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深巷明朝卖杏花

深巷明朝賣杏花
shēnxiàngmíngzhāomàixìnghuā
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 tomorrow morning in the deep lane, apricot blossoms will be sold
  2. 2 (fig.) a quiet, domestic image of Jiangnan spring heard through rain
  3. 3 (lit.) deep lane tomorrow-morning sell apricot-flower

Examples

小楼一夜听春雨，深巷明朝卖杏花，陆游此句写尽江南春意。
Xiǎo lóu yī yè tīng chūn yǔ, shēn xiàng míngzhāo mài xìnghuā, Lù Yóu cǐ jù xiě jìn Jiāngnán chūnyì.
'In my small tower all night I listened to spring rain — tomorrow in the deep lane, apricot blossoms will be sold' — Lu You's couplet captures all the tenderness of Jiangnan spring.
雨后清晨，她想起那句深巷明朝卖杏花，颇有古意。
Yǔ hòu qīngchén, tā xiǎng qǐ nà jù shēn xiàng míngzhāo mài xìnghuā, pō yǒu gǔyì.
On the rainy dawn she thought of the line 'tomorrow in the deep lane, apricot blossoms will be sold' — an old-world feeling.

Tips

history
From 陆游《临安春雨初霁》(Lu You, Southern Song, 1186), written in the capital Lin'an (Hangzhou) during a frustrated official posting: 世味年来薄似纱，谁令骑马客京华？小楼一夜听春雨，深巷明朝卖杏花。矮纸斜行闲作草，晴窗细乳戏分茶。素衣莫起风尘叹，犹及清明可到家 (The flavor of the world thins year by year like gauze... in my small tower all night I listened to spring rain; tomorrow in the deep lane, apricot blossoms will be sold...). The couplet is beloved for turning disappointment into exquisite, intimate still life.
usage
Always paired with 小楼一夜听春雨 — the sound of rain and the flower-seller's morning cry are one continuous image. 明朝 here = 'tomorrow morning' (míng zhāo), not 'the Ming Dynasty' (míng cháo).

Stroke Order

深 shēn
巷 xiàng
明 míng
朝 cháo
卖 mài
杏 xìng
花 huā