晴川历历汉阳树

晴川歷歷漢陽樹
qíngchuān lìlì Hànyáng shù
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 clear and distinct — the trees of Hanyang beyond the sunlit river
  2. 2 (fig.) a Tang-era snapshot of Wuhan's Yangtze vista from Yellow Crane Tower
  3. 3 (lit.) sunny-river clearly-clearly Hanyang trees

Examples

Dēng Huáng hè lóu yuǎn wàng, yīrán néng gǎndào qíngchuānlìlìhànyángshù de qìxiàng.
Climbing Yellow Crane Tower and gazing far, one still feels the scene: 'clear the sunlit river, distinct the Hanyang trees.'
Zhè fú Wǔhàn quánjǐng tú ràng rén xiǎngqǐ qíngchuānlìlìhànyángshù de shījù.
This panoramic view of Wuhan evokes the line 'clear the sunlit river, distinct the Hanyang trees.'

Tips

history
From 崔颢》(Cui Hao, Tang, early 8th c.): 此地空余……汉阳芳草鹦鹉日暮何处使 (The ancient one on yellow crane has flown — only Yellow Crane Tower remains... clear the sunlit river, distinct the Hanyang trees; lush the fragrant grass of Parrot Isle. At sunset, where is my hometown? The misty river makes one grieve). Li Bai reputedly saw Cui Hao's inscription and wrote 'with this poem here, I put down my brush.'
usage
Inseparable from 芳草鹦鹉 as the famous parallel couplet. = sunlit river (the Yangtze). 汉阳 = the Hanyang district of modern Wuhan, across from the tower. = clear and distinct (reduplicated). Quote for any sweeping view across a river.

Stroke Order

qíng
chuān
hàn
yáng
shù