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力拔山兮气盖世

力拔山兮氣蓋世
lì bá shān xī qì gài shì
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 strength that could uproot mountains, spirit that covered the age
  2. 2 (of Xiang Yu) heroic might unmatched in the world
  3. 3 (lit.) strength pulling up mountains, spirit covering the age

Examples

项羽力拔山兮气盖世，却最终败于刘邦。
Xiàng Yǔ lìbáshānxīqìgàishì, què zuìzhōng bài yú Liúbāng.
Xiang Yu 'could uproot mountains, his spirit covered the age' — yet in the end he lost to Liu Bang.
这位运动员有力拔山兮气盖世的气概。
Zhèwèi yùndòngyuán yǒulì bá shān xī qì gài shì de qìgài.
This athlete has the heroic bearing of 'mountain-lifting strength, world-covering spirit.'

Tips

history
From 项羽《垓下歌》(Xiang Yu, 202 BCE), sung at his final encirclement at Gaixia before his suicide: 力拔山兮气盖世，时不利兮骓不逝。骓不逝兮可奈何，虞兮虞兮奈若何 (Strength to uproot mountains, spirit to cover the age — but the times are against me, my horse Zhui will not go. Zhui won't move — what can I do? Yu, oh Yu, what shall I do with you?). 虞 = Consort Yu (Yu Ji), who killed herself before the breakout. The Ba Wang Bie Ji (霸王别姬) scene.
usage
兮 xī is the classical Chu-style rhythmic particle (untranslated, like a sigh). The first two lines of 垓下歌 are the single most-quoted classical snippet about heroic defeat.

Stroke Order

力 lì
拔 bá
山 shān
兮 xī
气 qì
盖 gài
世 shì