琴心相挑 — “Qin heart reciprocally entices”
琴心相挑 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to express one's affection or romantic interest through the playing of a musical instrument, typically a qin (a plucked seven-string Chinese instrument)”. Literally, “Qin heart reciprocally entices”.
琴心相挑 Pronunciation and Pinyin
琴心相挑 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 琴心相挑
Origin and Story of 琴心相挑
During the Western Han Dynasty, the famous rhapsodist Sima Xiangru returned to his hometown in Chengdu after the death of King Xiao of Liang. His family was extremely poor and life was very difficult.
His friend, Wang Ji, the magistrate of Linqiong County, invited him to be a guest at the home of the wealthy magnate Zhuo Wangsun. There, Sima Xiangru became smitten with Zhuo Wangsun's widowed daughter, Zhuo Wenjun.
The two expressed their mutual love and admiration through their qin playing, a subtle exchange known as 'qin xin xiang tiao'.
Afterward, they returned to Sima Xiangru's humble, bare-walled home and began their simple, albeit impoverished, life together.
Idioms Related to 琴心相挑
More idioms starting with 琴
- qín琴jiàn剑piāo飘líng零talented but impoverished wanderer
- qín琴xīn心jiàn剑dǎn胆artistic sensibility and courage
- qín琴tiāo挑wén文jūn君Express romantic interest to win love
- qín琴duàn断zhū朱xián弦To lose one's husband
- qín琴qí棋shū书huà画the four traditional Chinese arts
- qín琴gē歌jiǔ酒fù赋refined arts of zither, song, wine, poetry
- qín琴sè瑟bù不tiáo调marital discord
- qín琴sè瑟zhī之hǎo好harmonious and loving marital relationship
- qín琴sè瑟hé和tóng同harmonious marital relationship
- qín琴sè瑟hé和hǎo好couple deeply in love and harmony
- qín琴sè瑟hé和xié谐harmonious marital relationship
- qín琴sè瑟shī失tiáo调Marital discord
Recommended tools
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →Questions about 琴心相挑
What does 琴心相挑 mean?
琴心相挑 (qín xīn xiāng tiāo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to express one's affection or romantic interest through the playing of a musical instrument, typically a qin (a plucked seven-string Chinese instrument)”.
How do you pronounce 琴心相挑?
琴心相挑 is pronounced qín xīn xiāng tiāo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 琴心相挑 literally mean?
Literally, 琴心相挑 means “Qin heart reciprocally entices”. It is used to mean “to express one's affection or romantic interest through the playing of a musical instrument, typically a qin (a plucked seven-string Chinese instrument)”.
Where does 琴心相挑 come from?
琴心相挑 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 琴心相挑?
挑：挑逗。指用琴声表达心意与爱慕之情