秦时明月汉时关

秦時明月漢時關
qínshímíngyuèhànshíguān
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the moon of the Qin shines still, the pass of the Han remains
  2. 2 Wang Changling's frontier opener — centuries have passed but the same moon rises over the same walls

Examples

Zhàn zài gǔ chángchéng shàng, tā dīshēng niàn "Qín shí míng yuè Hàn shí guān".
Standing on the old Great Wall, he softly recited 'the moon of Qin, the pass of Han.'
Jūnlǚ shī de dì-yī míngjù, dāng shǔ "Qín shí míng yuè Hàn shí guān".
The most famous line of frontier poetry is 'the moon of Qin, the pass of Han.'

Tips

history
From 《》 by (Wang Changling, Tang dynasty): '明月万里长征使龙城.' Canonical (frontier poem). = 'Flying General' 广 Li Guang of the Han — the poem laments that no Li Guang-like hero defends today's borders.
usage
This is an 'interlocking parallel' () — the moon is of both Qin and Han, and so is the pass. Classical rhetorical device: don't read it as two separate ages.

Stroke Order

Qín
shí
míng
yuè
hàn
guān