阳关道

陽關道
yángguāndào
noun #33,901

Meanings

  1. 1 broad open road
  2. 2 sunny thoroughfare
  3. 3 bright path forward (figurative)

Examples

Nǐ zǒu nǐ de yángguāndào, wǒ guò wǒ de dúmùqiáo.
You take your sunny highway, I'll cross my single-log bridge — i.e. let's go our separate ways.
Qiánmiàn jiùshì yángguāndào, zánmen dàbù wǎng qián zǒu.
A wide open road lies ahead — let's stride forward.

Tips

history
(Yángguān) was a major Han-dynasty pass on the Silk Road in modern Gansu, near Dunhuang. The 'sunny pass' became poetic shorthand for the well-traveled, official route west — hence 阳关道, the broad and approved path.
usage
Almost always used in the proverbial pairing 阳关道独木桥 — 'you go your way, I'll go mine.' On its own it carries the figurative sense of an easy, established path.

Stroke Order

yáng
guān
dào