江南佳丽地

江南佳麗地

Jiāngnán jiālì dì

quotation

Meanings

1 Jiangnan, land of beauties
2 the lower Yangtze region as the byword for scenic loveliness and cultivated refinement
3 (lit.) Jiangnan, beautiful, land

Characters

Examples

HSK 3

他游苏州时写下江南佳丽地几个字。

Tā yóu Sūzhōu shí xiěxià Jiāngnánjiālìdì jǐ gè zì.

Touring Suzhou, he wrote the five characters 'Jiangnan, land of beauties.'

HSK 4

江南佳丽地，自古多才子。

Jiāngnánjiālìdì, zìgǔ duō cáizǐ.

'Jiangnan, land of beauties' - since ancient times rich in talented scholars.

Tips

history

Opening of 谢朓's 《入朝曲》 (Southern Qi, late 5th c.): 江南佳丽地，金陵帝王州 (Jiangnan, land of beauties; Jinling, realm of emperors). Xie Tiao was the Yongming-era poet Li Bai most admired. This line fixed Jiangnan's literary reputation as 佳丽地 for the next 1500 years.

usage

佳丽 here refers to the beauty of the land and scenery, not (primarily) 'beautiful women', its modern dominant reading. Canonically paired with 金陵帝王州; together they name both the scenic (Jiangnan) and imperial (Nanjing) dimensions of the southeast.

Stroke Order

江 jiāng

南 nán

佳 jiā

丽 lì

地 dì