Kou Ruo Xuan He

Literal Meaning: Like a river dangled upon one’s mouth

Metaphorical Meaning: It is used to describe somebody who is so good at words that he can make an endless speech.

In the Dynasty of Jin (265 – 420), there was a famous scholar named Guo Xiang, with the nickname of Zixuan.

When he was young, he was a man full of knowledge. He was interested in observing some common things in daily life that others rarely noticed and thought carefully of what he found. Therefore, he accumulated a great amount of knowledge and had unique understanding of different things. Afterwards, he dived into the study of the theories of Laozi and Zhuangzi and got deep understanding of their theories.

The court, knowing his abilities and talents, invited him to work for them. He refused the invitation for several times but finally, he agreed. He took the post of Huangmen Shilang, who was responsible for checking out the reports to the emperor. After entering into the capital city, he soon became popular because of his excellent speeches and unparalleled eloquence. He also liked to give out his own opinions and people like listening to his speeches.

A senior army officer named Wang Yan appreciated Guo Xiang’s eloquence a lot. He usually praised Guo Xiang in front of the others, saying: “When Guo is making a speech, the words are just like a river which is dangled beneath his mouth with no stops.” Guo Xiang’s eloquence can be clearly seen in those words.

Later, people used the words “Kou Ruo Xuan He” to describe the one with great eloquences.