📖 Meaning
A metaphor for absurd and superstitious practices or beliefs. The phrase combines two ancient rituals: serving fire as a deity (事火) and casting spells on dragons to summon rain (咒龙). Together they symbolize anything bizarre, unfounded, or preposterous.
📜 Origin Story
No single canonical origin text is recorded for this compound idiom. It draws on two ancient Chinese superstitious practices: fire worship (事火), common among early peoples who venerated natural forces, and dragon-conjuring (咒龙), a rainmaking ritual invoking the mythical dragon as a water deity. By pairing these two baseless rites, the idiom came to stand for any wildly absurd or irrational undertaking. It is typically encountered in classical commentary criticizing superstition and unreason.
💡 Example Usage
他所说的那些不过是事火咒龙，毫无根据。
What he said was nothing but absurd superstition, entirely baseless.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 事火咒龙
- Pinyin: shì huǒ zhòu lóng
- Literal Translation: serve, fire, curse, dragon
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4