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长安水边多丽人

長安水邊多麗人
chángānshuǐbiānduōlìrén
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 by Chang'an's waterside, beautiful women are many
  2. 2 (fig.) evokes the lavish, almost decadent splendor of Tang capital court ladies on an outing
  3. 3 (lit.) Chang'an water-side many beautiful people

Examples

杜甫写三月三日天气新，长安水边多丽人，勾画出盛唐的繁华。
Dù Fǔ xiě sān yuè sān rì tiānqì xīn, Cháng'ān shuǐ biān duō lì rén, gōuhuà chū shèng Táng de fánhuá.
Du Fu wrote 'Third day of the third month, the weather is fresh; by Chang'an's waters the beauties are many' — sketching the splendor of the High Tang.
春日西湖边上游人如织，倒也有几分长安水边多丽人的味道。
Chūnrì Xīhú biān shàng yóurén rú zhī, dào yě yǒu jǐ fēn Cháng'ān shuǐ biān duō lì rén de wèidào.
Spring crowds thronging the West Lake have a faint flavor of 'Chang'an's waterside with its many beauties.'

Tips

history
From 杜甫《丽人行》(Du Fu, 'Song of the Beautiful Ladies,' High Tang, 753 CE): 三月三日天气新，长安水边多丽人 (The third day of the third month, the weather fresh and new — by Chang'an's waters, many beautiful women). The poem describes Yang Guifei's sisters and cousins at a Shangsi-festival outing on the Qujiang; the apparent praise conceals biting satire of the Yang clan's arrogance, written just before the An Lushan Rebellion.
usage
Usually quoted with its partner line 三月三日天气新. The tone is deceptive — on the surface admiring, underneath critical. Modern readers often miss the satire and use it as pure praise of spring outings.

Stroke Order

长 cháng
安 ān
水 shuǐ
边 biān
多 duō
丽 lì
人 rén