沉舟侧畔千帆过

沉舟側畔千帆過

chénzhōucèpànqiānfānguò

phrase

Meanings

1 beside the sunken boat, a thousand sails pass by
2 the world moves on — a thousand new boats sail past the wreck

Characters

bank / edge (侧畔 = alongside)

Examples

沉舟侧畔千帆过，病树前头万木春。

Chén zhōu cè pàn qiān fān guò, bìng shù qián tóu wàn mù chūn.

Beside the sunken boat a thousand sails pass by; before the sickly tree ten thousand trees bloom in spring.

虽然那家公司破产了，但沉舟侧畔千帆过，新的企业不断涌现。

Suīrán nà jiā gōngsī pòchǎn le, dàn chén zhōu cè pàn qiān fān guò, xīn de qǐyè bùduàn yǒngxiàn.

Although that company went bankrupt, like a thousand sails passing a sunken boat, new enterprises keep emerging.

Tips

history

From Liu Yuxi's 《酬乐天扬州初逢席上见赠》 (Tang dynasty, 826), written after 23 years of political exile when he finally met his friend Bai Juyi in Yangzhou: 沉舟侧畔千帆过，病树前头万木春。 Bai Juyi had sympathized with Liu's ruined career — Liu's reply was defiant: the world moves on, and so will he.

usage

Nearly always paired with 病树前头万木春. Now a common encouragement line: don't dwell on failures — life pushes forward.

Stroke Order

沉 chén

舟 zhōu

侧 cè

畔 pàn

千 qiān

帆 fān

过 guò