📖 Meaning
Describes calligraphy in which the brushwork sweeps out like a dragon extending its body, then coils back like an inchworm contracting. The idiom praises superb, vividly rhythmic handwriting that alternates between grand expansion and tight, controlled gathering of force. It is used to admire a master's skillful and dynamic brushwork.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom pairs two natural images: the dragon, whose long body uncoils in powerful sweeps, and the inchworm (蠖, the geometer-moth larva), which moves by sharply curling and then extending its body. The image of the inchworm's contraction traces back to the Yijing (Book of Changes), which states that the inchworm contracts in order to extend forward, making flexibility a means of gathering momentum. Classical Chinese calligraphy critics drew on both creatures to describe strokes that alternate between uninhibited release and tightly gathered restraint. There is no single named anecdote attached to the phrase; it is a compound metaphor from traditional brushwork aesthetics.
💡 Example Usage
这幅草书龙伸蠖屈，笔力遒劲，令人叹为观止。
This cursive calligraphy sweeps and coils with the force of a dragon and an inchworm, its brushwork so vigorous it takes the breath away.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 龙伸蠖屈
- Pinyin: lóng shēn huò qū
- Literal Translation: dragon stretch, inchworm curl
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4