鲜花插在牛粪上

xiān huā chā zài niú fèn shàng

lit. a bunch of flowers poked into a pile of manure

fig. a terrible shame (as when a lovely woman marries an odious man)

鲜

xiān

fresh

花

huā

variant of 花[hua1]

插

chā

to insert

在

zài

to exist; to be alive

牛

niú

ox

粪

fèn

manure

上

shàng

(bound form) up; upper; above; previous