风翻白浪花千片

風翻白浪花千片

fēngfānbáilànghuāqiānpiàn

phrase

Meanings

1 wind flips the white waves into a thousand petals of spray
2 a vivid image of a wind-churned lake or sea
3 (lit.) wind turning white waves, a thousand flower-pieces

Characters

Examples

湖上风大，风翻白浪花千片，景象壮观。

Húshàng fēng dà, fēng fān báilàng huā qiān piàn, jǐngxiàng zhuàngguān.

The wind was strong on the lake, flipping white waves into a thousand petals of spray — a magnificent sight.

钱塘江潮来，风翻白浪花千片。

Qiántángjiāng cháo lái, fēng fān báilàng huā qiān piàn.

As the Qiantang tide rolls in, the wind churns the white waves into a thousand petals of foam.

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's (白居易, Tang) 《春题湖上》 or similarly attributed Tang lake-poetry (the line is anthologized across 《白氏长庆集》 and later collections). 花 here means 'like flowers' — the wave crests scatter into petal-shapes. Paired frequently with 雁点青天字一行 in shi couplets about water and sky.

Stroke Order

风 fēng

翻 fān

白 bái

浪 làng

花 huā

千 qiān

片 piàn