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牛鬼蛇神

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Chinese

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ox; cow; bull ghost; sly; crafty snake; serpent
God; unusual; mysterious
God; unusual; mysterious; soul; spirit; divine essence; lively; spiritual being
 
trad. (牛鬼蛇神)
simp. #(牛鬼蛇神)
Literally: “Cow demons, snake spirits”.

Etymology

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Either cow demons or snake spirits can trace their roots back to Buddhist sutras. As a chengyu first attested in 831 in Du Mu's Preface to the Songs and Poems of Li He:

雲煙綿聯不足迢迢不足盎盎不足明潔不足不足不足美女不足殿不足牛鬼蛇神不足 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
云烟绵联不足迢迢不足盎盎不足明洁不足不足不足美女不足殿不足牛鬼蛇神不足 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: c. 831, 杜牧, 〈李賀集〉序, translated by J. D. Frodsham
Yúnyān miánlián, bùzú wéi qí tài yě; shuǐ zhī tiáotiáo, bùzú wéi qí qíng yě; chūn zhī àng'àng, bùzú wéi qí hé yě; qiū zhī míngjié, bùzú wéi qí gé yě; fēngqiáng zhènmǎ, bùzú wéi qí yǒng yě; wǎguān zhuàndǐng, bùzú wéi qí gǔ yě; shíhuā měinǚ, bùzú wéi qí sè yě; huāng guó duò diàn, gěng mǎng qiū lǒng, bùzú wéi qí hèn yuàn bēi chóu yě; jīng qù áo zhì, niú guǐ shé shén, bùzú wéi qí xū huāng dàn huàn yě. [Pinyin]
Clouds and mist gently intermingling cannot describe his manner; illimitable waters cannot describe his feelings; the verdure of spring cannot describe his warmth; the clarity of autumn cannot describe his style; a mast in the wind, a horse in the battle-line cannot describe his courage; earthenware coffins and tripods with seal-characters cannot describe his antiquity; seasonal blossoms and lovely girls cannot describe his ardour; fallen kingdoms and ruined palaces, thorny thickets and gravemounds cannot describe his resentment and sorrow; whales yawning, turtles spurting, ox-ghosts and serpent-spirits cannot describe his wildness and extravagance.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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牛鬼蛇神

  1. (figurative) all sorts of bad things, especially people
  2. (historical, politics) cow demons and snake spirits

Synonyms

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