Zhànluàn niándài, lù yǒu dòng sǐ gǔ de cǎnzhuàng lǚjiànbùxiān.
In years of war, the sight of the frozen dead by the roadside was tragically common.
Tips
history
Second line of a famous couplet from Du Fu's (Tang dynasty) 《自京赴奉先县咏怀五百字》: 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨 - 'Behind vermilion gates, wine and meat go rotten; by the roadside lie the bones of those frozen to death.' One of the most cited indictments of inequality in Chinese literature.
usage
Almost never quoted alone - pair with its twin 朱门酒肉臭 to get the full rhetorical punch. The two lines together are political shorthand for any situation of extreme wealth alongside extreme misery.
