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筆走龍蛇

简笔走龙蛇 · 繁筆走龍蛇

Mandarin · pinyin bǐ zǒu lóng shé

(lit.) the brush flows with the fluidity of a dragon or snake (idiom)
(fig.) (of brushwork, esp for calligraphy) lively; vigorous

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Characters in this entry

筆: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
走: zǒu · walk, go on foot; run; leave; Kangxi radical 156
龍: Look up this written character
蛇: shé · snake
笔: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
龙: lóng · dragon; symbolic of emperor

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–2–2 · bi3 zou3 long2 she2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(of calligraphy) lively and vigorous

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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