Long Stories: Idioms about the Dragon (and Tiger) | Language

Sayings about the two most fearsome animals in Chinese mythology

过完了“二月二”，来看看成语中的龙吧！

On the second day of the second lunar month, China celebrates the Dragon Head-Raising (龙抬头 lóng táitóu) festival, which fell on March 4 this year. On this day, it’s believed that a dragon will raise its head in the east, bringing rainfall and marking the start of the farming season.

It is also tradition to make a trip to a hair salon on this day. People believe that if they have their hair cut on the day of Dragon Head-Raising, they will have a good fortune for the rest of this year.

Dragons, or long (龙), are much revered in traditional Chinese culture: parents even plan the births of their children with the mythical beast in mind (the zodiac Year of the Dragon sees an observable spike in birth rates across the Chinese-speaking world). The many legends about the mythical animal provide an abundance of dragon-related chengyu, usually pairing the dragon with another fearsome animal, the tiger.

卧虎藏龙 Crouching tiger, hidden dragon

Though it will remind many people of Ang Lee’s film of the same name, this chengyu was well-known long before the movie, and refers to undiscovered talents in seemingly ordinary people or in mundane surroundings. For example, when you enter a new workplace, your coworkers might caution you:

This place is full of undiscovered talent. You had better be humble!

Zhège dìfang wòhǔ cánglóng, nǐ zuìhǎo háishi qiānxū yìdiǎn!

这个地方藏龙卧虎，你最好还是谦虚一点!

龙盘虎踞 Where dragons coil and tigers crouch

This chengyu refers to an area of strategic importance in politics or warfare, and has long been associated with the city of Nanjing. According to The Records of Wu (《吴录》), written during the Jin dynasty (265 – 420), when Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), the great strategist of the Three Kingdoms era (220 – 280), arrived in Nanjing, he commented on the city’s mountainous terrain: “Mount Zhong is like a coiled dragon, and Mount Shitou is like a tiger crouching. This is the home of the emperor. (钟山龙盘，石头虎踞，此帝王之宅。)”

Many dynasties selected Nanjing as their capital, because it occupies forbidding terrain, and has strategic importance.

Xǔduō cháodài dìngdū Nánjīng, shì yīnwèi tā lóngpán hǔjù, dìshì xiǎnyào.

许多朝代定都南京，是因为它龙蟠虎踞，地势险要。

龙腾虎跃 Dragons soaring and tigers leaping

This chengyu is often used to describe a place full of bustling activity.

This city has seen tremendous changes, becoming a hive of activity.

Zhège chéngshì zǎoyǐ shì tiānfān dìfù, lóngténg hǔyuè.

这个城市早已是天翻地覆，龙腾虎跃。

龙争虎斗 A dragon and a tiger in combat

Since both dragon and tiger are believed to be formidable animals, this chengyu describes a fierce struggle between two evenly matched opponents.

The competition between them will certainly be fierce.

Tāmen zhījiān de bǐsài yídìng shì yì chǎng lóngzhēng hǔdòu.

他们之间的比赛一定是一场龙争虎斗。

龙潭虎穴  Dragon’s pool and tiger’s den

Only a fool would wander about a pool that a dragon calls home, or venture into a tiger’s den. This chengyu used to refer to an extremely dangerous place.

Even if it’s incredibly dangerous, I’ll still go there to save my friend.

Jiùsuàn nàli shì lōngtán hǔxuè, wǒ yě yào qù jiù wǒ de péngyǒu.

就算那里是龙潭虎穴，我也要去救我的朋友。

Cover image by VCG

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