已是悬崖百丈冰

已是懸崖百丈冰
yǐ shì xuányá bǎi zhàng bīng
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 though already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice
  2. 2 steadfast and pure amid bitterest hardship, yet still blossoming
  3. 3 (lit.) already is cliff hundred-zhang ice

Examples

HSK 6
Xíngshì zài xiǎn, yě yào xiàng yǐshìxuányábǎizhàngbīng zhōng de méihuā nàyàng tǐnglì.
However perilous the situation, one must stand firm like the plum blossom in 'already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice.'
HSK 7-9
Máo zhǔxí cí lǐ nà jù yǐshìxuányábǎizhàngbīng, yóuyǒuhuāzhīqiào, xiě chū le bùqū de qìjié.
Chairman Mao's line 'though already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice, still a spray of blossom stays bright' captures an unbending integrity.

Tips

history
From 毛泽东 《卜算子·咏梅》 (1961), a cí written in answer to 陆游's poem of the same title: 风雨送春归,飞雪迎春到。已是悬崖百丈冰,犹有花枝俏 (Wind and rain saw spring away; whirling snow welcomes spring's return. Already the cliff is sheathed in a hundred-fathom ice - yet still a spray of blossom stays bright...). Written during the Sino-Soviet split and domestic hardships, the plum blossom is a self-portrait of revolutionary endurance.
usage
Always paired with the next line 犹有花枝俏 - the contrast (ice vs bright blossom) is the whole point. 百丈 is a classical 'hundred-zhang' measure (~330 m) used hyperbolically.

Stroke Order

shì
xuán
bǎi
zhàng
bīng