山寺桃花始盛开

山寺桃花始盛開

shān sì táohuā shǐ shèng kāi

quotation

Meanings

1 at the mountain temple, the peach blossoms have only just come into full bloom
2 a later-blooming spring discovered at altitude
3 lit. mountain temple's peach flowers only-now fully open

Characters

flourishing, abundantly

开

kāi

to open, bloom

Examples

四月下旬山上还能见桃花，真是山寺桃花始盛开。

Sìyuè xiàxún shānshàng hái néng jiàn táohuā, zhēnshì shānsìtáohuāshǐshèngkāi.

In late April you can still see peach blossoms in the mountains — truly "at the mountain temple the peach blossoms have only just bloomed".

山寺桃花始盛开提醒人们山上的季节比山下晚。

Shānsìtáohuāshǐshèngkāi tíxǐng rénmen shānshàng de jìjié bǐ shānxià wǎn.

"At the mountain temple the peach blossoms have only just bloomed" reminds us that mountain seasons run late.

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's (白居易, Tang dynasty) 《大林寺桃花》: 人间四月芳菲尽，山寺桃花始盛开。长恨春归无觅处，不知转入此中来 — 'In the human world April's blossoms are spent; at the mountain temple the peach flowers have only just bloomed. Long did I regret that spring had gone with no place to find her — not knowing she had simply turned and come in here.' Written after a hike to Dalin Temple (大林寺) on Mt. Lu (庐山).

usage

Now a stock quotation for any later-blooming phenomenon — literal (mountain flora) or figurative (late bloomers, delayed recognition).

Stroke Order

山 shān

寺 sì

桃 táo

花 huā

始 shǐ

盛 shèng

开 kāi