📖 Meaning
Literally referring to a pheasant dancing before its own reflection in a mirror, this idiom describes someone who is deeply infatuated with and admires their own appearance or talents. It conveys the idea of self-appreciation, often with a slightly mocking tone toward narcissistic or vain behavior.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from 'Yiyuan' (Records of Strange Things), volume 3, by Liu Jingshu of the Liu Song dynasty in the Southern Dynasties period. A mountain pheasant so loved its own brilliant feathers that it would dance whenever it caught its reflection in water. During the time of Cao Cao, a southern state presented such a pheasant to the court, and the emperor, wishing to see it sing and dance, could find no way to make it do so. His son Cao Chong had a large mirror placed before the bird, and when the pheasant saw its own image it danced ceaselessly, unable to stop, until it died of exhaustion.
💡 Example Usage
他得了点小成就便山鸡舞镜，逢人就要炫耀一番。
After a small achievement, he began preening like a pheasant dancing before the mirror, showing off to everyone he met.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 山鸡舞镜
- Pinyin: shān jī wǔ jìng
- Literal Translation: mountain pheasant, dances, mirror
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4