'If only I had a vast mansion of a million rooms to shelter all the poor scholars of the world in joy, unmoved by wind and rain, steady as a mountain.'
This earthquake-resistant building is truly unmoved by wind and rain, steady as a mountain.
Tips
history
From Du Fu's 茅屋为秋风所破歌 (Song of My Cottage Wrecked by the Autumn Wind): if only I had a mansion of ten thousand rooms to shelter all the world's cold scholars in joy, unmoved by wind and rain, steady as a mountain. After the autumn wind tore the roof off his Chengdu thatched hut, Du Fu wished such sturdy shelter for everyone, embodying the Confucian ideal of putting hardship for others before comfort for oneself.
usage
Usually quoted with the preceding line 大庇天下寒士俱欢颜. Here 安 carries both steady, secure and an echo of the poem's wish-word 安得. Today it often appears in building advertisements and public-housing slogans.
