諺語 · a single proverb
暴風雨後見彩虹
Simplified: 暴风雨后见彩虹
What does 暴風雨後見彩虹 (bào fēng yǔ hòu jiàn cǎi hóng) mean?
暴風雨後見彩虹 (bào fēng yǔ hòu jiàn cǎi hóng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "after the storm, the rainbow appears." In use it means: Beauty and hope follow hardship; the aftermath of difficulty often reveals something that would not have been visible otherwise. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rabbit.
Literally: "after the storm, the rainbow appears."
The reading
The rainbow requires the rain. Not a drizzle. A storm. The colors that appear in the sky after the worst of it are made of exactly the same water that just soaked you. The material of the suffering and the material of the beauty are the same substance, refracted differently.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common folk proverb; universal proverbial pattern
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 暴風雨後見彩虹 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 暴風雨後見彩虹 (bào fēng yǔ hòu jiàn cǎi hóng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Common folk proverb; universal proverbial pattern. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 暴風雨後見彩虹?
In Mandarin it is bào fēng yǔ hòu jiàn cǎi hóng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 暴風雨後見彩虹 aloud in Mandarin.