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洛阳亲友如相问

洛陽親友如相問
luòyángqīnyǒurúxiāngwèn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 if kin and friends in Luoyang should ask after me
  2. 2 a message for those back home
  3. 3 opening of Wang Changling's farewell couplet

Examples

他离家前留了一句：洛阳亲友如相问，一片冰心在玉壶。
Tā líjiā qián liú le yī jù: Luòyáng qīnyǒu rú xiāng wèn, yī piàn bīngxīn zài yù hú.
Before leaving home he left a line: 'If kin and friends in Luoyang ask after me, tell them my heart is as a piece of ice in a jade jug.'
读到“洛阳亲友如相问”，他想起老家的父母。
Dú dào "Luòyáng qīnyǒu rú xiāng wèn", tā xiǎng qǐ lǎojiā de fùmǔ.
Reading 'if kin and friends in Luoyang should ask after me,' he thought of his parents back in his hometown.

Tips

history
Second-to-last line of Wang Changling's (王昌龄, Tang dynasty) 《芙蓉楼送辛渐》 ('Farewell to Xin Jian at Hibiscus Tower'): 寒雨连江夜入吴，平明送客楚山孤。洛阳亲友如相问，一片冰心在玉壶 — 'Cold rain joined the river entering Wu at night; at dawn I saw my friend off, the Chu mountains lone. If kin and friends in Luoyang ask after me, tell them my heart is a piece of ice in a jade jug.'
usage
Always paired with its closing line 一片冰心在玉壶. 如 here means 'if,' not 'like.' The phrase is a set-up for declaring one's unwavering integrity to faraway loved ones.

Stroke Order

洛 luò
阳 yáng
亲 qīn
友 yǒu
如 rú
相 xiāng
问 wèn