零落成泥碾作尘

零落成泥碾作塵

língluò chéng ní niǎn zuò chén

quotation

Meanings

1 fallen, scattered, crushed into mud and ground to dust
2 even ruined and destroyed, the essence remains pure
3 lit. scattered-falling, become mud, crushed-into dust

Characters

to crush / grind

to make / become

Examples

HSK 7-9

老艺术家一生坎坷，但始终零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故。

Lǎo yìshùjiā yīshēng kǎnkě, dàn shǐzhōng língluò chéng ní niǎn zuò chén, zhǐ yǒu xiāng rú gù.

The old artist's life was full of hardship, but throughout - 'crushed to mud, ground to dust, only the fragrance remains as before.'

HSK 7-9

这句零落成泥碾作尘道出了坚贞不屈的品格。

Zhè jù língluò chéng ní niǎn zuò chén dàochū le jiānzhēn-bùqū de pǐngé.

The line 'crushed to mud, ground to dust' expresses an unyielding, upright character.

Tips

history

From Lu You's Southern Song ci 卜算子·咏梅 (12th c.): 无意苦争春，一任群芳妒。零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故 ('it never strove for spring, let all the flowers envy it. Fallen, crushed to mud, ground to dust - only the fragrance remains as before'). Lu You's declaration that integrity survives any destruction.

usage

Absolutely inseparable from 只有香如故 - the two lines are always quoted together. 碾 = to crush by rolling. 作 here = 成 (to become). Mao Zedong's own 卜算子·咏梅 (1961) is an explicit response to Lu You's poem.

Stroke Order

零 líng

落 luò

成 chéng

泥 ní

碾 niǎn

作 zuò

尘 chén