📖 Meaning
Rain and sunshine come in their proper seasons and in just the right measure, so the weather is harmonious and the climate favorable. The phrase is traditionally used for propitious weather that promises a good harvest, and by extension for the peace and prosperity of a well-ordered reign.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces to the 'Hongfan' ('Great Plan') chapter of the Shangshu (Book of Documents), one of the Confucian Five Classics, which states that when a ruler is reverent, timely rain will follow (时雨若), and when he governs with order, timely sunshine will follow (时昫若). Later writers condensed these two parallel clauses into the four-character idiom 雨昫时若. The Yuan-dynasty playwright Ma Zhiyuan (马致远) gave it wider currency in Act Two of his zaju play Jianfu Bei (荐福碑), with the couplet: 'Timely rain and sunshine rest with a benevolent ruler; harmony within the state rests with great ministers.' Since then it has been used both literally for favorable weather and figuratively for good governance.
💡 Example Usage
今年雨水适时、阳光和煦，可谓雨昫时若，定有好收成。
This year the rain has fallen in season and the sunlight has been gentle — truly timely rain and sun, so a good harvest is assured.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 雨昫时若
- Pinyin: yǔ yáng shí ruò
- Literal Translation: rain, sunshine, timely, as it should be
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4