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

HSK 4

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.

HSK 7-9

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".

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