破镜重圆
- Literal
- the broken mirror becomes round again
- Figurative
- The reunion of a couple who had separated or divorced, coming back together after time apart.
Where does 破镜重圆 come from?
As the Chen dynasty was about to fall, the court official Xu Deyan feared that war would separate him from his wife, Princess Lechang, the emperor's sister. They broke a bronze mirror in two and each kept half, vowing that if parted they would sell their halves in the capital's market on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, hoping to find each other again. The dynasty collapsed and the princess was given to the powerful minister Yang Su. Xu Deyan reached the capital, saw a servant selling half a mirror in the market, and matched it with his own. Moved by their story, Yang Su returned the princess to Xu Deyan, and the couple was reunited: the broken mirror became round once more.
Source (出处): 《本事诗》
How is 破镜重圆 used? Two examples
- 他们分开了三年，最后还是破镜重圆，又住到了一起。
They were apart for three years, but in the end they got back together and lived under the same roof again.
- 经过这次长谈，这对夫妻终于破镜重圆了。
After this long talk, the couple finally reconciled and came back together.
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