各领风骚数百年

各領風騷數百年

gèlǐngfēngsāoshùbǎinián

phrase

Meanings

1 each leads the literary scene for several hundred years
2 different eras produce their own dominant writers, each preeminent in its own time
3 lit. each — leads — wind-and-sao (literature) — several hundred years

Characters

(the Airs of the Book of Odes)

骚

sāo

(the Li Sao) — together: poetry/literature

Examples

江山代有才人出，各领风骚数百年。

Jiāngshān dài yǒu cáirén chū, gè lǐng fēngsāo shù bǎi nián.

Age after age the rivers-and-mountains produce new talents; each leads the literary scene for several hundred years.

每代作家各领风骚数百年，没有永远的顶峰。

Měi dài zuòjiā gè lǐng fēngsāo shù bǎi nián, méiyǒu yǒngyuǎn de dǐngfēng.

Each generation of writers leads its age for a few centuries — there is no permanent summit.

Tips

history

From Zhao Yi's (赵翼, Qing dynasty) 《论诗五首》其二: 李杜诗篇万口传，至今已觉不新鲜。江山代有才人出，各领风骚数百年 — 'The poems of Li and Du are on ten thousand mouths; by now we feel they are no longer fresh. Age after age the rivers and mountains send forth talents, each leading the literary scene for several hundred years.' A famously sharp Qing reassessment of the Tang canon.

usage

Almost always cited with its setup 江山代有才人出. 风骚 literally = 风 (the Airs of the 诗经) + 骚 (the 离骚) — together, a metonym for literature and poetry at the highest level.

Stroke Order

各 gè

领 lǐng

风 fēng

骚 sāo

数 shù

百 bǎi

年 nián