柳陌花衢

liǔmòhuāqú
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 brothel quarter
  2. 2 red-light district (literary)

Examples

Gǔdài wénrén bǐ xià cháng chūxiàn liǔmòhuāqú de miáoxiě.
Descriptions of brothel quarters often appear in classical literature.
Tā liúlián yú liǔmòhuāqú, huīhuò jiācái.
He lingered in the pleasure quarters and squandered the family fortune.

Tips

history
From Song dynasty Meng Yuanlao's preface to《东京》: '柳陌花衢' — clever singing and laughter on willow lanes and flower streets, referring to the entertainment districts of the old capital.
register
Highly literary euphemism. 'willow' and 'flower' have long been associated with courtesans in Chinese poetry; and both mean 'street'.

Stroke Order

liǔ
huā