📖 Meaning
Like the waters of the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens. Describes rain falling in torrents, as if the celestial river were cascading earthward. Used to depict extraordinarily heavy and violent rainfall.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom traces to the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai and his poem 'Song of Mount Lu Sent to Palace Attendant Lu Xuzhou' (庐山谣寄卢侍御虚舟). In describing the majestic scenery of Mount Lu, Li Bai wrote, 'Before the Golden Gate two peaks stretch long; the Milky Way hangs upside down across the Three Stone Beams.' The striking image of the Milky Way pouring downward was later adopted as a Chengyu to evoke the overwhelming force of a torrential downpour.
💡 Example Usage
暴雨如银河倒泻，转眼间便淹没了整条街道。
The rainstorm poured down like the Milky Way cascading from the sky, flooding the entire street in the blink of an eye.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 银河倒泻
- Pinyin: yín hé dào xiè
- Literal Translation: silver, river, pour, down
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4