慈母手中线

慈母手中線
cí mǔ shǒu zhōng xiàn
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 the thread in a loving mother's hand
  2. 2 symbol of a mother's devotion and painstaking care for a departing child

Examples

HSK 4
Měicì kàndào címǔshǒuzhōngxiàn zhè jù shī, wǒ jiù xiǎngqǐ wǒ mā.
Every time I read the line 'the thread in a loving mother's hand' I think of my mother.
HSK 6
Yóuzǐ shēnshang de máoyī, jiùshì címǔshǒuzhōngxiàn zhī chéng de.
The sweater on the traveler's back was woven from the thread in his loving mother's hand.

Tips

history
Opening of Meng Jiao 孟郊's Tang poem 《游子吟》: 慈母手中线,游子身上衣。临行密密缝,意恐迟迟归。 (A thread in the loving mother's hand becomes the cloth on the wanderer's body; stitch by stitch before he leaves, fearing his return will be long delayed.) One of the most beloved poems on maternal love in the Chinese canon.
usage
Usually quoted together with 游子身上衣. Common in Mother's Day writing and cards.

Stroke Order

shǒu
zhōng
线 xiàn