Chinese Idiom: 水天一色 (Shui Tian Yi Se)
English Translation: Water and sky of one color
pīn yīn: shuǐ tiān yī sè
Idiom Meaning: This idiom describes a scene where the water and the sky blend seamlessly into one another, creating a unified, boundless view. It conveys the idea of a vast, uninterrupted landscape where the horizon is barely distinguishable from the water.
Historical Source: The idiom originates from Wang Bo’s famous poem 滕王阁序 (Tengwang Ge Xu) written during the Tang Dynasty.
Idiom Story:
In his renowned poem Tengwang Ge Xu (滕王阁序), Wang Bo describes the stunning autumn landscape surrounding the Tengwang Pavilion. The poem includes the following lines:
“虹销雨霁，彩彻云衢。落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。”
Translation: “The rainbow vanishes after the rain, and the clouds clear from the sky. The setting sun and the solitary wild duck fly together, and the autumn water merges with the long sky into one color.”
In these lines, Wang Bo vividly depicts the scene after a rainstorm, where the rainbow disappears and the sky becomes clear. The imagery of the setting sun and a solitary wild duck flying together, coupled with the autumn waters blending seamlessly with the sky, illustrates the profound beauty of the landscape.
The phrase “秋水共长天一色” (autumn water merges with the long sky into one color) captures the essence of the vastness and unity of the scene, where the water and the sky appear as one continuous expanse. From this evocative description, the idiom “水天一色” emerged to symbolize the harmonious and boundless beauty of such a natural panorama.
