半亩方塘一鉴开

半畝方塘一鑑開

bàn mǔ fāng táng yī jiàn kāi

quotation

Meanings

1 half an acre of square pond opens like a mirror
2 Zhu Xi's image of the clear mind - a pond so still it reflects sky and cloud perfectly

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

清晨的小池子，真像半亩方塘一鉴开。

Qīngchén de xiǎo chízi, zhēn xiàng bànmǔfāngtángyījiànkāi.

The small pond at dawn really does look like 'half an acre of square pond opened like a mirror.'

HSK 7-9

他引朱熹"半亩方塘一鉴开"，比喻静心读书的境界。

Tā yǐn Zhūxī " bànmǔfāngtángyījiànkāi ", bǐyù jìng xīn dúshū de jìngjiè.

He cited Zhu Xi's 'half an acre of square pond opens like a mirror' to illustrate the state of calm study.

Tips

history

From 《观书有感·其一》 by 朱熹 (Zhu Xi, Southern Song, leading Neo-Confucian): '半亩方塘一鉴开，天光云影共徘徊。问渠那得清如许？为有源头活水来.' The poem's 活水 ('living water') has become shorthand for fresh input keeping the mind clear.

usage

鉴 (jiàn) here = 'bronze mirror' (ancient polished-metal mirror), not 'to inspect.' Same character, noun sense.

Stroke Order

半 bàn

亩 mǔ

方 fāng

塘 táng

一 yī

鉴 jiàn

开 kāi