恰似一江春水向东流

恰似一江春水向東流

qiàsìyījiāngchūnshuǐxiàngdōngliú

phrase

Meanings

1 just like a river of spring water flowing east
2 Li Yu's most famous image — sorrow, immeasurable, flows on like the river and cannot be stopped

Characters

like / resemble

Examples

他回忆起初恋，感慨道"恰似一江春水向东流"。

Tā huíyì qǐ chūliàn, gǎnkǎi dào "qiàsì yī jiāng chūn shuǐ xiàng dōng liú".

Recalling his first love, he sighed 'just like a river of spring water flowing east.'

亡国之痛，恰似一江春水向东流，无穷无尽。

Wángguó zhī tòng, qiàsì yī jiāng chūn shuǐ xiàng dōng liú, wúqióng wújìn.

The pain of a lost kingdom — just like a river of spring water flowing east, endless.

Tips

history

Closing line of 《虞美人》 by 李煜 (Li Yu, last ruler of Southern Tang). Full couplet: '问君能有几多愁？恰似一江春水向东流。' Written as captive of the Song — reportedly the line that got him poisoned by Song Taizong.

culture

Covered in 邓丽君 Teresa Teng's song 《几多愁》 (1983), which brought the whole ci 词 into modern pop consciousness.

Stroke Order

恰 qià

似 sì

一 yī

江 jiāng

春 chūn

水 shuǐ

向 xiàng

东 dōng

流 liú