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二十四桥明月夜

二十四橋明月夜
èrshísìqiáomíngyuèyè
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the Twenty-Four Bridges on a moonlit night
  2. 2 (fig.) the romantic, vanished splendor of old Yangzhou
  3. 3 (lit.) twenty-four bridges bright moon night

Examples

游扬州的朋友都会背二十四桥明月夜，玉人何处教吹箫。
Yóu Yángzhōu de péngyou dōu huì bèi èrshísì qiáo míngyuè yè, yù rén héchù jiào chuī xiāo.
Anyone who visits Yangzhou can recite 'the Twenty-Four Bridges on a moonlit night — where now is the jade beauty I taught to play the flute?'
她站在瘦西湖边，真有几分二十四桥明月夜的意境。
Tā zhàn zài Shòuxīhú biān, zhēn yǒu jǐ fēn èrshísì qiáo míngyuè yè de yìjìng.
Standing by Slender West Lake, she evoked something of the mood of 'the Twenty-Four Bridges on a moonlit night.'

Tips

history
From 杜牧《寄扬州韩绰判官》(Du Mu, late Tang, ~830s), a quatrain sent to his old colleague Han Chuo in Yangzhou: 青山隐隐水迢迢，秋尽江南草未凋。二十四桥明月夜，玉人何处教吹箫 (Green hills dim, waters far; autumn ends in Jiangnan yet grass has not withered. On the Twenty-Four Bridges, bright moon night — where now is the jade beauty I taught to play the flute?). 二十四桥 is a famed Yangzhou bridge (debated whether one bridge or twenty-four); the couplet made it eternal.
usage
Always read with 玉人何处教吹箫 — the bittersweet question is the poem's punchline. Also famously reused by 姜夔《扬州慢》: '二十四桥仍在，波心荡、冷月无声.'

Stroke Order

二 èr
十 shí
四 sì
桥 qiáo
明 míng
月 yuè
夜 yè