衙斋卧听萧萧竹

衙齋臥聽蕭蕭竹
yá zhāi wò tīng xiāoxiāo zhú
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 lying in my yamen study I listen to the rustling bamboo
  2. 2 a magistrate reclining in his official lodging and hearing bamboo in the wind (literally)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Zhèng Bǎn qiáo ' yázhāiwòtīngxiāoxiāozhú ' xiě de shì guānyuán guānxīn bǎixìng jíkǔ.
Zheng Banqiao's ‘lying in my yamen listening to the rustling bamboo’ describes an official caring about the people's suffering.
HSK 7-9
Tā chángyòng ' yázhāiwòtīngxiāoxiāozhú ' lái xíngróng zìjǐ qīnglián wèi mín de zhìxiàng.
He often uses this line to describe his ideal of honest service to the people.

Tips

history
Opening of 郑燮 (郑板桥)'s Qing poem 《潍县署中画竹呈年伯包大中丞括》: 衙斋卧听萧萧竹疑是民间疾苦声. (Lying in my yamen study I hear the rustling bamboo and suspect it is the sound of the people’s suffering.) A famous expression of a scholar-official’s conscience.
usage
衙斋 = the study in a magistrate’s yamen. 萧萧 = onomatopoeia for rustling wind and leaves. Always paired with 疑是民间疾苦声.

Stroke Order

zhāi
tīng
xiāo
zhú