山shān重chóng水shuǐ複fù疑yí無wú路lù，柳liǔ暗àn花huā明míng又yòu一yī村cūn

What does 山重水複疑無路，柳暗花明又一村 (shān chóng shuǐ fù yí wú lù liǔ àn huā míng yòu yī cūn) mean?

山重水複疑無路，柳暗花明又一村 (shān chóng shuǐ fù yí wú lù liǔ àn huā míng yòu yī cūn) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "mountains overlap, waters repeat, seeming no road; willows darkened, flowers bright, and there is another village." In use it means: When all paths seem blocked, a new way suddenly opens; darkness before a breakthrough is not the end. 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 Horse.

Literally: "mountains overlap, waters repeat, seeming no road; willows darkened, flowers bright, and there is another village."

The reading

You stop because the path has folded back on itself three times and you cannot see what is ahead. But the village is there. It has always been there. The willows were only covering it, and you were only not close enough yet.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusLooks ahead
• Element木 Wood
• Zodiac tie馬 Year of the Horse

Source Lu You 陸游 (Song dynasty), 游山西村 'Touring the Mountain West Village'

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