Chinese idiom · 成语
一挥而就
Meaning
To complete writing, calligraphy, or a painting swiftly and fluently, as with one sweep of the brush.
Character by character
Origin and story
literary anecdoteA story attributed to Zhiyan (摭言), preserved in Taiping Guangji, volume 183, celebrates the literary speed of Wang Lin. During a test arranged before his recommendation to court, he requests ten clerks and dictates so fluently that their pens keep moving. A sudden storm blows some written sheets into mud. Rather than labor over the damaged pages, he asks for fresh paper and quickly writes more than ten pieces again.
This is a literary anecdote celebrating extraordinary talent, and its feats should not be treated as independently timed measurements. Its description of a sweep of the brush provides an antecedent to the idiom. The exact phrase appears in later writing and typically praises rapid, fluent composition, painting, or calligraphy.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
看到窗边的猫，她拿起画笔，一挥而就，画出了一张生动的速写。
Spotting the cat by the window, she picked up her brush and quickly produced a vivid sketch.
Especially for fluent writing or art, not any task completed quickly.