两岸猿声啼不住

兩岸猿聲啼不住

liǎng àn yuán shēng tí bú zhù

quotation

Meanings

1 the cries of gibbons on both banks never cease
2 gibbons on either shore keep crying (scene of rushing down the Yangtze gorges)

Characters

stop; cease (complement)

Examples

两岸猿声啼不住，轻舟已过万重山。

Liǎng àn yuán shēng tí bú zhù, qīng zhōu yǐ guò wàn chóng shān.

The gibbons on both shores keep crying; my light boat has already passed ten thousand ranges.

坐船游三峡，真能体会两岸猿声啼不住的意境。

Zuò chuán yóu Sānxiá, zhēn néng tǐhuì liǎng àn yuán shēng tí bú zhù de yìjìng.

Sailing through the Three Gorges, you truly feel the scene of 'gibbon cries on both banks never ceasing.'

Tips

history

From Li Bai 李白's 《早发白帝城》 (Tang): '朝辞白帝彩云间，千里江陵一日还。两岸猿声啼不住，轻舟已过万重山。' (At dawn I left Baidi amid coloured clouds; a thousand li to Jiangling in a single day. The gibbons on both shores cry without pause — my light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains.) Written in exuberance after Li Bai was pardoned mid-exile.

usage

Always paired with 轻舟已过万重山. 猿 = gibbon/ape, once abundant along the Yangtze gorges before habitat loss.

Stroke Order

两 liǎng

岸 àn

猿 yuán

声 shēng

啼 tí

不 bù

住 zhù