諺語 · a single proverb
故人西辭黃鶴樓
What does 故人西辭黃鶴樓 (gù rén xī cí huáng hè lóu) mean?
故人西辭黃鶴樓 (gù rén xī cí huáng hè lóu) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "old friend westward bids farewell at Yellow Crane Tower." In use it means: The parting of old friends; farewells between the deeply connected. 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 Horse.
Literally: "old friend westward bids farewell at Yellow Crane Tower."
The reading
The Yellow Crane Tower has watched a thousand thousand farewells and not once turned away from watching. The old friend leaves toward the west and the one who watches recedes into the east and between them the river widens into all the distance that will not be crossed for a long time. A farewell between people who have known each other long is a landscape event.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Li Bai 李白·《黃鶴樓送孟浩然之廣陵》 (Huáng Hè Lóu Sòng Mèng Hàorán Zhī Guǎnglíng, Tang Dynasty poem)
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 Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Horse, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 故人西辭黃鶴樓 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 故人西辭黃鶴樓 (gù rén xī cí huáng hè lóu) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Li Bai 李白·《黃鶴樓送孟浩然之廣陵》 (Huáng Hè Lóu Sòng Mèng Hàorán Zhī Guǎnglíng, Tang Dynasty poem). 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 故人西辭黃鶴樓?
In Mandarin it is gù rén xī cí huáng hè lóu. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 故人西辭黃鶴樓 aloud in Mandarin.