📖 Meaning
Refers to the various sorrows and grief of women. '绿' (green) represents a woman's dark tresses and '红' (red) her rosy cheeks, together symbolizing feminine beauty. The idiom describes the melancholy and heartbreak experienced by women, especially in the context of boudoir longing.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Song dynasty work '醉翁谈录' (Records of the Drunken Old Man's Talks) by Luo Ye, in the chapter '小说开辟' (Opening of Fiction). The original passage describes how storytellers would narrate ghost tales that made Daoist priests tremble with fear, and tales of boudoir longing that left beautiful women sorrowful and heartsick. The phrase uses '绿' for a woman's dark hair and '红' for her rosy complexion to metaphorically capture feminine grief. It later appeared in Yuan dynasty drama, such as Zheng Tingyu's '后庭花'.
💡 Example Usage
她独守空闺，绿惨红愁，日日盼着良人归来。
She guards the empty boudoir alone, her heart filled with feminine sorrow, day after day awaiting her beloved's return.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 绿惨红愁
- Pinyin: lǜ cǎn hóng chóu
- Literal Translation: green, sad, red, sorrow
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4