深巷明朝卖杏花

深巷明朝賣杏花
shēn xiàng míngzhāo mài xìnghuā
quotation

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 7-9
Xiǎolóuyīyètīngchūnyǔ, shēnxiàngmíngzhāomàixìnghuā, 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.
HSK 7-9
Yǔ hòu qīngchén, tā xiǎngqǐ nà jù shēnxiàngmíngzhāomàixìnghuā, 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。 (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

shēn
xiàng
míng
cháo
mài
xìng
huā