嘲风咏月 — “Mock the wind, sing of the moon”
嘲风咏月 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to write sentimental or superficial verse about natural scenes like the wind and moon, lacking profound thought or substance”. Literally, “Mock the wind, sing of the moon”.
嘲风咏月 Pronunciation and Pinyin
嘲风咏月 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 嘲风咏月
Origin and Story of 嘲风咏月
During the Song Dynasty, after Zhao Kuangyin conquered the Southern Tang kingdom, Li Yu, the last emperor of Southern Tang, voluntarily surrendered and became a nominal 'General of the Golden Tiger.'
One day, Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi of Song strolled into the Hanlin Academy. He saw Li Yu serving his former Southern Tang officials, such as Xu Xuan. Feeling puzzled, he asked why.
Xu Xuan, glancing disdainfully at Li Yu, said he lacked the ability to govern a country, knew only how to 'mock the wind and chant the moon' (i.e., write superficial poetry), and deserved no better.
Idioms Related to 嘲风咏月
Synonyms of 嘲风咏月
Recommended tools
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
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 嘲风咏月
What does 嘲风咏月 mean?
嘲风咏月 (cháo fēng yǒng yuè) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to write sentimental or superficial verse about natural scenes like the wind and moon, lacking profound thought or substance”.
How do you pronounce 嘲风咏月?
嘲风咏月 is pronounced cháo fēng yǒng yuè in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 嘲风咏月 literally mean?
Literally, 嘲风咏月 means “Mock the wind, sing of the moon”. It is used to mean “to write sentimental or superficial verse about natural scenes like the wind and moon, lacking profound thought or substance”.
Where does 嘲风咏月 come from?
嘲风咏月 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 嘲风咏月?
指描写风云月露等景象而思想内容贫乏的写作。