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长使英雄泪满襟

長使英雄淚滿襟
chángshǐyīngxiónglèimǎnjīn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 forever making heroes' tears soak their robes
  2. 2 a tragic end that moves noble hearts to weep
  3. 3 (lit.) long causes heroes to fill their lapels with tears

Examples

英年早逝，长使英雄泪满襟。
Yīngnián zǎoshì, cháng shǐ yīngxióng lèi mǎn jīn.
Dying young in his prime — forever moving heroes to tears.
读到这段悲壮的历史，真让人长使英雄泪满襟。
Dú dào zhè duàn bēizhuàng de lìshǐ, zhēn ràng rén cháng shǐ yīngxióng lèi mǎn jīn.
Reading this tragic passage of history truly makes heroes' tears soak their robes.

Tips

history
From Du Fu's (杜甫, Tang) 《蜀相》: 出师未捷身先死，长使英雄泪满襟。(He marched out but fell before victory — forever making heroes' tears soak their robes.) Mourning Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), who died on campaign at Wuzhang Plains without fulfilling his vow to restore the Han. Visited at the shrine in Chengdu, Du Fu wrote this in 760.
usage
襟 (jīn) = the front lapels of a robe, where tears would fall. Always carries tragic-heroic weight — not used for ordinary sadness. Often quoted about generals, reformers, or revolutionaries who die before their goals are achieved.

Stroke Order

长 cháng
使 shǐ
英 yīng
雄 xióng
泪 lèi
满 mǎn
襟 jīn