The Whole Nation is Captive

Characters:

Pronunciation: qing(1) guo(3) qing(1) cheng(2)
Explanation: Said when a woman is so beautiful that the whole country is crazy about her.

Tone: Neutral

The Story: In the Han Dynasty, there was a musician named Li Yannian, and he was in favorite of the emperor - Han Wudi.

One day, Li Yannian sang a song for Han Wudi. In the lyrics it said: "There is a beauty in the North. No one can compare her beauty and no one can match her elegance. A first glance from her will overwhelm the whole city, and a second glance from her will overwhelm the whole nation." After Han Wudi heard this song, he asked: "Does a real beauty like her exist in the world?" His sister Princess Pingyang who sat beside him answered: "Li Yannian's younger sister is such a beauty."

Then Han Wudi summoned to an interview of Li Yannian's sister. When he saw her, it proved the legend was true, so he asked her to stay in the palace and later chose her as the empress.

Usage Example (Pinyin): qing(1) guo(3) qing(1) cheng(2) de rong(2) mao(4) shi(4) hen(3) duo(1) nu(3) hai(2) zi xiang(4) wang(3) de.

Usage Example (English translation): To have a face that keeps the "whole nation captive" is many girls' dream.

Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those above where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline study program.