日出而作 (rì chū ér zuō) — to start work at sunrise (and rest at sunset); to live a simple, agrarian life
Definition
A literary chengyu describing a traditional agrarian rhythm — rise at sunrise, stop at sunset. Paired with 日落而息, it idealizes a simple farming life.
verb
to start work at sunrise (and rest at sunset)to live a simpleagrarian life
Examples
- 日出而作，。Nóng mín men rì chū ér zuō, rì luò ér xī.Farmers start work at sunrise and rest at sunset.
- 日出而作。Tā xiàng wǎng nà zhǒng rì chū ér zuō de tián yuán shēng huó.He longs for that kind of pastoral life of starting work at sunrise.
- ，日出而作。Zài zhè ge xiǎo zhèn shàng, rén men réng rán bǎo chí zhe rì chū ér zuō de chuán tǒng.In this small town, people still maintain the tradition of starting work at sunrise.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.