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遥看瀑布挂前川

遙看瀑布掛前川
yáo kàn pùbù guà qián chuān
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 from afar I see the waterfall hanging before the river
  2. 2 (fig.) the iconic image of a cascading waterfall seen from a distance
  3. 3 (lit.) far-watch waterfall hanging front river

Examples

HSK 5
到了庐山，才真切体会到遥看瀑布挂前川。
Dào le Lúshān, cái zhēnqiè tǐhuì dào yáo kàn pùbù guà qián chuān.
Arriving at Mount Lu, one truly feels 'from afar I see the waterfall hanging before the river.'
HSK 7-9
这张照片让人想起遥看瀑布挂前川的诗意。
Zhè zhāng zhàopiàn ràng rén xiǎngqǐ yáo kàn pùbù guà qián chuān de shīyì.
This photo evokes the poetry of 'from afar, the waterfall hangs before the river.'

Tips

history
From Li Bai's 《望庐山瀑布》 (Li Bai, Tang, c. 725): 日照香炉生紫烟，遥看瀑布挂前川。飞流直下三千尺，疑是银河落九天 (Sunlight on Incense Burner Peak brings purple smoke; from afar I see the waterfall hanging before the river. A flying stream drops straight three thousand feet - one suspects it's the Silver River [Milky Way] falling from the ninth heaven). One of the most famous waterfall poems in world literature.
usage
挂 ('to hang') used metaphorically of a waterfall - a striking visual verb that became standard Chinese for how waterfalls appear from distance. Inseparable from 飞流直下三千尺. 川 here = river/stream below the fall, not 'plain.'

Stroke Order

遥 yáo
看 kàn
瀑 pù
布 bù
挂 guà
前 qián
川 chuān