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那人却在灯火阑珊处

那人卻在燈火闌珊處
nàrénquèzàidēnghuǒlánshānchù
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 and there that person stood, where the lanterns had burned low
  2. 2 the one you sought is found in the quiet after the crowd
  3. 3 the final of Wang Guowei's three stages of attainment

Examples

众里寻他千百度，蓦然回首，那人却在灯火阑珊处。
Zhòng lǐ xún tā qiānbǎi dù, mòrán huíshǒu, nà rén què zài dēnghuǒ lánshān chù.
I searched for her in the crowd a thousand times; turning my head, there she was where the lanterns had burned low.
做学问的第三境界，正是那人却在灯火阑珊处。
Zuò xuéwèn de dì sān jìngjiè, zhèng shì nà rén què zài dēnghuǒ lánshān chù.
The third stage of scholarship is exactly 'and there stands the one, where the lanterns have burned low.'

Tips

history
Closing line of Xin Qiji's (辛弃疾, Southern Song) Lantern Festival lyric 《青玉案·元夕》: 众里寻他千百度，蓦然回首，那人却在灯火阑珊处 — 'In the crowd I sought her a thousand times; then, turning my head, there she was where the lanterns had burned low.' Wang Guowei in 《人间词话》 made it the third and highest of his three stages of scholarly attainment.
usage
灯火阑珊 (dēnghuǒ lánshān) means the lanterns are guttering and the crowd has thinned — not a dark place, but the quiet edge of a bright festival. The line is endlessly quoted in essays on love, research, and breakthroughs after long searching.

Stroke Order

那 nà
人 rén
却 què
在 zài
灯 dēng
火 huǒ
阑 lán
珊 shān
处 chù