Definition
血雨腥风 is a four-character idiom (chengyu) that literally means 'blood rain and fishy wind' but figuratively describes a scene of violent carnage, bloodshed, or a reign of terror. In PRC political discourse, it is used to characterize periods of oppressive, reactionary rule, especially the Kuomintang era or the Cultural Revolution. The standard pronunciation is xuè yǔ xīng fēng, but this entry lists xiě (the colloquial reading for 血), which is atypical for this idiom and may be a data error.
f.e.
scene of carnagebloodbathreign of terror (especially in PRC political discourse)
Examples
- 血雨腥风。Nà chǎng zhànzhēng ràng zhěng gè chéngshì xiànrù le yí piàn xiě zhī zhōng.That war plunged the entire city into a scene of carnage.
- 血雨腥风。Lìshǐ shū shàng jìzǎi le nà ge niándài de xiě tǒngzhì.History books record the reign of terror of that era.
- 血雨腥风，。Tā huíyì qǐ nà duàn xiě de rìzi, réngrán xīn yǒu yú jì.He still shudders when recalling those days of blood and terror.
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