东风夜放花千树

東風夜放花千樹
dōngfēng yè fàng huā qiān shù
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 the east wind by night blooms a thousand trees of flowers
  2. 2 (of the Lantern Festival) lanterns blaze like spring blossoms overnight
  3. 3 (lit.) east wind at night releases a thousand trees of flowers

Examples

Yuánxiāo yè de dēnghuǒ, zhēn rú Xīn Qì jí suǒ xiě dōngfēngyèfànghuāqiānshù.
The lights of Lantern Festival night are just as Xin Qiji wrote: 'the east wind by night blooms a thousand trees of flowers.'
Chéngshì de yānhuā dōngfēngyèfànghuāqiānshù, mǎntiān xuànlàn.
The city's fireworks 'bloom a thousand trees of flowers,' filling the sky with splendor.

Tips

history
Opening line of ·》 (Xin Qiji, Southern Song dynasty), a ci about Lantern Festival night: 东风 (The east wind by night blooms a thousand trees of flowers; and blows down stars like rain). The 'flowers' are lantern-lights, the 'stars like rain' are fireworks. The poem's closing line 千百回首灯火 is one of the most quoted couplets in Chinese literature.
usage
here = 'to release, to make bloom' (as of fireworks/lanterns lighting up), not 'to put.' Often cited when describing spectacular night lighting — Spring Festival galas, Lantern Festival, fireworks.

Stroke Order

dōng
fēng
fàng
huā
qiān
shù