借jiè酒jiǔ澆jiāo愁chóu愁chóu更gèng愁chóu

What does 借酒澆愁愁更愁 (jiè jiǔ jiāo chóu chóu gèng chóu) mean?

借酒澆愁愁更愁 (jiè jiǔ jiāo chóu chóu gèng chóu) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "Borrowing wine to drown sorrow only deepens the sorrow." In use it means: Using alcohol to escape grief or trouble is counterproductive. The relief is temporary, and the underlying pain grows heavier once the intoxication fades. 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 Snake.

Literally: "Borrowing wine to drown sorrow only deepens the sorrow.."

The reading

The bottle promises an exit but delivers a circle. Whatever you were running from is still standing at the door when you sober up, only now it has brought company. Sorrow is patient; it will outwait any amount of wine. The honest path through pain has no shortcuts, and anything that looks like one is just the long way around wearing a disguise.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie蛇 Year of the Snake

Source Li Bai, Tang dynasty, from '宣州謝朓樓餞別校書叔雲'

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 Snake, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.