尤物

尤物

1. (literary) extraordinary person or thing; rarity

   • 或者天意以余菲薄，不足以享此尤物邪？抑亦死者有知，猶斤斤愛惜，不肯留人閒邪？何得之艱而失之易也！ [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     或者天意以余菲薄，不足以享此尤物邪？抑亦死者有知，犹斤斤爱惜，不肯留人间邪？何得之艰而失之易也！ [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 11 Sept 1132, 李清照 (Li Qingzhao),《〈金石錄〉後序》

     Huòzhě tiānyì yǐ yú fěibó, bùzúyǐ xiǎng cǐ yóuwù yé? Yì yì sǐzhě yǒu zhī, yóu jīnjīn àixī, bùkěn liú rénjiān yé? Hé dé zhī jiān ér shī zhī yì yě! [Pinyin]

     Or perhaps it is Heaven's will that beings as insignificant as ourselves are not fit to enjoy such superb creatures. Or perhaps the dead too have consciousness, and they still treasure such things and give them their devoted attention, unwilling to leave them in the world of the living. How hard they are to obtain and how easy to lose!

   • 自數十里外望之，碧峯巉然孤起，上干雲霄，已非它山可擬，愈近愈秀，冬夏晴雨，姿態萬變，信造化之尤物也！ [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     自数十里外望之，碧峰巉然孤起，上干云霄，已非它山可拟，愈近愈秀，冬夏晴雨，姿态万变，信造化之尤物也！ [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 12 Sept 1170, 陸游 (Lu You),《入蜀記》 (Diary of a Journey to Shu, Vol. 3)

     Zì shùshí lǐ wài wàng zhī, bì fēng chánrán gū qǐ, shàng gān yúnxiāo, yǐ fēi tā shān kě nǐ, yù jìn yù xiù, dōngxià qíngyǔ, zītài wàn biàn, xìn zàohuà zhī yóuwù yě! [Pinyin]

     Viewed from dozens of miles away, the emerald pinnacle soars steeply alone, piercing the clouds—a sight unmatched by any other mountain. The closer I draw, the more striking its beauty gets. Through winter and summer, in clear skies or rain, its form shifts endlessly, indeed Nature's paramount masterpiece!

2. (specifically) beautiful woman

(beautiful woman):