柳陌花衢

liǔmò-huāqú
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 brothel quarter
  2. 2 red-light district

Examples

HSK 7-9
Gǔdài wénrén bǐxià cháng chūxiàn liǔmò-huāqú de miáoxiě.
Descriptions of brothel quarters often appear in classical literature.
HSK 7-9
Tā liúlián yú liǔmò-huāqú, huīhuò jiācái.
He lingered in the pleasure quarters and squandered the family fortune.

Tips

history
From Song dynasty 孟元老's preface to 《东京梦华录》: 新声巧笑于柳陌花衢 - clever singing and laughter on willow lanes and flower streets, referring to the entertainment districts of the old capital.
register
Highly literary euphemism. 柳 'willow' and 花 'flower' have long been associated with courtesans in Chinese poetry; 陌 and 衢 both mean 'street'.

Stroke Order

柳 liǔ
陌 mò
花 huā
衢 qú