📖 Meaning
Literally meaning clouds rising and rosy mist gathering, this idiom describes a scene of magnificent splendor and radiant beauty. It portrays landscapes or spectacles that are gorgeously colorful and dazzlingly brilliant.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to 'Shi Shuo Xin Yu' (A New Account of the Tales of the World), compiled by Liu Yiqing of the Liu Song dynasty during the Southern Dynasties. In a passage praising the scenery of the Kuaiji region, the original text reads 'a thousand cliffs competing in beauty, ten thousand valleys racing with streams, with vegetation lushly covering them, like clouds rising and rosy clouds gathering.' The original form was '云兴霞蔚' (clouds rising, rosy clouds gathering), which later evolved into the current '云蒸霞蔚,' with '蒸' (to rise as steam) emphasizing the upward surging motion.
💡 Example Usage
山顶云蒸霞蔚，宛如仙境一般。
At the mountain's summit, clouds rise and rosy mist gathers, like a fairyland.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 云蒸霞蔚
- Pinyin: yún zhēng xiá wèi
- Literal Translation: clouds, rise, rosy clouds, gather
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4