万类霜天竞自由

萬類霜天競自由

wànlèishuāngtiānjìngzìyóu

phrase

Meanings

1 all creatures under the frosty sky compete in freedom
2 a vision of vibrant, unrestrained life in nature
3 (lit.) the myriad kinds, in frost-sky, contest freely

Characters

ten thousand / myriad

from (自由 = freedom)

Examples

秋天的湘江边，万类霜天竞自由，气象万千。

Qiūtiān de Xiāngjiāng biān, wànlèi shuāngtiān jìng zìyóu, qìxiàng wànqiān.

By the autumn Xiang River, every creature competes in freedom under the frosty sky — a thousand moods in one scene.

改革开放初期，万类霜天竞自由，百业俱兴。

Gǎigé kāifàng chūqī, wànlèi shuāngtiān jìng zìyóu, bǎiyè jùxìng.

In the early reform-and-opening era, every sector flourished in free competition, like creatures under the autumn sky.

Tips

history

From Mao Zedong's (毛泽东) 《沁园春·长沙》(1925): 鹰击长空，鱼翔浅底，万类霜天竞自由。(Eagles strike the vast sky, fish glide through shallow water — all creatures under the frosty sky contest in freedom.) Written as he recalled his student days beside Changsha's Xiang River, surveying autumn and asking who will master China's destiny.

Stroke Order

万 wàn

类 lèi

霜 shuāng

天 tiān

竞 jìng

自 zì

由 yóu