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感时花溅泪

感時花濺淚
gǎnshíhuājiànlèi
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 grieving for the times, even flowers spatter tears
  2. 2 (fig.) when the whole age is mourned, nature itself seems to weep
  3. 3 (lit.) feel-times flowers splash tears

Examples

国破山河在，城春草木深。感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心。
Guó pò shānhé zài, chéng chūn cǎomù shēn. Gǎn shí huā jiàn lèi, hèn bié niǎo jīng xīn.
'The state is shattered, yet mountains and rivers remain; in the city's spring, grass and trees grow rank. Grieving for the times, flowers spatter tears; resenting separation, birds startle the heart.'
战乱中她写诗感慨，真是感时花溅泪。
Zhànluàn zhōng tā xiě shī gǎnkǎi, zhēn shì gǎn shí huā jiàn lèi.
In the turmoil of war she poured out poems — truly 'grieving for the times, even flowers spatter tears.'

Tips

history
From 杜甫《春望》(Du Fu, Tang, spring 757 CE), written under house arrest in Chang'an during the An Lushan Rebellion: 国破山河在，城春草木深。感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心。烽火连三月，家书抵万金。白头搔更短，浑欲不胜簪 (The state is shattered, yet rivers and mountains remain; in the city's spring, grass and trees grow rank... Beacons have burned three months on end; a letter from home is worth ten thousand in gold). A touchstone poem of Chinese patriotic grief.
usage
Always paired with 恨别鸟惊心 — the couplet is parallel (花/鸟, 泪/心). Two readings are debated: (1) flowers/birds themselves weep in sympathy, (2) the poet's tears spatter upon the flowers. Both are defensible in classical criticism.

Stroke Order

感 gǎn
时 shí
花 huā
溅 jiàn
泪 lèi