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疏影横斜水清浅

疏影橫斜水清淺
shūyǐnghéngxiéshuǐqīngqiǎn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 sparse shadows stretch crosswise over clear, shallow water
  2. 2 (fig.) the canonical portrait of plum blossoms beside a stream
  3. 3 (lit.) sparse shadows lie slant, water clear-and-shallow

Examples

画家最爱画疏影横斜水清浅的意境。
Huàjiā zuì ài huà shūyǐng héng xié shuǐ qīng qiǎn de yìjìng.
Painters love most to depict the mood of 'sparse shadows slanting across clear, shallow water.'
西湖边的梅花一开，真有疏影横斜水清浅的韵味。
Xīhú biān de méihuā yī kāi, zhēn yǒu shūyǐng héng xié shuǐ qīng qiǎn de yùnwèi.
When the plum blossoms open by West Lake, it truly captures 'sparse shadows slanting over clear, shallow water.'

Tips

history
From 林逋《山园小梅》(Lin Bu, Northern Song, early 11th c.): 众芳摇落独暄妍，占尽风情向小园。疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏 (All flowers have fallen, only you are warmly lovely — monopolizing grace in the small garden. Sparse shadows lie slant on clear, shallow water; hidden fragrance floats in the yellow dusk moonlight). Lin Bu, the recluse of Gushan, 'took the plum tree as wife and cranes as sons.' This couplet was praised by Su Shi as the finest plum-blossom lines ever written.
usage
Inseparable from the next line 暗香浮动月黄昏 (entry 823 in this set). 横斜 (héng xié) describes the characteristic sideways, angular growth of plum branches. The couplet became so canonical that later poets writing plum lyrics had to consciously avoid imitating it.

Stroke Order

疏 shū
影 yǐng
横 héng
斜 xié
水 shuǐ
清 qīng
浅 qiǎn