mountain: Cypress Hall' (《孤山二咏·柏堂》), written during his time in Hangzhou. In the line '道人手种几生前，鹤骨龙筋尚宛然,' Su Shi describes cypress trees that a Daoist priest had planted in a previous incarnation, whose gnarled trunks and branches still bore the elegant, twisting appearance of crane bones and dragon sinews. Through this striking metaphor, Su Shi immortalized the imagery as a classical expression of austere, sculptural beauty in Chinese literature.
💡 Example Usage
这位老者鹤骨龙筋，身形清瘦挺拔，颇有隐士风度。
The old man, with his crane-like bones and dragon-like sinews, was lean and upright, bearing the bearing of a true recluse.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鹤骨龙筋
- Pinyin: hè gǔ lóng jīn
- Literal Translation: crane bone, dragon sinew
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4