朝辞白帝彩云间

朝辭白帝彩雲間

zhāo cí Báidì cǎi yún jiān

quotation

Meanings

1 at dawn I left Baidi amid the colored clouds
2 (of Li Bai, pardoned) setting out from Baidi City at sunrise through the rosy mist
3 (lit.) morning, took leave of Baidi, among colored clouds

Characters

emperor (白帝 = Baidi, the city)

among (彩云间 = amid colored clouds)

Examples

HSK 7-9

李白的朝辞白帝彩云间，千里江陵一日还，写出了归心似箭的畅快。

Lǐbái de zhāocíbáidìcǎiyúnjiān, qiānlǐjiānglíngyīrìhuán, xiě chū le guīxīnsìjiàn de chàngkuài.

Li Bai's 'at dawn I left Baidi amid colored clouds, a thousand li to Jiangling in a single day' captures the speed of a homebound heart.

HSK 7-9

早晨坐船离开三峡，真有朝辞白帝彩云间的意境。

Zǎochén zuòchuán líkāi Sānxiá, zhēn yǒu zhāocíbáidìcǎiyúnjiān de yìjìng.

Leaving the Three Gorges by boat at dawn - you really feel 'leaving Baidi at sunrise among colored clouds.'

Tips

history

Opening line of 李白《早发白帝城》 (Li Bai, Tang, 759 CE): 朝辞白帝彩云间，千里江陵一日还。两岸猿声啼不住，轻舟已过万重山 (At dawn I left Baidi amid the colored clouds; a thousand li to Jiangling in a single day. Monkeys on both banks cried without ceasing as the light boat had already passed ten thousand hills). Written after Li Bai was pardoned from exile at Yelang, the joy is palpable in the speed.

usage

白帝城 (Baidi City) stands above the Qutang Gorge entrance (modern Fengjie, Chongqing), famous from Three Kingdoms lore as where Liu Bei died. Often quoted with the whole first couplet to evoke swift, exhilarated travel.

Stroke Order

朝 cháo

辞 cí

白 bái

帝 dì

彩 cǎi

云 yún

间 jiān