风花雪月
fēng huā xuě yuè
romance and sentiment; (fig.) flowery writing with no substance
Character by character
风fēng
wind
wind
花huā
flowers
flowers
雪xuě
snow
snow
月yuè
moon
moon
Example
他年轻时爱写风花雪月，中年以后的文章却越来越关心普通人的生活。
As a young man he loved writing about moonlight and romance, but in middle age his essays turned more and more to ordinary people’s lives.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Originally the four classic subjects of nature poetry; now love and sentiment in general, often as a put-down: 整天写些风花雪月 (writing nothing but pretty fluff). 谈风花雪月 can also mean talking about love affairs.
Learn this in Lesson 243 · HSK 9+: 从周璇到邓丽君 (From Zhou Xuan to Teresa Teng)
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