一岁一枯荣

一歲一枯榮

yīsuìyīkūróng

phrase

Meanings

1 once every year it withers and flourishes
2 the yearly cycle of decay and rebirth
3 lit. one year, one wither-and-bloom

Characters

flourish, bloom

Examples

草原上的野草一岁一枯荣，从不停歇。

Cǎoyuán shàng de yěcǎo yī suì yī kū róng, cóng bù tíngxiē.

The wild grass on the plains withers and blooms once every year, never stopping.

人生就像离离原上草，一岁一枯荣。

Rénshēng jiù xiàng lílí yuán shàng cǎo, yī suì yī kū róng.

Life is like the lush grass on the plain — withering and flourishing once a year.

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's (白居易, Tang dynasty) 《赋得古原草送别》: 离离原上草，一岁一枯荣。野火烧不尽，春风吹又生 — 'Lush, lush, the grass on the plain — each year it withers, each year it blooms. Wildfire cannot burn it all away; spring winds blow it back to life.' Written when Bai Juyi was a teenage candidate; it's memorized by every Chinese elementary schooler.

usage

枯荣 can be split into 枯 (wither) and 荣 (flourish). The pattern 一X一Y here is poetic shorthand for 'each X sees a Y', a classical cyclical structure.

Stroke Order

一 yī

岁 suì

枯 kū

荣 róng