📖 Meaning
Describes writing or literature whose language and rhetoric are exceptionally beautiful and resonant, as if producing the ringing sound of metal and stone when cast to the ground. The 'golden sound' refers to the chime of bells and stone instruments. It praises literary works of outstanding elegance and sonority.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Biography of Sun Chuo in the Book of Jin (晋书·孙绰传). Sun Chuo was a renowned scholar and writer of the Eastern Jin dynasty. After he composed a piece of writing, someone remarked, 'Try throwing it to the ground, it should produce the sound of metal and stone,' marveling at the brilliance of his prose. The phrase later became a metaphor for writing of superb literary quality.
💡 Example Usage
这篇赋文辞藻华美，掷地金声，堪称佳作。
This rhapsody boasts magnificent rhetoric and a resounding beauty worthy of being called a masterpiece.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 掷地金声
- Pinyin: zhì dì jīn shēng
- Literal Translation: throw to ground, golden sound
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4