📖 Meaning
Describes countless mountain streams rushing and competing with one another, depicting a breathtaking natural landscape. It can also metaphorically evoke a scene of vigorous activity or an abundance of talent flourishing in competition.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from 'A New Account of the Tales of the World' (Shishuo Xinyu), compiled by Liu Yiqing during the Liu Song dynasty of the Southern Dynasties. When the celebrated Eastern Jin painter Gu Kaizhi (also known as Gu Changkang) returned from the Kuaiji region, he was asked to describe the beauty of its mountains and rivers. He replied with poetic brevity: 'A thousand cliffs vie in beauty, ten thousand ravines compete in flowing, vegetation shrouds them above, like clouds rising and rosy mists spreading.' This vivid description immortalized the phrase, which later became a set idiom for magnificent mountain scenery.
💡 Example Usage
雨后山间，万壑争流，美不胜收。
After the rain, ten thousand ravines vied to flow through the mountains — a scene of boundless beauty.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 万壑争流
- Pinyin: wàn hè zhēng liú
- Literal Translation: ten thousand, ravines, vying, flowing
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4