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吹面不寒杨柳风

吹面不寒楊柳風
chuīmiànbùhányángliǔfēng
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the willow breeze blows on your face without a chill
  2. 2 the gentle spring wind that's no longer cold
  3. 3 classic image of early-spring warmth

Examples

三月里走在堤上，真是吹面不寒杨柳风。
Sān yuè lǐ zǒu zài dī shàng, zhēn shì chuī miàn bù hán yángliǔ fēng.
Walking along the dike in March — truly 'the willow breeze blows on your face without a chill.'
春天到了，沾衣欲湿杏花雨，吹面不寒杨柳风。
Chūntiān dào le, zhān yī yù shī xìnghuā yǔ, chuī miàn bù hán yángliǔ fēng.
Spring has come — 'apricot-blossom rain dampens the robe, willow wind touches the face without cold.'

Tips

history
From Monk Zhinan's (志南和尚, Southern Song dynasty) quatrain 《绝句》: 古木阴中系短篷，杖藜扶我过桥东。沾衣欲湿杏花雨，吹面不寒杨柳风 — 'In the shade of old trees I tie my little boat; leaning on my cane I cross east of the bridge. The apricot-blossom rain almost soaks my robe; the willow-wind touches my face without cold.' The last two lines are the most anthologized spring couplet in Chinese.
usage
杨柳风 (yángliǔfēng) is a set poetic phrase for 'the early-spring breeze that stirs the willows' — not a technical meteorological term. Usually quoted with its companion 沾衣欲湿杏花雨.

Stroke Order

吹 chuī
面 miàn
不 bù
寒 hán
杨 yáng
柳 liǔ
风 fēng