📖 Meaning
A waist as supple as a willow branch and a face as fair as a lotus flower. This idiom describes the graceful beauty of a woman. It can also refer metonymically to a beautiful woman herself.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem by the Tang dynasty poet Han Wo (韩偓), titled 'Frequent Visits to Scholar Lu' (频访卢秀才). The line reads: 'Discussing alchemical formulas and chess manuals with refined thoughts, one becomes oblivious to passion before a willow-slim waist and lotus-like face.' Han Wo uses the imagery of a willow's slender flexibility and a lotus's pristine beauty to evoke feminine charm, suggesting that such beauty can make one forget worldly attachments.
💡 Example Usage
那位女子柳腰莲脸，举止优雅，吸引了所有人的目光。
That woman, with her willow-slim waist and lotus-fair face, carried herself so gracefully that she drew everyone's gaze.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 柳腰莲脸
- Pinyin: liǔ yāo lián lián
- Literal Translation: willow, waist, lotus, face
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4