鏡花水月

Etymology
From metaphors common in Buddhism, especially in the  literature:  and. Early attestations in Chinese include the translation of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra by the monk Mokṣala (無羅叉). The following attestations are from the works of :

in the original literature has been modified to, mostly for poetic purposes.

Idiom

 * 1)  flowers reflected on a mirror and the moon reflected in the water
 * 2)  fantasy, illusion, mere shadow, phantom, vision, something that is visible but having no substance
 * 3)  the subtle and profound beauty of poems that should not be comprehended by words literally
 * 1)  the subtle and profound beauty of poems that should not be comprehended by words literally
 * 1)  the subtle and profound beauty of poems that should not be comprehended by words literally
 * 1)  the subtle and profound beauty of poems that should not be comprehended by words literally

Etymology
Borrowed from above. See Etymology in Chinese section.

Noun

 * 1) flowers reflected on a mirror and the moon reflected on the water's surface
 * 2)  something that is visible but having no substance; illusion, mere shadow, phantom, vision
 * 3) the subtle and profound beauty of poems that cannot be described in words​

Derived terms

 * : a style of expression or storytelling that does not directly describe things, and instead indirectly evokes the appearance of things