破镜重圆

Pronunciation: pò jìng chóng yuán Literal meaning: Broken mirror reunited

Origin & Usage

Xu Deyan, married to the princess of Lechang as the Chen dynasty collapsed, broke (破) a bronze mirror (镜) in two and gave her half, telling her to have it sold in the capital market on the fifteenth day of the first month. The dynasty fell, she was taken into the household of the Sui minister Yang Su, and a servant offered the half-mirror for sale at an impossible price. He matched it to his own and wrote a poem on it. Yang Su, told the story, returned her to him. The halves made round (圆) again (重) give the phrase, which is used of any reunion after long separation, and most often of a marriage repaired.

Examples

English: "After years apart, they finally reconciled and repaired their broken relationship."

Chinese: 经过多年的分离，他们终于破镜重圆，修复了关系。