春风不度玉门关

春風不度玉門關

chūnfēngbùdùyùménguān

phrase

Meanings

1 the spring wind does not pass over Yumen Pass
2 (fig.) imperial grace / civilization / kindness does not reach the distant frontier
3 (lit.) spring-wind not cross Yumen-Pass

Characters

wind (春风 = spring wind / imperial grace)

pass (玉门关 = Jade Gate Pass, western frontier)

Examples

政策照顾不到偏远地区，真是春风不度玉门关。

Zhèngcè zhàogù bù dào piānyuǎn dìqū, zhēn shì chūnfēng bù dù Yùménguān.

Policies don't reach the far regions — truly 'the spring wind does not cross Yumen Pass.'

读王之涣的春风不度玉门关，能感受戍边将士的孤独。

Dú Wáng Zhīhuàn de chūnfēng bù dù Yùménguān, néng gǎnshòu shùbiān jiàngshì de gūdú.

Reading Wang Zhihuan's 'spring wind does not cross Yumen Pass,' one feels the loneliness of the frontier garrison.

Tips

history

From 王之涣《凉州词》(Wang Zhihuan, Tang, early 8th c.): 黄河远上白云间，一片孤城万仞山。羌笛何须怨杨柳，春风不度玉门关 (The Yellow River climbs far into white clouds; a lone fortress, ten thousand ren of mountain. Why should the Qiang flute complain of willows? The spring wind never crosses Yumen Pass). 玉门关 (Yumen Pass / Jade Gate) was the western terminus of the Han Great Wall, gateway to the Western Regions — so remote that the spring wind (= the Emperor's civilizing warmth) never reaches it.

usage

度 here reads dù and means 'to cross, to pass over' (= 渡). Yumen Pass is west of Dunhuang in Gansu — a real archaeological site. Modern use: anywhere abandoned or forgotten by central authority.

Stroke Order

春 chūn

风 fēng

不 bù

度 dù

玉 yù

门 mén

关 guān