乐昌分镜 — “Refers to the separation of a married couple”

乐昌分镜 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to the separation of a married couple”. Often under duress or difficult circumstances, with a longing for future reunion. It can also imply the eventual reunion of a separated couple. Literally, “Lechang's divided mirror”.

Frequency

乐昌分镜 Pronunciation and Pinyin

乐昌分镜 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
乐	lè	5	happy, music, enjoy
昌	chāng	8	flourish, proper speech
分	fēn	4	divide, separate, share
镜	jìng	16	mirror, lens, or glasses

Example Sentence with 乐昌分镜

战争让他们不得不乐昌分镜，各自在不同的地方生活，但他们始终相信有一天能重聚。

The war forced them to undergo 'Lechang dividing the mirror', living in different places, but they always believed they would reunite one day.

Origin and Story of 乐昌分镜

During the final years of the Chen Dynasty, as its downfall became imminent, Xu Deyan, the imperial son-in-law, and his wife, Princess Lechang, feared they would not be able to stay together. They broke a bronze mirror into two halves, each taking one piece, and made a solemn pact to reunite on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, by selling their respective mirror halves in the market square of the capital.

After the Chen Dynasty fell, Princess Lechang was taken into the household of Yang Su, a high-ranking official of the Sui Dynasty.

True to his word, Xu Deyan endured many hardships, eventually making his way to the capital on the appointed day. There, he found an old man selling half a broken mirror, recognizing it as his wife's piece. Through this, he managed to locate Princess Lechang, and the couple was eventually reunited, proving their enduring love.