山shān窮qióng水shuǐ盡jìn疑yí無wú路lù，柳liǔ暗àn花huā明míng又yòu一yī村cūn

What does 山窮水盡疑無路，柳暗花明又一村 (shān qióng shuǐ jìn yí wú lù liǔ àn huā míng yòu yī cūn) mean?

山窮水盡疑無路，柳暗花明又一村 (shān qióng shuǐ jìn yí wú lù liǔ àn huā míng yòu yī cūn) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "when the mountains end and the waters run out, just when it seems there is no road, willows darken and flowers brighten and another village appears." In use it means: At the moment of despair, a new path opens; breakthrough often comes immediately after the point where you believed it was impossible. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.

Literally: "when the mountains end and the waters run out, just when it seems there is no road, willows darken and flowers brighten and another village appears."

The reading

The road ended. The mountain wall was right there. You were about to turn back. Then the willows parted, and behind them was a village you could not have seen from any other angle. The breakthrough was not ahead of you. It was beside you, hidden by the exact despair that made you look in a different direction.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element木 Wood
• Zodiac tie猴 Year of the Monkey

Source Lu You 陸游, You Shanxi Cun 遊山西村

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