📖 Meaning
Describes a scene of brutal slaughter and carnage, where blood flies like rain and flesh scatters in the wind. Can also characterize a fierce, unyielding temperament forged through extreme violence and hardship.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Qing dynasty reformer Liang Qichao's essay 'On the Concept of Rights' (论权利思想). In it, Liang examined the legal development of European nations, observing that every major legal achievement—constitutional government, the abolition of slavery, and other landmark laws—was won through bloody struggle and violent upheaval rather than peaceful negotiation. He used the phrase to underscore that progress in rights and law demanded immense sacrifice paid in blood. The expression was later popularized in fiction, notably in Zeng Pu's novel 'Nie Hai Hua' (孽海花).
💡 Example Usage
在血风肉雨的战场上，将士们依然坚守阵地，寸步不退。
On the blood-soaked, carnage-filled battlefield, the soldiers held their ground without yielding an inch.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 血风肉雨
- Pinyin: xuè fēng ròu yǔ
- Literal Translation: blood, wind, flesh, rain
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4