Dōngfāng bù liàng, xīfāng liàng; hēile nánfāng yǒu běifāng.*

東方不亮, 西方亮, 黑了南方有北方。

Lit [When it is] dark in the east, [it is] light in the west; [when things are] dark in the south there is still [light in] the north.

Fig No matter how dark things look at one time or place, there are always brighter prospects around the corner. There's always a way.

Note [A rhyme quoted by Mao Zedong in his Zhōngguó Gémìng Zhànzheng de Zhànlüè Wèntí (“Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War”).]

Topics DIFFICULTIES FUTURE HOPE Mao Zedong PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS