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水光潋滟晴方好

水光瀲灩晴方好
shuǐguāngliànyànqíngfānghǎo
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the water shimmers rippling — in sunlight it is just right
  2. 2 the West Lake is glorious in clear weather
  3. 3 opening line of Su Shi's praise of the West Lake

Examples

水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇。
Shuǐ guāng liànyàn qíng fāng hǎo, shān sè kōngméng yǔ yì qí.
The water shimmers rippling — glorious in sunlight; the mountain colors blur in mist — marvelous in rain.
游客读着水光潋滟晴方好，眼前的西湖更添诗意。
Yóukè dúzhe shuǐ guāng liànyàn qíng fāng hǎo, yǎnqián de Xīhú gèng tiān shīyì.
As visitors recite 'the water shimmers, glorious in the sun,' the West Lake before them takes on new poetry.

Tips

history
From Su Shi's (苏轼, Northern Song dynasty) 《饮湖上初晴后雨》其二: 水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇。欲把西湖比西子，淡妆浓抹总相宜 — 'The water shimmers, glorious in the sun; the mountains blur in the rain, marvelous too. I would compare the West Lake to Xishi herself — light makeup or heavy, she suits them all.' Su's definitive poem on Hangzhou's West Lake, written during his tenure there.
usage
潋滟 (liànyàn) is a bound literary compound meaning 'shimmering, rippling light on water' — it appears almost exclusively in this poem. 晴方好 = 'in clear weather exactly right.' Almost always quoted with its couplet-partner 山色空蒙雨亦奇.

Stroke Order

水 shuǐ
光 guāng
潋 liàn
滟 yàn
晴 qíng
方 fāng
好 hǎo