Chinese Idiom: 水落石出 (Shui Luo Shi Chu)
English Translation: When the water recedes, the rocks emerge
pīn yīn: shuǐ luò shí chū
Idiom Meaning: This idiom means that the truth of a matter will eventually become clear. It suggests that just as rocks are revealed when water levels fall, the truth will be exposed over time.
Historical Source: The idiom originates from Su Shi’s After the Red Cliffs (《后赤壁赋》), written during the Song Dynasty.
Idiom Story:
In 1082, Su Shi, a renowned poet and statesman, was exiled to Huangzhou (present-day Huanggang, Hubei). Three months after writing his Preface to the Red Cliffs (《前赤壁赋》) while visiting the Red Cliffs, Su Shi returned with friends to the same area.
On this occasion, as autumn had arrived and frost had covered the ground, Su Shi and his companions set out from “Dongpo Xue Tang” (East Slope Snow Hall) and headed towards their residence at Lingao (now known as Lingao Pavilion on the banks of the Yangtze River). The leaves had almost fallen, and the scenery was stark and beautiful. As they admired the clear moon and crisp breeze, Su Shi reflected on their surroundings and remarked on the simple pleasures of the evening.
One of his friends mentioned that he had caught a fish earlier, but they lacked wine. Su Shi then went home to fetch some wine, and they returned to the Red Cliffs to enjoy the evening. At the Red Cliffs by the river, Su Shi observed that as the water level had dropped, the underlying rocks were revealed. The cliffs stood high, and the moon appeared small in comparison.
Su Shi reflected on the changes he saw, noting how the landscape had transformed in just a short time. He lamented that despite the passage of time, the grandeur of the scenery seemed to change so much that it was almost unrecognizable.
In this context, Su Shi used the imagery of the changing landscape to express his dissatisfaction with the political reforms of Wang Anshi, suggesting that just as the rocks emerge when the water recedes, the truth about the situation would eventually become clear.
