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莫听穿林打叶声

莫聽穿林打葉聲
mòtīngchuānlíndǎyèshēng
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 pay no heed to the sound of rain piercing the forest and beating the leaves
  2. 2 (fig.) let external troubles roar — keep walking, unperturbed
  3. 3 (lit.) do not listen to the piercing-forest beating-leaves sound

Examples

面对外界的非议，他总是说莫听穿林打叶声。
Miànduì wàijiè de fēiyì, tā zǒng shì shuō mò tīng chuān lín dǎ yè shēng.
Facing outside criticism, he always quoted 'pay no heed to the rain beating through the forest.'
网络上的骂声再大，莫听穿林打叶声，做好自己就行。
Wǎngluò shàng de màshēng zài dà, mò tīng chuān lín dǎ yè shēng, zuò hǎo zìjǐ jiù xíng.
However loud the online abuse, 'heed not the storm through the forest' — just do your own thing well.

Tips

history
Opening line of 苏轼《定风波·莫听穿林打叶声》(Su Shi, Northern Song, 1082), written after Su was caught in a sudden rainstorm while exiled at Huangzhou: 莫听穿林打叶声，何妨吟啸且徐行。竹杖芒鞋轻胜马，谁怕？一蓑烟雨任平生 (Heed not the rain piercing the forest and beating the leaves — why not chant and whistle as we slowly walk on? Bamboo staff, straw sandals — lighter than a horse. Who's afraid? A single raincoat, and I accept a life of mist and rain). The most philosophically famous of Su Shi's exile ci.
usage
Almost always quoted alongside the following line 何妨吟啸且徐行 (entry 836 in this set). 莫 = do not (classical negative imperative). 穿林 = piercing through the forest. Evokes defiant calm in the face of any storm, literal or metaphorical.

Stroke Order

莫 mò
听 tīng
穿 chuān
林 lín
打 dǎ
叶 yè
声 shēng