📖 Meaning
A type of rich, mellow liquor brewed with lamb as an ingredient, hence the name. By extension, it refers to fine wine and luxurious indulgence, often associated with the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy and powerful.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Song Dynasty anecdote collection 'Xianghu Jinshi' (《湘湖近事》). It tells of the scholar Tao Gu, who once purchased a former courtesan from the household of Grand Marshal Dang Jin. When Tao Gu asked whether the rough general ever appreciated elegant scenery, the woman replied that Dang Jin was a coarse man who only knew how to sit under gold-threaded warm curtains, sipping lamb wine while listening to soft, low singing. Tao Gu felt ashamed, realizing her words exposed his own vanity and pretensions. The 'lamb wine' in her account was a famed liquor brewed with lamb meat, prized for its exceptionally rich and mellow taste.
💡 Example Usage
他每日饮羊羔美酒，过着奢华的生活。
He drinks fine lamb wine every day, living a life of luxury.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 羊羔美酒
- Pinyin: yán gāo měi jiǔ
- Literal Translation: lamb, fine, wine
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4