📖 Meaning
This idiom describes construction, architecture, or arrangements so exquisitely wrought that they seem beyond human capability, as if crafted by divine hands. It praises the extraordinary ingenuity and beauty of a structure or design.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase combines 神工 (divine craftsmanship) and 天巧 (heavenly ingenuity), both evoking supernatural skill beyond mortal ability. It has been used in classical Chinese literature to marvel at palaces, gardens, and monuments whose beauty seems to defy human limits. No single definitive textual source is recorded; the expression evolved from a broader tradition of praising extraordinary craftsmanship in imperial and literary writings.
💡 Example Usage
这座千年古刹依山而建，雕梁画栋，堪称神工天巧。
This thousand-year-old temple was built into the mountainside, its carved beams and painted rafters so exquisite that it seems divinely crafted.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 神工天巧
- Pinyin: shén gōng tiān qiǎo
- Literal Translation: divine, craft, heavenly, skillful
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4