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十年生死两茫茫

十年生死兩茫茫
Shí nián shēng sǐ liǎng mángmáng
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 ten years - the living and the dead, both lost in vastness
  2. 2 a decade apart, life and death equally dim and distant
  3. 3 Su Shi's opening lament for his late wife

Examples

HSK 7-9
十年生死两茫茫，想起老友，他潸然泪下。
Shí nián shēng sǐ liǎng mángmáng, xiǎngqǐ lǎoyǒu, tā shānránlèixià.
Ten years - living and dead equally vast and dim - thinking of his old friend, tears fell quietly.
HSK 7-9
读到十年生死两茫茫，我心里一阵酸楚。
Dú dào shí nián shēng sǐ liǎng mángmáng, wǒ xīnlǐ yízhèn suānchǔ.
Reading 'ten years - life and death both lost in vastness,' a pang of sorrow went through me.

Tips

history
The opening line of Su Shi's (苏轼) ci 《江城子·乙卯正月二十日夜记梦》, written in 1075 on the tenth anniversary of his first wife Wang Fu's (王弗) death: 十年生死两茫茫，不思量，自难忘。千里孤坟，无处话凄凉。 - 'Ten years - living and dead both lost in vastness. I try not to dwell on it, yet cannot forget. Her solitary grave a thousand li away - nowhere to voice my desolation.' Often called the most moving elegy in the ci tradition.
usage
One of the most quoted lines on bereavement in Chinese. 茫茫 = vast, vague, indistinct. Used in obituaries, anniversaries, and literary allusions to long grief.

Stroke Order

十 shí
年 nián
生 shēng
死 sǐ
两 liǎng
茫 máng