📖 Meaning
Describes buildings or structures decorated magnificently with gold and emerald-green pigments, dazzling to the eye. Commonly used to praise the splendor and grandeur of palaces, temples, and other elaborate architecture.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Song dynasty work 'Helin Yulu' (鹤林玉露) by scholar Luo Dajing, in its supplementary section. The original passage records a minister's critique of extravagant construction: while the common people marveled at the dazzling gold and emerald-green decorations, the minister saw them as built with the blood and suffering of the laboring people. The phrase '金碧荧煌' — later evolving into '金碧辉煌' — captured the visual splendor of gold (金) and emerald-green (碧) pigments used in architectural decoration. Over time the idiom shed its critical connotation and came to simply describe magnificently decorated, radiant buildings.
💡 Example Usage
这座宫殿金碧辉煌，令所有参观者叹为观止。
This palace is magnificently decorated with gold and emerald, leaving all visitors in awe.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 金碧辉煌
- Pinyin: jīn bì huī huáng
- Literal Translation: gold, emerald-green, brilliant, splendid
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4