







淡妆浓抹 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to different styles of makeup, from light and simple to heavy and elaborate; often used to describe something inherently beautiful that looks good in any presentation, whether understated or ornate”. Literally, “lightly made up or richly adorned”.
During the Song Dynasty, Su Dongpo, a Minister of Rites, faced repeated demotions due to his opposition to new policies, being successively banished to places like Hangzhou, Huangzhou, Huizhou, and Qiongzhou.
His misfortunes in officialdom led him to devote himself passionately to literary creation.
While in Hangzhou, upon seeing the beautiful West Lake, he was inspired to compose the poem "Drinking on the Lake After Sunny Day and Rain."
The famous lines from this poem are: "If West Lake were to be compared to Lady Xi Shi, whether lightly made up or richly adorned, she would always be suitable."

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Open the tool →淡妆浓抹 (dàn zhuāng nóng mǒ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to different styles of makeup, from light and simple to heavy and elaborate; often used to describe something inherently beautiful that looks good in any presentation, whether understated or ornate”.
淡妆浓抹 is pronounced dàn zhuāng nóng mǒ in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 淡妆浓抹 means “lightly made up or richly adorned”. It is used to mean “refers to different styles of makeup, from light and simple to heavy and elaborate; often used to describe something inherently beautiful that looks good in any presentation, whether understated or ornate”.
淡妆浓抹 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
妆:化妆;抹:抹粉。指淡雅和浓艳两种不同的妆饰打扮。