此心安处是吾乡

此心安處是吾鄉
cǐxīnānchùshìwúxiāng
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 wherever my heart finds peace, that is my hometown
  2. 2 home is wherever the heart settles
  3. 3 Su Shi's reply to exile: inner calm makes any place home

Examples

Zài guówài duō nián, tā jiànjiàn míngbái cǐ xīn ān chù shì wú xiāng.
After years abroad, he gradually understood that home is wherever the heart is at ease.
Tā xuǎnzé zài xiǎo chéng dìngjū, zhèng shì cǐ xīn ān chù shì wú xiāng de xiězhào.
Her choice to settle in the small town perfectly illustrates 'home is where the heart rests.'

Tips

history
From Su Shi's (苏轼, Northern Song dynasty) 《风波·》: 岭南不好心安 — Su asks Wang Dingguo's servant Rouniang () whether Lingnan (the bleak southern exile) was dreadful; she replies, 'wherever my heart is at peace, that is my home.' Su was so moved he wrote the ci for her.
usage
One of the most quoted lines in modern Chinese for migration, long-distance work, and exile. (wú) is classical for 'my.' The response pattern XY ('where this X is, is Y') is often imitated in headlines.

Stroke Order

xīn
ān
chù
shì
xiāng