Chinese idiom · 成语
鸳鸯戏水
Meaning
Mandarin ducks play in water; romantic harmony.
Character by character
Origin and story
Cultural imageThis phrase describes mandarin ducks playing or swimming together in water. Its cultural background is a visual and poetic association, rather than a single securely identified founding story. Paired mandarin ducks became an emblem of affectionate companionship in Chinese art. The Palace Museum's Qianlong-period lotus-and-mandarin-duck bowl illustrates that symbolism, and its collection description traces such duck decorations on ceramics back to the Song period.
A Ming fan painting by Zhou Zhimian is explicitly described by the museum as showing 鸳鸯戏水. These objects demonstrate the established motif, not the first coinage of the phrase. Its romantic meaning is a cultural convention, not a scientific claim that the birds always remain lifelong partners.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
奶奶在新婚枕套上绣了一幅鸳鸯戏水图。
Grandma embroidered a pair of mandarin ducks playing in water on the newlyweds' pillowcases.
Especially natural for paintings, embroidery, and decorative motifs suggesting affectionate partnership.