📖 Meaning
This idiom compares a person's quickness to an eagle's keen heart and a wild goose's sharp claws. It describes someone who is both sharp-witted and swift-handed. The phrase praises nimbleness of mind and body combined.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Yuan dynasty zaju play 'Yan Qing Bo Yu' (燕青博鱼) by Li Wenwei (李文蔚), in its fourth act. In the scene, Yan Qing remarks that someone intends to use gold and silver to bribe officials and rescue a prisoner from jail, but insists that he himself does not possess the eagle's heart and goose's claws — meaning he is not quick enough to escape the tiger's den and wolf's lair. The expression thus became a metaphor for being exceptionally agile and quick-thinking.
💡 Example Usage
他身手矫健，颇有鹰心雁爪之能，几下便翻过了高墙。
Agile and nimble, he had the quick wits of an eagle's heart and goose's claws, vaulting over the high wall in a few swift moves.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鹰心雁爪
- Pinyin: yīng xīn yàn zhǎo
- Literal Translation: eagle, heart, wild goose, claw
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4