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山色空蒙雨亦奇

山色空濛雨亦奇
shānsèkōngméngyǔyìqí
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the hues of the hills are misty and empty — the rain too is marvelous
  2. 2 (fig.) West Lake's rain-shrouded beauty is as fine as the sunny version
  3. 3 (lit.) mountain-color empty-misty, rain also marvelous

Examples

雨中游西湖，真是山色空蒙雨亦奇。
Yǔ zhōng yóu Xīhú, zhēn shì shān sè kōng méng yǔ yì qí.
Touring West Lake in the rain — truly 'the hills are misty, the rain is marvelous too.'
他喜欢阴天拍照，常说山色空蒙雨亦奇。
Tā xǐhuān yīntiān pāizhào, cháng shuō shān sè kōng méng yǔ yì qí.
He likes photographing on overcast days, often quoting 'the misty hills — the rain is marvelous too.'

Tips

history
From 苏轼《饮湖上初晴后雨二首·其二》(Su Shi, Drinking at the Lake — First Sunny, Then Rain, ca. 1073, on West Lake): 水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇。欲把西湖比西子，淡妆浓抹总相宜 (Rippling water sparkles when clear — just right; hills misty and empty when rain falls — marvelous too. I would liken West Lake to Lady Xi Shi: light makeup or heavy, she is always beautiful). The final couplet gave 西湖 its eternal nickname 西子湖 (Xizi Lake, Lady Xi's lake).
usage
Always paired with the opening 水光潋滟晴方好 (contrasting the sunny and rainy views). 空蒙 describes a light, drifting mist — a key word in Chinese landscape aesthetics. The whole quatrain is arguably the most famous poem about West Lake.

Stroke Order

山 shān
色 sè
空 kōng
蒙 méng
雨 yǔ
亦 yì
奇 qí