📖 Meaning
A metaphor for a woman who is not respected in society, specifically referring to a prostitute or courtesan. The imagery evokes something easily accessible and casually discarded by passersby, much like a willow by the road or a flower by a wall that anyone can pluck.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom first appears in a Yuan dynasty sanqu lyric titled 'Shui Xianzi · Reply' (《水仙子·答》) by the poet Wang Ye (王晔). The line reads: 'They say a watery nature is hard to grasp — let him pass by, let him put on a show, in the end she's just a roadside willow, a wall-side flower.' It was later popularized in Feng Menglong's Ming dynasty collection 'Stories to Caution the World' (《警世通言》), where a character rejects the label, insisting she is not such a woman.
💡 Example Usage
她洁身自好，不愿沦为路柳墙花。
She kept her integrity and refused to become a disrespected woman of the streets.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 路柳墙花
- Pinyin: lù liǔ qiáng huā
- Literal Translation: roadside willow, wall-side flower
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4