With its clean hills and clear waters, this place is perfect for retirement.
Tips
mistakes
清 (clear) — not 青 (green). 山青水秀 is a common misspelling. The idiom pairs 'clear mountains' (scenery that's not hazy) with 'lovely waters,' not a color description.
history
Rooted in 宋·黄庭坚《蓦山溪》: 尽湖南，山明水秀 — Huang Tingjian's 'bright hills and lovely waters' of Hunan. The modern form substitutes 清 for 明, but the image is the same: the Chinese ideal of natural beauty, two characters for the peaks, two for the rivers.
