留取丹心照汗青

liú qǔ dān xīn zhào hàn qīng
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 let my loyal heart illuminate the pages of history
  2. 2 I leave my cinnabar heart to shine on the bamboo slips of history (literally)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Wén Tiān xiáng yòng ' liúqǔdānxīnzhàohànqīng ' biǎodá nìngsǐbùqū de qìjié.
Wen Tianxiang used this line to express his unyielding integrity.
HSK 7-9
Zhèxiē lièshì liúqǔdānxīnzhàohànqīng, yǒngyuǎn bèi hòurén jìzhù.
These martyrs left their loyal hearts to illuminate history - forever remembered by later generations.

Tips

history
Closing couplet of Wen Tianxiang 文天祥's Southern Song poem 《过零丁洋》: 人生自古谁无死,留取丹心照汗青 (Since ancient times all men must die - let my loyal heart illuminate the pages of history.) Written after his capture by Mongol forces; he was later executed for refusing to surrender.
usage
汗青 literally means 'sweating the green' - ancient bamboo slips were heated to sweat out moisture before being written on; the word came to mean 'history / historical record.' 丹心 = cinnabar-red (loyal) heart.

Stroke Order

liú
dān
xīn
zhào
hàn
qīng