📖 Meaning
Describes extreme heat so intense that even metal and stone appear to melt. Used to convey scorching, oppressive weather. The phrase paints a vivid picture of summer heat at its most unbearable.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) work 'Zhao Hun' (Summoning the Soul) by Song Yu of the Warring States period, which depicts ten suns taking turns to appear in the sky, melting gold and stone. The Huainanzi (Quan Yan chapter) repeats the imagery, stating that great heat melts stone and flows gold, yet fire alone is not what increases its fierceness. Together these classical sources established the phrase as a standard literary image for extreme summer heat in later Chinese writing.
💡 Example Usage
烈日当空，流金铄石，行人纷纷躲入阴凉处避暑。
Under a blazing sun fierce enough to melt gold and stone, pedestrians one after another sought shade to escape the heat.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 流金铄石
- Pinyin: liú jīn shuò shí
- Literal Translation: flow, gold, melt, stone
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4