心远地自偏

心遠地自偏

xīnyuǎndìzìpiān

phrase

Meanings

1 when the heart is distant, the place of itself becomes remote
2 (fig.) inner detachment creates seclusion — you can live among crowds and still be at peace
3 (lit.) heart — far — place — of-itself — remote

Characters

Examples

虽然住在市中心，心远地自偏，他过得很清静。

Suīrán zhù zài shì zhōngxīn, xīn yuǎn dì zì piān, tā guò de hěn qīngjìng.

Though he lived downtown, 'with a distant heart, the place of itself is remote' — his life was quiet.

陶渊明讲问君何能尔？心远地自偏。

Táo Yuānmíng jiǎng wèn jūn hé néng ěr? Xīn yuǎn dì zì piān.

Tao Yuanming wrote: 'ask how you manage this — the heart is distant, so the place becomes remote.'

Tips

history

From 陶渊明《饮酒·其五》 (Tao Yuanming, Jin dynasty, c. 405 CE), the most celebrated of his Drinking Wine series: 结庐在人境，而无车马喧。问君何能尔？心远地自偏。采菊东篱下，悠然见南山 (I built my hut in the realm of men, yet there's no din of carriages and horses. You ask how I manage — the heart is distant, so the place of itself becomes remote. Plucking chrysanthemums at the eastern hedge, I gaze leisurely at the southern mountain). The foundational text of the Chinese reclusive-in-the-city (小隐隐于野，大隐隐于市) ideal.

usage

偏 here = classical 'off to one side / remote / secluded,' not 'biased.' Canonically preceded by 问君何能尔 and followed by the famous 采菊东篱下，悠然见南山. The line is the philosophical pivot of the whole poem.

Stroke Order

心 xīn

远 yuǎn

地 dì

自 zì

偏 piān