Chinese idiom · 成语
龙潭虎穴
Meaning
Dragon’s pool, tiger’s den; extreme danger.
Character by character
Origin and story
Poetic metaphorLin Zi's Tang poem Looking toward Mount Jiuhua supplies a possible literary antecedent. Amid descriptions of fantastic peaks, mist, and wind, the poet evokes a dragon pool with rushing water and asks how many people can glimpse a tiger's den. The two images occur across adjoining lines, not as the complete idiom.
Later texts use the combined expression figuratively, including the Yuan-era You Gui Ji and Water Margin. A dragon's deep pool and a tiger's cave become an image of a place that threatens one's life. No story of a particular hero defeating both creatures is required. Modern use can be serious, or exaggerated when someone makes an ordinary encounter sound terrifying.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
只是去见客户，又不是闯龙潭虎穴，你别太紧张。
You're only meeting a client, not entering a deadly trap—try not to be so nervous.
A dangerous place; often used humorously in negative comparisons. 穴 is xué in standard mainland Mandarin.