📖 Meaning
The literal meaning is 'seeing red as green.' It describes a state where one's vision becomes blurred and confused, mistaking one color for another. Metaphorically, it conveys being so dazed, dizzy, or overwhelmed that one can no longer perceive things clearly.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem by Wang Sengru of the Liang Dynasty (Southern Dynasties), titled 'Night Sorrow Shown to Guests' (夜愁示诸宾). The poem contains the lines: 'Who would have known the heart and eyes would be in such turmoil, seeing red suddenly become green.' The Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai later employed it in his poem 'There Is a Wine Cup Before Me' (前有樽酒行), writing of drinking and playing music until the confusion of colors brought redness to his eyes. Over time, the phrase evolved into a fixed four-character idiom denoting blurred vision and mental disorientation.
💡 Example Usage
劳累了一天，他眼前看朱成碧，连回家的路都认不清了。
After a full day of exhaustion, his vision blurred so much that he saw red as green, unable even to recognize the road home.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 看朱成碧
- Pinyin: kàn zhū chéng bì
- Literal Translation: see, red, become, green
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4