Friends along the Yangtze greet each other: 'I live at the river's head, you live at the river's tail.'
Tips
history
From 李之仪《卜算子·我住长江头》(Li Zhiyi, Northern Song, early 12th c.): 我住长江头,君住长江尾。日日思君不见君,共饮长江水 (I live at the Yangtze's head, you at its tail. Day by day I think of you and cannot see you — we drink the same Yangtze water). A woman's voice longing for an absent lover; the shared river is the only connection. One of the Song's most beloved ci lyrics.
usage
Inseparable from 我住长江头 (entry 851 in this set, the matching companion line). 长江尾 = the lower Yangtze, roughly Jiangsu/Shanghai. 长江头 = upper Yangtze, Sichuan. Quote for long-distance relationships along any river or any separation.