人生若只如初见

人生若只如初見

rénshēngruòzhǐrúchūjiàn

phrase

Meanings

1 if only life stayed as it was at first meeting
2 would that life were always like the first time we met

Characters

life (人生 = life)

Examples

人生若只如初见，何事秋风悲画扇。

Rénshēng ruò zhǐ rú chū jiàn, hé shì qiūfēng bēi huà shàn.

If only life stayed as it was at first meeting, why would autumn winds grieve the painted fan?

看着老照片，她感慨人生若只如初见该多好。

Kànzhe lǎo zhàopiàn, tā gǎnkǎi rénshēng ruò zhǐ rú chū jiàn gāi duō hǎo.

Looking at the old photos, she sighed how wonderful it would be if life always stayed as it was at first meeting.

Tips

history

From Nalan Xingde's 《木兰词·拟古决绝词柬友》 (Qing dynasty): 人生若只如初见，何事秋风悲画扇。 Nalan Xingde was a Manchu noble-poet who died at 30 — his ci are among the most lyrical of the Qing. The 'painted fan' alludes to Lady Ban's image of being set aside like a fan when autumn comes.

culture

Massively revived online after 2000 — appears as a song lyric, novel title, TV drama name, and tattoo phrase. Often quoted in romantic disappointment: 'things were perfect at the start.'

Stroke Order

人 rén

生 shēng

若 ruò

只 zhǐ

如 rú

初 chū

见 jiàn