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独怆然而涕下

獨愴然而涕下
dú chuàngrán ér tì xià
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 alone in sorrow, tears falling
  2. 2 (fig.) a solitary, history-stricken grief at the vastness of time
  3. 3 (lit.) alone sorrow-thus yet tears fall

Examples

登幽州台歌的念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下，道尽古今孤独。
Dēng Yōu zhōu Tái Gē de niàntiāndìzhīyōuyōu, dúchuàngrán'értìxià, dào jìn gǔ jīn gūdú.
'Thinking on the vastness of heaven and earth, alone in sorrow, tears falling' from Climbing Youzhou Tower sums up the loneliness of all ages.
他站在古战场上，不禁独怆然而涕下。
Tā zhàn zài gǔ zhànchǎng shàng, bùjīn dúchuàngrán'értìxià.
Standing on the ancient battlefield, he could not help but 'stand alone in sorrow, tears falling.'

Tips

history
From 陈子昂《登幽州台歌》(Chen Zi'ang, early Tang, 696 CE), a four-line poem written from Youzhou Tower (near modern Beijing) while serving in a failing military campaign: 前不见古人，后不见来者。念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下 (I look before me — no ancients; behind me — no ones to come. Pondering the vastness of heaven and earth, alone I weep, grief-stricken). A founding text of Tang poetic voice: a single speaker measuring himself against infinite time.
usage
Always paired with 念天地之悠悠 — the preceding line supplies the cause, this line the effect. 怆然 = sorrowful and moved; 涕 in classical = tears (not modern 'mucus').

Stroke Order

独 dú
怆 chuàng
然 rán
而 ér
涕 tì
下 xià