日出江花红胜火

日出江花紅勝火

rìchūjiānghuāhóngshènghuǒ

phrase

Meanings

1 at sunrise the river flowers are redder than fire
2 river-bank blossoms lit by morning sun, blazing against the green water
3 lit. sun-rising river-flowers — red surpassing fire

Characters

to rise, come out

to surpass, exceed

Examples

江南春天真是日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。

Jiāngnán chūntiān zhēnshì rì chū jiāng huā hóng shèng huǒ, chūn lái jiāng shuǐ lǜ rú lán.

Jiangnan's spring really is "sun-lit river flowers redder than fire, spring river water greener than indigo".

这张晨拍显出日出江花红胜火的气势。

Zhè zhāng chén pāi xiǎnchū rì chū jiāng huā hóng shèng huǒ de qìshì.

This morning photograph conveys the force of "at sunrise, river flowers redder than fire".

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's (白居易, Tang dynasty) 《忆江南》其一: 江南好，风景旧曾谙。日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。能不忆江南 — 'Jiangnan — it is good. Its scenery I used to know well. At sunrise, river flowers are redder than fire; as spring comes, river water is greener than indigo. How can I not remember Jiangnan?' Bai Juyi's nostalgic ci written in Luoyang, remembering his years as governor of Hangzhou.

usage

Almost always paired with its twin line 春来江水绿如蓝 (which is also in this batch). Strong red/green color contrast is the hallmark.

Stroke Order

日 rì

出 chū

江 jiāng

花 huā

红 hóng

胜 shèng

火 huǒ