天伦之乐

Pronunciation: tiān lún zhī lè Literal meaning: Heavenly family joy

Origin & Usage

Li Bai wrote it in the preface to a spring night's drinking with his cousins in a garden of peach and plum blossom: the joys (乐) of natural relation (天伦), set out among the flowers, with the wine going round and the poems being made. 天伦 is the bond you did not choose — parents, siblings, children — as against relations built by agreement. That is what gives the phrase its warmth and also its limit. It describes the pleasure of family gathered and doing nothing in particular, and it is what Chinese reaches for at New Year.

Examples

English: "The holiday season is a time for the joy of family reunion, where laughter and love fill the air."

Chinese: 节假日是天伦之乐的时刻，欢声笑语充满了每个角落。