不带走一片云彩

不帶走一片雲彩
bù dài zǒu yī piàn yúncǎi
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 not taking away a single wisp of cloud
  2. 2 leaving without taking anything with me

Examples

HSK 7-9
Qīngqīng de wǒ zǒu le, zhèngrú wǒ qīngqīng de lái, wǒ huī yì huī yīxiù, bù dài zǒu yī piàn yúncǎi.
Softly I am leaving, just as softly I came; I wave my sleeve, not taking away a single wisp of cloud.
HSK 7-9
Tā tuìxiū shí hěn sǎtuō, shuō zìjǐ huī yì huī yīxiù, bù dài zǒu yī piàn yúncǎi.
He was very easygoing at retirement, saying he would wave his sleeve and not take a single cloud with him.

Tips

history
From Xu Zhimo's (徐志摩) 《再别康桥》 (1928), written on leaving Cambridge. The poem's closing stanza: 悄悄的我走了正如我悄悄的来我挥一挥衣袖不带走一片云彩。 One of the most famous modern Chinese poems, taught in every school, quoted at every graduation and farewell.
usage
Always paired with 挥一挥衣袖 (wave my sleeve). Idiomatic use implies a clean, graceful exit, taking neither grudges nor spoils.

Stroke Order

dài
zǒu
piàn
yún
cǎi