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万里长城今犹在

萬里長城今猶在
wànlǐchángchéngjīnyóuzài
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall still stands today
  2. 2 (fig.) walls endure — but the men who built them are long gone
  3. 3 (lit.) ten-thousand-li Great Wall now still exists

Examples

万里长城今犹在，不见当年秦始皇——这句常用来讽刺争夺的虚空。
Wànlǐ chángchéng jīn yóu zài, bú jiàn dāngnián Qín Shǐhuáng — zhè jù cháng yòng lái fěngcì zhēngduó de xūkōng.
'The Great Wall still stands today, but the First Emperor is nowhere to be seen' — often quoted to mock the emptiness of struggle.
同事为了一点小事争执，她劝道万里长城今犹在，何必计较。
Tóngshì wèile yīdiǎn xiǎoshì zhēngzhí, tā quàn dào wànlǐ chángchéng jīn yóu zài, hébì jìjiào.
When colleagues quarreled over trifles, she counseled: 'the Great Wall still stands — why bother with small scores?'

Tips

history
From a folk tale attributed variously to 张英 (Zhang Ying, Qing dynasty Grand Secretary) or his son 张廷玉: in the 六尺巷 (Six-Foot Lane) story, Zhang's family wrote him about a wall dispute with neighbors, and he replied with a poem: 千里修书只为墙，让他三尺又何妨。万里长城今犹在，不见当年秦始皇 (A thousand-li letter, only for a wall — yield three feet, what harm? The Great Wall still stands today, but the First Emperor is gone). The family yielded, the neighbors yielded back, and a six-foot lane was born — still shown in Tongcheng, Anhui.
usage
Almost always quoted with the follow-up 不见当年秦始皇. 犹 here = 'still, yet' (classical). The couplet is a favorite for moral instruction about generosity and letting go.

Stroke Order

万 wàn
里 lǐ
长 cháng
城 chéng
今 jīn
犹 yóu
在 zài