已是悬崖百丈冰

已是懸崖百丈冰
yǐshìxuányábǎizhàngbīng
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 though already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice
  2. 2 (fig.) steadfast and pure amid bitterest hardship, yet still blossoming
  3. 3 (lit.) already is cliff hundred-zhang ice

Examples

Máo zhǔxí cí lǐ nà jù yǐ shì xuányá bǎi zhàng bīng, yóu yǒu huāzhī qiào, xiě chū le bùqū de qìjié.
Chairman Mao's line 'though already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice, still a spray of blossom stays bright' captures an unbending integrity.
Xíngshì zài xiǎn, yě yào xiàng yǐ shì xuányá bǎi zhàng bīng zhōng de méihuā nàyàng tǐnglì.
However perilous the situation, one must stand firm like the plum blossom in 'already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice.'

Tips

history
From 毛泽东·》(Mao Zedong, 1961), a cí written in answer to Lu You's poem of the same title: 风雨迎春悬崖 (Wind and rain saw spring away; whirling snow welcomes spring's return. Already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice — yet still a spray of blossom stays bright...). Written during the Sino-Soviet split and domestic hardships, the plum blossom is a self-portrait of revolutionary endurance.
usage
Always paired with the next line — the contrast (ice vs bright blossom) is the whole point. is a classical 'hundred-zhang' measure (~330 m) used hyperbolically.

Stroke Order

shì
xuán
bǎi
zhàng
bīng