一岁一枯荣

一歲一枯榮

yī suì yī kū róng

quotation

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

HSK 6

草原上的野草一岁一枯荣，从不停歇。

Cǎoyuán shàng de yěcǎo yīsuìyīkūróng, cóngbù tíngxiē.

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

HSK 6

人生就像离离原上草，一岁一枯荣。

Rénshēng jiù xiàng lílíyuánshàngcǎo, yīsuìyīkūróng.

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

Tips

history

From 白居易 (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 白居易 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