📖 Meaning
Describes flowers of vivid and enchanting colors blooming in great variety. It conveys the dazzling beauty of a garden full of blossoms in rich purples and reds. A poetic variant of the more common idiom 姹紫嫣红.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces to the Yuan dynasty, appearing in a lyric (曲) by the playwright Bai Pu titled 'Jade Earring and Gold Ring' (《玉耳坠金环》), quoted in volume two of Zhu Shantang's 'Zhushantang Cihua' (《渚山堂词话》). The original line reads, 'Why envy the frenzied bees and lingering butterflies, with their gorgeous purples and bewitching reds?' Later, the Yuan poet Zhang Kejiu used the phrase in his lyric 'Putianle — To White Jade Plum' (《普天乐·赠白玉梅》), contrasting such worldly splendor with refined elegance.
💡 Example Usage
春风过处，满园艳紫妖红，令人赞叹。
Where the spring breeze passes, the garden is ablaze with gorgeous purples and enchanting reds, inspiring admiration.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 艳紫妖红
- Pinyin: yàn zǐ yāo hóng
- Literal Translation: gorgeous, purple, bewitching, red
- Category: Variety
- Characters: 4