Four-character idiom
Encyclopedia
Chengyu are a type of traditional Chinese idiom
atic expressions, most of which consist of four characters
. Chengyu were widely used in Classical Chinese
and are still common in vernacular Chinese
writing and in the spoken language today. According to the most stringent definition, there are about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese language
, though some dictionaries list over 20,000.
They are often referred to as Chinese idioms or four-character idioms; however, they are not the only idioms in Chinese.
. The meaning of a chengyu usually surpasses the sum of the meanings carried by the four characters, as chengyu are often intimately linked with the myth, story or historical fact from which they were derived. As such, chengyu do not follow the usual grammatical structure and syntax of the modern Chinese spoken language, and are instead highly compact and synthetic.
Chengyu in isolation are often unintelligible to modern Chinese, and when students in China learn chengyu in school as part of the classical curriculum, they also need to study the context from which the chengyu was born. Often the four characters reflect the moral behind the story rather than the story itself. For example, the phrase "break the woks, sink the boats" is based on a historical account where the general Xiang Yu
ordered his troops to destroy all cooking utensils and boats after crossing a river into the enemy's territory. He won the battle because of this "no-retreat" strategy. Similar phrases are known in the West, such as "burning bridges
" or "Crossing the Rubicon". This particular idiom cannot be used in a losing scenario because the story behind it does not describe a failure.
Another example is "" (, lit. "melon field, beneath the plums"). It is an idiom that has a deeper meaning that implies suspicious situations. It is derived from an excerpt from a Han era
poem . The poem includes the lines, "Don't adjust your shoes in a melon field and don't tidy your hat under the plum trees" , admonishing the reader to avoid situations where however innocent he might be suspected of doing wrong. The literal meaning of the idiom is impossible to understand without the background knowledge of the origin of the phrase. However, some idioms such as "wind from an empty cave" and "bare-faced facing the emperor" are so widely misunderstood that their literal meanings have overtaken their original ones (to open one's self to criticism and to be liked for what one truly is).
However, that is not to say that all chengyu are born of an oft-told fable. Indeed, chengyu which are free of metaphorical nuances pervade amidst the otherwise contextually driven aspect of written vernacular Chinese. An example of this is "speaking, yet without trust" , referring to an individual who cannot be trusted despite what he says, an essentially deceitful person. The idiom itself is not derived from a specific occurrence from which a moral may be explicitly drawn; instead, it is succinct in its original meaning and would likely be intelligible to an individual learned in formal written Chinese. Its archaic nature is only betrayed by the now-unusual use of the character yán as a verb.
Many Chinese idioms have their English equivalents. For example, 冰山一角 and "the tip of the iceberg" share both their literal and idiomatic meanings, while 言不由衷 and "to speak with one's tongue in one's cheek" share their idiomatic meanings.
Chinese idioms can also serve as a guide through Chinese culture. Chengyu teach about motifs that were previously common in Chinese literature and culture. For example, idioms with nature motifse.g., mountains (山), water (水), and the moon (月)are numerous. Works considered masterpieces of Chinese literaturesuch as the Four Great Classical Novels
serve as the source for many idioms, which in turn condense and retell the story.
Other examples in Chinese: (Three men make a tiger)
. The term yojijukugo
is autological. Many of these idioms were adopted from their Chinese counterparts and have the same or similar meaning as in Chinese. The term koji seigo refers to an idiom that comes from a specific text as the source. As such, the overwhelming majority of koji seigo comes from accounts of history written in classical Chinese. Although a great many of the Japanese four-character idioms are derived from the Chinese, many others are purely Japanese in origin. Some examples:
ki, shō, ten, ketsu ("Start, Continue, Change, Conclusion"a traditional structure for composing Tang poetry.)
ka, chō, fū, getsu ("Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon")
ichigo ichie (once-in-a-lifetime experience)
okamehachimoku (a bystander's vantage point)
temaemiso (singing one's own praises; tooting one's own horn)
futamatagōyaku (double-dealer; timeserver)
http://www.chinese-chengyu.com/chengyu-dictionary
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
atic expressions, most of which consist of four characters
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
. Chengyu were widely used in Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
and are still common in vernacular Chinese
Vernacular Chinese
Written Vernacular Chinese refers to forms of written Chinese based on the vernacular language, in contrast to Classical Chinese, the written standard used from the Spring and Autumn Period to the early twentieth century...
writing and in the spoken language today. According to the most stringent definition, there are about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, though some dictionaries list over 20,000.
They are often referred to as Chinese idioms or four-character idioms; however, they are not the only idioms in Chinese.
Background
Chengyu are mostly derived from ancient literatureChinese classic texts
Chinese classic texts, or Chinese canonical texts, today often refer to the pre-Qin Chinese texts, especially the Neo-Confucian titles of Four Books and Five Classics , a selection of short books and chapters from the voluminous collection called the Thirteen Classics. All of these pre-Qin texts...
. The meaning of a chengyu usually surpasses the sum of the meanings carried by the four characters, as chengyu are often intimately linked with the myth, story or historical fact from which they were derived. As such, chengyu do not follow the usual grammatical structure and syntax of the modern Chinese spoken language, and are instead highly compact and synthetic.
Chengyu in isolation are often unintelligible to modern Chinese, and when students in China learn chengyu in school as part of the classical curriculum, they also need to study the context from which the chengyu was born. Often the four characters reflect the moral behind the story rather than the story itself. For example, the phrase "break the woks, sink the boats" is based on a historical account where the general Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu was a prominent military leader and political figure during the late Qin Dynasty. His given name was Ji while his style name was Yu ....
ordered his troops to destroy all cooking utensils and boats after crossing a river into the enemy's territory. He won the battle because of this "no-retreat" strategy. Similar phrases are known in the West, such as "burning bridges
Point of no return
The point of no return is the point beyond which one must continue on his or her current course of action because turning back is physically impossible, prohibitively expensive or dangerous. It is also used when the distance or effort required to get back would be greater than the remainder of the...
" or "Crossing the Rubicon". This particular idiom cannot be used in a losing scenario because the story behind it does not describe a failure.
Another example is "" (, lit. "melon field, beneath the plums"). It is an idiom that has a deeper meaning that implies suspicious situations. It is derived from an excerpt from a Han era
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
poem . The poem includes the lines, "Don't adjust your shoes in a melon field and don't tidy your hat under the plum trees" , admonishing the reader to avoid situations where however innocent he might be suspected of doing wrong. The literal meaning of the idiom is impossible to understand without the background knowledge of the origin of the phrase. However, some idioms such as "wind from an empty cave" and "bare-faced facing the emperor" are so widely misunderstood that their literal meanings have overtaken their original ones (to open one's self to criticism and to be liked for what one truly is).
However, that is not to say that all chengyu are born of an oft-told fable. Indeed, chengyu which are free of metaphorical nuances pervade amidst the otherwise contextually driven aspect of written vernacular Chinese. An example of this is "speaking, yet without trust" , referring to an individual who cannot be trusted despite what he says, an essentially deceitful person. The idiom itself is not derived from a specific occurrence from which a moral may be explicitly drawn; instead, it is succinct in its original meaning and would likely be intelligible to an individual learned in formal written Chinese. Its archaic nature is only betrayed by the now-unusual use of the character yán as a verb.
Many Chinese idioms have their English equivalents. For example, 冰山一角 and "the tip of the iceberg" share both their literal and idiomatic meanings, while 言不由衷 and "to speak with one's tongue in one's cheek" share their idiomatic meanings.
Chinese idioms can also serve as a guide through Chinese culture. Chengyu teach about motifs that were previously common in Chinese literature and culture. For example, idioms with nature motifse.g., mountains (山), water (水), and the moon (月)are numerous. Works considered masterpieces of Chinese literaturesuch as the Four Great Classical Novels
Four Great Classical Novels
The Four Great Classical Novels, or the Four Major Classical Novels of Chinese literature, are the four novels commonly regarded by scholars to be the greatest and most influential of pre-modern Chinese fiction. Dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties, they are well known to most Chinese readers...
serve as the source for many idioms, which in turn condense and retell the story.
Chinese examples
The following three examples show that the meaning of the idiom can be totally different by only changing one character. : "One day, a thousand autumns."-
- Meaning: implies rapid changes; one day equals a thousand years : "One day, a thousand miles."
- Meaning: implies rapid progress; traveling a thousand miles in a day : "One day, three autumns."
- Meaning: greatly missing someone; one day feels as long as three years
Other examples in Chinese: (Three men make a tiger)
Japanese examples
Yojijukugo is the similar format in JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. The term yojijukugo
Yojijukugo
is a Japanese lexeme consisting of four kanji, or "Chinese characters". English translations of yojijukugo include "four-character compound", "four-character idiom", "four-character idiomatic phrase", and "four-character idiomatic compound"....
is autological. Many of these idioms were adopted from their Chinese counterparts and have the same or similar meaning as in Chinese. The term koji seigo refers to an idiom that comes from a specific text as the source. As such, the overwhelming majority of koji seigo comes from accounts of history written in classical Chinese. Although a great many of the Japanese four-character idioms are derived from the Chinese, many others are purely Japanese in origin. Some examples:
ki, shō, ten, ketsu ("Start, Continue, Change, Conclusion"a traditional structure for composing Tang poetry.)
ka, chō, fū, getsu ("Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon")
ichigo ichie (once-in-a-lifetime experience)
okamehachimoku (a bystander's vantage point)
temaemiso (singing one's own praises; tooting one's own horn)
futamatagōyaku (double-dealer; timeserver)
External links
- Simplified Chinese Idioms (Wiktionary)
- Traditional Chinese Idioms (Wiktionary)
- Simplified Chinese Proverbs (Wiktionary)
- Traditional Chinese Proverbs (Wiktionary)
- Theme Idioms - 相关成语 at Thinking Chinese.
http://www.chinese-chengyu.com/chengyu-dictionary