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天若有情天亦老

tiānruòyǒuqíngtiānyìlǎo
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 if heaven had feelings, heaven too would grow old
  2. 2 the grief of this world would age even the eternal sky
  3. 3 lit. if heaven had feelings, heaven also would grow old

Examples

读到这段家国沦亡的历史，真让人感慨天若有情天亦老。
Dú dào zhè duàn jiāguó lúnwáng de lìshǐ, zhēn ràng rén gǎnkǎi tiān ruò yǒu qíng tiān yì lǎo.
Reading this passage of national ruin, one truly sighs: "if heaven had feelings, heaven too would grow old".
天若有情天亦老，人间正道是沧桑。
Tiān ruò yǒu qíng tiān yì lǎo, rénjiān zhèngdào shì cāngsāng.
If heaven had feelings, heaven too would grow old; the true path in the human world is one of vast vicissitude.

Tips

history
Originally from Li He's (李贺, mid-Tang) 《金铜仙人辞汉歌》: 衰兰送客咸阳道，天若有情天亦老 — 'Withering orchids see off the traveler on the Xianyang road; if heaven had feelings, heaven too would grow old.' Later given new life by Mao Zedong (毛泽东) in 《七律·人民解放军占领南京》: 天若有情天亦老，人间正道是沧桑 — Mao's couplet is what most modern readers know.
usage
Today usually quoted in Mao's pairing with 人间正道是沧桑 ('the true path in the human world is one of vast change'). In Li He's original the counter-line is different.

Stroke Order

天 tiān
若 ruò
有 yǒu
情 qíng
亦 yì
老 lǎo