Chinese idiom · 成语
出水芙蓉
Meaning
A lotus emerging from water; natural, unadorned beauty.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary criticismZhong Rong's Shipin, in its discussion of Yan Yanzhi, records Tang Huixiu's comparison of two poets. Xie Lingyun's poetry is like a lotus emerging from water; Yan Yanzhi's resembles finely worked colors and engraved gold. The first image evokes fresh, natural beauty, while the second emphasizes elaborate craft.
The source uses 芙蓉出水, the same components in a different order. 出水芙蓉 became a familiar expression for lovely, unforced writing and was later applied to a woman's fresh beauty. Li Bai's famous lotus image is related, but the critical comparison predates the Tang dynasty. No tale of a woman literally emerging from a flower is involved.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
她的短诗像出水芙蓉，没有华丽辞藻，却格外动人。
Her short poems have a fresh, natural beauty: no ornate wording, yet especially moving.
Praises natural freshness in writing or appearance, rather than elaborate decoration.