📖 Meaning
Describes a great multitude of people or things densely gathered together, like smoke and fog collecting in one place. It conveys an overwhelming abundance and a vast number converging simultaneously.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the preface of 'Ode to the Yellow River's Clarity' (《河清颂》) by Bao Zhao (鲍照), a prominent poet of the Liu Song dynasty during the Southern Dynasties. In the preface, Bao Zhao described the auspicious signs and divine blessings as being so numerous and densely accumulated that they gathered like smoke and fog, impossible to fully record. The imagery of swirling mist and smoke serves as a metaphor for overwhelming abundance.
💡 Example Usage
逢年过节，前来赶集的百姓烟霏雾集，街上挤满了人。
During the festivals, the common folk who came to the market gathered in such great numbers that the streets were packed with people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 烟霏雾集
- Pinyin: yān fēi wù jí
- Literal Translation: smoke, scatter, fog, gather
- Category: Variety
- Characters: 4