p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Translate Flashcards

南朝四百八十寺

Náncháo sìbǎi bāshí sì
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 the four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties
  2. 2 fig. the countless Buddhist monasteries of old Jiangnan
  3. 3 Du Mu's image of ghostly pre-Tang Buddhist grandeur

Examples

HSK 3
南朝四百八十寺，多少楼台烟雨中。
Náncháo sìbǎi bāshí sì, duōshǎo lóutái yānyǔ zhōng.
Four hundred eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties - how many towers and terraces lost in the misty rain.
HSK 7-9
游览江南古寺，让人想起南朝四百八十寺。
Yóulǎn Jiāngnán gǔsì, ràng rén xiǎngqǐ Náncháo sìbǎi bāshí sì.
Touring the old temples of Jiangnan recalls the 480 monasteries of the Southern Dynasties.

Tips

history
From Du Mu's (杜牧) Late Tang quatrain 《江南春》 (Spring in Jiangnan): 千里莺啼绿映红, 水村山郭酒旗风. 南朝四百八十寺, 多少楼台烟雨中. - 'A thousand li of orioles singing, green set against red; water-villages, hill-towns, wine-flags in the wind. Four hundred eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties - how many of their terraces now lie in mist and rain?' The Southern Dynasties (420-589) saw massive Buddhist patronage centered on Jiankang (modern Nanjing).
usage
Always cited with the closing line 多少楼台烟雨中. '480' is not exact - it's a classical stand-in for 'countless.' Used whenever vanished glory, especially Buddhist heritage, comes up.

Stroke Order

南 nán
朝 cháo
四 sì
百 bǎi
八 bā
十 shí
寺 sì