水漫金山

shuǐmàn-jīnshān

idiom

Meanings

1 water floods Jinshan Temple
2 a catastrophic flood; the White Snake's siege of Jinshan

Characters

to overflow; to inundate

gold; Jin(shan)

Examples

HSK 4

大雨下了一整夜，街道简直是水漫金山。

Dàyǔ xià le yī zhěngyè, jiēdào jiǎnzhí shì shuǐmànjīnshān.

It rained all night and the streets looked like the Jinshan flood.

HSK 7-9

这段戏讲的就是白娘子水漫金山的故事。

Zhè duàn xì jiǎng de jiùshì Bái Niángzǐ shuǐmànjīnshān de gùshi.

This scene tells the story of Lady White flooding Jinshan.

HSK 7-9

水龙头没关，厨房已经水漫金山了。

Shuǐlóngtóu méi guān, chúfáng yǐjīng shuǐmànjīnshān le.

The tap wasn't turned off - the kitchen is already a total flood.

Tips

history

From 《白雪遗音·马头调·雷峰塔》 and the broader 白蛇传 (Legend of the White Snake): after the monk Fahai at Jinshan Temple refuses to release her husband Xu Xian, the White Snake summons shrimp soldiers and crab generals to flood the temple. Hence 水漫金山 = a huge, sweeping flood.

culture

Deeply tied to one of China's Four Great Folktales. The real Jinshan Temple (金山寺) sits in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu - still a major tourist site tied to the legend.

Stroke Order

水 shuǐ

漫 màn

金 jīn

山 shān