📖 Meaning
Describes writing or calligraphy that is swift, graceful, and effortless, as if the brush flies across the paper like drifting clouds and smoke. It conveys a sense of fluent, uninhibited artistic expression.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from a eulogy titled 'Elegy for Yang of Jingzhou' written by Pan Yue, a renowned literary figure of the Jin Dynasty. In the text, Pan Yue praised the calligraphy of the deceased, writing 'the brush moves as if flying, and paper falls like clouds.' Over time, the expression evolved into the four-character idiom '纸落云烟,' used to describe elegant and effortless brushwork or writing.
💡 Example Usage
他提笔挥毫，纸落云烟，一幅行书转瞬而成。
He took up his brush and wrote with flowing ease, completing a piece of running script in an instant.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 纸落云烟
- Pinyin: zhǐ luò yún yān
- Literal Translation: paper, falls, cloud, smoke
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4