94-478: Chengyu ( traditional Chinese : 成語 ; simplified Chinese : 成语 ; pinyin : chéngyǔ ; trans. "set phrase") are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of which consist of four Chinese characters . Chengyu were widely used in Literary Chinese and are still common in written vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today. According to
188-470: A chengyu as it comes from the Analects . The idiom is succinct in its original meaning and would likely be intelligible to anyone learned in formal written Chinese, though yán ( 言 ) is no longer commonly used as a verb. There are a few chengyu that are not four characters in length. An example is the seven-character 醉翁之意不在酒 'The Old Drunkard's attention is not directed towards his wine'. This
282-464: A double pupil just like the mythical Emperor Shun and Duke Wen of Jin . He was thus seen as an extraordinary person because his unique double pupil was a mark of a king or sage in Chinese tradition. Xiang Yu was slightly taller than eight chi , or approximately 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in), and possessed unusual physical strength, as he could lift a ding . In his younger days, Xiang Yu
376-416: A feast at Hong Gate and plotted to kill Liu during the banquet. However, Xiang Yu later listened to his uncle Xiang Bo and decided to spare Liu Bang. Liu Bang escaped during the banquet under the pretext of going to the latrine. Xiang Yu paid no attention to Liu Bang's presumptive title and led his troops into Xianyang in 206. He ordered the execution of Ziying and his family, as well as the destruction of
470-509: A certain extent in South Korea , remain virtually identical to traditional characters, with variations between the two forms largely stylistic. There has historically been a debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters . Because the simplifications are fairly systematic, it is possible to convert computer-encoded characters between the two sets, with the main issue being ambiguities in simplified representations resulting from
564-400: A classical allusion, known as a diǎngù ( 典故 ), elementary and secondary school students in greater China learn chengyu as part of the classical curriculum in order 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 " 破釜沉舟 " ( pò fǔ chén zhōu , lit: "break
658-537: A complex or multifaceted situation, scene, or concept, and used fittingly and elegantly, they also mark a speaker or writer's erudition. The meaning of a chengyu usually surpasses the sum of the meanings carried by the four characters, as chengyu are generally meant to convey the message or moral of the myth, story or historical event from which they were derived. Thus, even after translation into modern words and syntax, chengyu in isolation are often unintelligible without additional explanation. Since they often contain
752-580: A desperate attempt to break out of the encirclement, with 5,000 enemy troops pursuing them. After crossing the Huai River , Xiang Yu was only left with a few hundred soldiers. They were lost in Yinling ( 陰陵 ) and Xiang Yu asked for directions from a farmer, who directed him wrongly to a swamp. When Xiang Yu reached Dongcheng ( 東城 ), only 28 men were left, with the Han troops still following him. Xiang Yu made
846-499: A general. Xiang Liang's revolution force grew in size until it was between 60,000 and 70,000. In 208 BC, Xiang Liang installed Mi Xin as King Huai II of Chu to rally support from those eager to help him overthrow the Qin dynasty and restore the former Chu state. Xiang Yu distinguished himself as a competent marshal and mighty warrior on the battlefield while participating in the battles against Qin forces. Later that year, Xiang Liang
940-569: A guide through Chinese culture. Chengyu teach about motifs that were previously common in Chinese literature and culture. For example, idioms with nature motifs – e.g., mountains, water, and the Moon ;– are numerous. Works considered masterpieces of Chinese literature – such as the Four Great Classical Novels – serve as the source for many idioms, which in turn condense and retell
1034-575: A king of ghosts after death. Until now we still remember Xiang Yu, who refused to return to Jiangdong." Xiang Yu is popularly viewed as a leader who possessed great courage but lacked wisdom, and his character is aptly summarised using the Chinese idiom 有勇無謀 ; 有勇无谋 ; yǒu yǒng wú móu , meaning "has courage but lacks tactics", "foolhardy". Xiang Yu's battle tactics were studied by later military leaders while his political blunders served as cautionary tales for later rulers. Another Chinese idiom 四面楚歌 ; sì miàn chǔ gē ; 'surrounded by Chu songs',
SECTION 10
#17327654456711128-464: A liability, and had them executed by burying them alive at Xin'an ( 新安 ; modern Yima, Henan ]). Zhang Han, along with Sima Xin and Dong Yi , were spared from death. Xiang Yu appointed Zhang Han as "King of Yong", while Sima Xin and Dong Yi were respectively conferred the titles of "King of Sai" and "King of Di". After his victory at the Battle of Julu , Xiang Yu prepared for an invasion on Guanzhong ,
1222-485: A long struggle for power, known as the Chu–Han Contention , which concluded with his eventual defeat at the Battle of Gaixia and his suicide. Xiang Yu's family name was Xiang ( 項 ) while his given name was Ji ( 籍 ) and his courtesy name was Yu ( 羽 ; Yǔ ; Yü ; Jyu5 ). He is best known as Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu is popularly known as the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" ( 西楚霸王 ; Xīchǔ bà wáng ). This title
1316-657: A melon field, and don't tidy your hat under the plum trees' ( 瓜田 不 納 履 ， 李 下 不 整 冠 , guā tián bù nà lǚ, lǐ xià bù zhěng guān ), admonishing the reader to avoid situations where, however innocent, he might be suspected of doing wrong. The idiom is impossible to understand without the background knowledge of the origin of the phrase. Some idioms have had their literal meanings overtake their original ones. For example, 'wind from an empty cave' ( 空穴來風 , kōng xué lái fēng ), despite now being used to describe rumors without source, originally referred to rumors with actual, solid sources or reasons. Likewise, 'bare-faced facing
1410-420: A messenger to see Xiang Yu, saying that Liu would become King of Guanzhong in accordance with King Huai II 's earlier promise, while Ziying would be appointed as Liu's chancellor. Xiang Yu was furious after hearing that. At that time, he had about 400,000 troops under his command while Liu Bang only had a quarter of that number. As strongly encouraged by his advisor Fan Zeng , Xiang Yu invited Liu Bang to attend
1504-460: A rival stronger than he is, but also one who is sympathetic and soft hearted when he sees someone weaker than he is. Neither was he able to make good use of capable generals nor was he able to support Emperor Yi of Chu, as he killed the emperor. Even though he had the name of a Conqueror, he had already lost the favour of the people." The Tang dynasty poet Du Mu mentioned Xiang Yu in one of his poems Ti Wujiang Ting ( 題烏江亭 ): "Victory or defeat
1598-439: A speech to his men, saying that his downfall was due to Heaven's will and not his personal failure. After that, he led a charge out of the encirclement, killing one Han general in the battle. Xiang Yu then split his men into three groups to confuse the enemy and induce them to split up as well to attack the three groups. Xiang Yu took the Han troops by surprise again and slew another enemy commander, inflicting about 100 casualties on
1692-416: A surprise attack in the morning under the cover of darkness, as Xiang Yu was outstanding in this regard. His tactical early morning raids on the enemy fully demonstrated his superb strategy of mobilization and artistic prowess, despite facing unprecedented crises. Mao Zedong also once mentioned Xiang Yu, "We should use our remaining strength to defeat the enemy, instead of thinking about achieving fame like
1786-629: A traditional expression to wish someone a long life that often appears on bowls and tableware, quotes the poem "Tian Bao" ( 天保 , poem #166) in the Lesser Court Hymns section of the Classic of Poetry . More commonly, however, chengyu are created by succinctly paraphrasing or summarizing the original text, usually by selecting the most salient characters from the passage in question and inserting any necessary classical grammatical particles. As such, chengyu are fossilized expressions that use
1880-474: A year-long siege and he threatened to boil Liu's father alive if Liu refused to surrender. Liu Bang remarked that he and Xiang Yu were oath brothers, so if Xiang killed Liu's father, he would be guilty of patricide. Xiang Yu requested for an armistice, known as the Treaty of Hong Canal, and returned the hostages he had captured to Liu Bang as part of their agreement. The treaty divided China into east and west under
1974-869: Is 産 (also the accepted form in Japan and Korea), while in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan the accepted form is 產 (also the accepted form in Vietnamese chữ Nôm ). The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the People's Daily are printed in traditional characters, and both People's Daily and Xinhua have traditional character versions of their website available, using Big5 encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers;
SECTION 20
#17327654456712068-591: Is a retronym applied to non-simplified character sets in the wake of widespread use of simplified characters. Traditional characters are commonly used in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside of Southeast Asia. As for non-Chinese languages written using Chinese characters, Japanese kanji include many simplified characters known as shinjitai standardized after World War II, sometimes distinct from their simplified Chinese counterparts . Korean hanja , still used to
2162-487: Is a direct quote from Ouyang Xiu 's essay An Account of Old Drunkard's Pavilion ( 醉翁亭記 ), in which the author, as the Old Drunkard, expresses his true intention of enjoying the scenery of the mountains and rivers as he drinks. As an idiom, it expresses the situation where one does something with an ulterior though benign motive in mind. Some chengyu have English equivalents. For example, 言不由衷 'speak not from
2256-601: Is common in battle. One who can endure humiliation is a true man. There are several talents in Jiangdong, who knows if he (Xiang Yu) can make a comeback?" The Song dynasty poet Wang Anshi had a different opinion, writing that "the warrior is already tired after so many battles. His defeat in the Central Plains is hard to reverse. Although there are talents in Jiangdong, are they willing to help him?" The Song dynasty female poet Li Qingzhao wrote: "A hero in life,
2350-744: Is compared favourably to Xiang Yu by a contemporary. This comparison was actually made in historical fact. Sun Ce is best known for his conquests in the Jiangdong region that laid the foundation of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms era. In Water Margin , another of the Four Great Classical Novels, Zhou Tong , one of the 108 outlaws, is nicknamed "Little Conqueror" for his resemblance to Xiang Yu in appearance. In Jin Ping Mei , (Ci Hua edition) Xiang Yu
2444-565: Is sometimes shortened to "Ba Wang". Since Xiang Yu's death, the term "Ba Wang" has come to refer specifically to Xiang. There are two accounts of Xiang Yu's family background. The first claimed that Xiang Yu was from the house of Mi ( 羋 ), the royal family of the Chu state in the Zhou dynasty . His ancestors were granted the land of Xiang ( 項 ) by the king of Chu and had since adopted "Xiang" as their family name. The other account claimed that Xiang Yu
2538-444: Is that of a heroic and brave, but arrogant and bloodthirsty warrior-king. His romance with his wife Consort Yu and his suicide have also added a touch of a tragic hero to his character. Xiang Yu's might and prowess in battle appears in Chinese folk tales and poetry, such as at Gaixia. The Meng Ch'iu ( 蒙求 ), an 8th-century Chinese primer by the scholar Li Han , contains the four-character rhyming couplet "Ji Xin impersonates
2632-493: The Chinese Commercial News , World News , and United Daily News all use traditional characters, as do some Hong Kong–based magazines such as Yazhou Zhoukan . The Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified characters. DVDs are usually subtitled using traditional characters, influenced by media from Taiwan as well as by the two countries sharing the same DVD region , 3. With most having immigrated to
2726-528: The Records of the Grand Historian describes him as someone who boasted about his achievements and thought highly of himself. Xiang Yu preferred to depend on his personal abilities as opposed to learning with humility from others before him. Sima Qian thought that Xiang Yu had failed to see his own shortcomings and to make attempts to correct his mistakes, even until his death. Sima Qian thought that it
2820-610: The Standard Form of National Characters . These forms were predominant in written Chinese until the middle of the 20th century, when various countries that use Chinese characters began standardizing simplified sets of characters, often with characters that existed before as well-known variants of the predominant forms. Simplified characters as codified by the People's Republic of China are predominantly used in mainland China , Malaysia, and Singapore. "Traditional" as such
2914-592: The Epang Palace by fire. It was said that Xiang Yu would leave behind a trail of destruction in the places he passed by, and the people of Guanzhong were greatly disappointed with him. Despite advice from his subjects to remain in Guanzhong and continue with his conquests, Xiang Yu was insistent on returning to his homeland in Chu. He said, "To not return home when one has made his fortune is equivalent to walking on
Chengyu - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-588: The Kensiu language . Xiang Yu Xiang Yu ( c. 232 – c. January 202 BC), born Xiang Ji , was the Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the state of Chu , Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynasty , destroying their last remnants and becoming a powerful warlord. He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" ( 魯公 ) by King Huai II of
3102-588: The Qin dynasty , plunging China into a state of anarchy. Yin Tong [ zh ] ( 殷通 ), the administrator of Kuaiji , wanted to start a rebellion as well, so he invited his uncle Xiang Liang to meet him and discuss their plans. The pair lured Yin Tong into a trap and killed him instead, with Xiang Yu personally striking down hundreds of Yin's men. Xiang Liang initiated the rebellion himself and rallied about 8,000 men to support him. Xiang Liang proclaimed himself Administrator of Kuaiji while appointing Xiang Yu as
3196-640: The Shanghainese -language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E —a composition of 伐 with the ⼝ 'MOUTH' radical—used instead of the Standard Chinese 嗎 ; 吗 . Typefaces often use the initialism TC to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters, as well as SC for simplified Chinese characters . In addition, the Noto, Italy family of typefaces, for example, also provides separate fonts for
3290-405: The 20,000 strong vanguard army to cross the river and attack the Qin forces led by Zhang Han , while he followed behind with the remaining majority of the troops. After crossing the river, Xiang Yu ordered his men to sink their boats and destroy all but three days worth of rations, in order to force his men to choose between prevailing against overwhelming odds within three days or die trapped before
3384-473: The 200,000 surrendered Qin troops to be buried alive after the Battle of Julu , and the gruesome methods of execution he employed against his enemies and critics. In contrast, Liu Bang is portrayed as a shrewd and cunning ruler who could be brutal at times, but forbade his troops from looting the cities they captured and spared the lives of the citizens, earning their support and trust in return. Xiang Yu's story became an example for Confucianists to advocate
3478-750: The Chu and Han domains respectively. Shortly after, as Xiang Yu was retreating eastwards, Liu Bang renounced the treaty and led his forces to attack Western Chu. Liu Bang sent messengers to Han Xin and Peng Yue, requesting for their assistance in forming a three-pronged attack on Xiang Yu, but Han Xin and Peng Yue did not mobilise their troops and Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu at the Battle of Guling . Liu Bang retreated and reinforced his defences, while sending emissaries to Han Xin and Peng Yue, promising to grant them fiefs and titles of vassal kings if they would join him in attacking Western Chu. In 202, Han armies led by Liu Bang, Han Xin, and Peng Yue attacked Western Chu from three sides and trapped Xiang Yu's army, which
3572-720: The Conqueror." In 1964, Mao also pointed out three reasons for Xiang Yu's downfall: not following Fan Zeng 's advice to kill Liu Bang at Hong Gate, and letting Liu leave; adhering firmly to the terms of the peace treaty without considering that Liu Bang might betray his trust; building his capital at Pengcheng. The "Song of Gaixia" ( 垓下歌 ) was a song composed by Xiang Yu while he was trapped by Liu Bang's forces at Gaixia. The lyrics in English as follows are Burton Watson 's translation: 《垓下歌》 力拔山兮氣蓋世。 時不利兮騅不逝。 騅不逝兮可奈何！ 虞兮虞兮奈若何！ The Hegemon's Lament My strength plucked up
3666-454: The Emperor". It referred to the episode in the Battle of Xingyang when Ji Xin and 2,000 women disguised themselves as Liu Bang and his army, to distract Xiang Yu in order to buy time for Liu Bang to escape from the city of Xingyang . In Romance of the Three Kingdoms , one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Sun Ce is nicknamed "Little Conqueror" ( 小霸王 ) and
3760-485: The Han soldiers, and he said to Lü, "I heard that the King of Han (Liu Bang) has placed a price of 1,000 gold and the title of "Wanhu Marquis" ( 萬戶侯 ; lit. "marquis of 10,000 households") on my head. Take it then, on account of our friendship." Xiang Yu then committed suicide by slitting his throat with his sword, and a brawl broke out among the Han soldiers at the scene due to the reward offered by Liu Bang, and Xiang Yu's body
3854-498: The King of Changshan, Zhang Er , and seized Zhang's domain and reinstalled Zhao Xie as the King of Zhao. In 206, Liu Bang led his forces to attack Guanzhong . At that time, Xiang Yu was at war with Qi and did not focus on resisting the Han forces. The following year, Liu Bang formed an alliance with another five kingdoms and attacked Western Chu with a 560,000 strong army, capturing Xiang Yu's capital of Pengcheng. Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu led 30,000 men to attack Liu Bang and defeated
Chengyu - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-627: The Latin-based Vietnamese alphabet . [REDACTED] The plot of the Taiwanese comedy-drama GG Precinct centres on people murdered for misquoting Chinese idioms. Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are a standard set of Chinese character forms used to write Chinese languages . In Taiwan , the set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education and standardized in
4042-555: The People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese characters are standardised according to the Table of Comparison between Standard, Traditional and Variant Chinese Characters . Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. There are differences between the accepted traditional forms in mainland China and elsewhere, for example the accepted traditional form of 产 in mainland China
4136-422: The Qin imperial court. However, the eunuch Zhao Gao deceived the emperor and the emperor dismissed Zhang Han's request. Zhao Gao even sent assassins to kill Sima Xin when the latter was returning to Zhang Han's camp, but Sima managed to escape alive. In dire straits, Zhang Han and his 200,000 troops eventually surrendered to Xiang Yu in the summer of 207. Xiang Yu perceived the surrendered Qin troops as disloyal and
4230-516: The Qin state started unifying the other six major states. According to the descendants of the Xiang family in Suqian, Xiang Yu's father was Xiang Chao ( 項超 ), Xiang Yan's eldest son. Xiang Yu was raised by his elder uncle Xiang Liang because his father died early. In 221 BC, when Xiang Yu was about 11 years old, the Qin state unified China and established the Qin dynasty . One of Xiang's eyes had
4324-532: The United States during the second half of the 19th century, Chinese Americans have long used traditional characters. When not providing both, US public notices and signs in Chinese are generally written in traditional characters, more often than in simplified characters. In the past, traditional Chinese was most often encoded on computers using the Big5 standard, which favored traditional characters. However,
4418-541: The West, such as "Burning one's boats", "burning one's bridges", " Point of no return " or " Crossing the Rubicon ". Another example is 瓜田李下 ( guātián lǐxià 'melon field, beneath the plums', whose meaning relates to the appearance of misconduct or impropriety. It is derived from an excerpt of a Han-era poem ( 樂府 詩 《 君子 行 》 , Yuèfǔ Shī " Jūnzǐ Xíng "). The poem includes the lines 'don't adjust your shoes in
4512-463: The art of war instead, but Xiang Yu stopped learning after he had grasped the main ideas; Xiang Liang was disappointed with his nephew, who showed no sign of motivation or apparent talent apart from his great strength, so he gave up and let Xiang Yu decide his own future. When Xiang Yu grew older, Xiang Liang killed someone so they fled to Wu to evade the authorities. At that time, Qin Shi Huang
4606-574: The bosom' and 'to speak with one's tongue in one's cheek' share idiomatic meanings. The Chinese not having conducted maritime explorations of the North Atlantic during imperial times, the expression 冰山一角 'one corner of an ice mountain' is a rare example of a chengyu that emerged in the early 20th century after contact with the West as a translation of the expression "tip of the iceberg," thus sharing both their literal and idiomatic meanings. Another expression 火中取栗 'extracting chestnuts from
4700-471: The death of Emperor Yi, Xiang Yu had King Hann Cheng put to death and seized Han's lands for himself. Several months later, chancellor Tian Rong of Qi took control over the Three Qis (Jiaodong, Qi and Jibei) from their respective kings and reinstated Tian Fu as the King of Qi, but he took over the throne himself afterwards. Similarly, Chen Yu , a former vice chancellor of Zhao , led an uprising against
4794-586: The early classical literature, the lyrical imagery from the Classic of Poetry , and the detailed stories recorded in the Zuo Zhuan and the Records of the Grand Historian serve as particularly rich source materials for chengyu. Since the Shijing poems consist of four-character lines, some chengyu are direct quotes from the Classic of Poetry . For example, 萬夀無疆 'ten-thousand year lifespan without bound',
SECTION 50
#17327654456714888-424: The emperor' ( 素面朝天 ) is now used to describe beauty that does not require make-up, e.g., when entering court, while its original meaning was "to be confident in one's true look". However, not all chengyu have stories to draw morals from. An example is 言而無信 'speaking, yet without trust', referring to one who cannot be trusted despite what he says, an essentially deceitful person. It is generally acknowledged as
4982-469: The enemy, while he only lost two men. Xiang Yu retreated to the bank of the Wu River (near modern He County , Maanshan , Anhui) and the ferryman at the ford prepared a boat for him to cross the river, strongly encouraging him to do so because Xiang Yu still had the support of the people from his homeland in the south. Xiang Yu said that he was too ashamed to return home and face his people because none of
5076-511: The fall of Xingyang, Chu and Han forces were divided on two fronts along present-day Henan . However, Xiang Yu's forces were not faring well on the battlefront north of the Yellow River , as the Han army led by Han Xin defeated his troops in every single battle. At the same time, Liu Bang's ally Peng Yue led his men to harass Xiang Yu's rear. By 203, the tide had turned in favour of Han. Xiang Yu managed to capture Liu Bang's father after
5170-433: The fire', originating from a La Fontaine fable, means "to be duped into taking risks for someone else," used in much the same way as the expression "cat's paw" in English is another example of an "international" chengyu . Though they are recent in origin, they are constructed using the vocabulary and syntax of Literary Chinese and fits within the four-character scheme, making them chengyu . Chinese idioms can also serve as
5264-507: The first 8,000 men from Jiangdong who followed him on his conquests survived. He refused to cross and ordered his remaining men to dismount, asking the ferryman to take his warhorse Zhui ( 騅 ), back home. Xiang Yu and his men made a last stand against wave after wave of Han forces until only Xiang himself was left alive. Xiang Yu continued to fight on and slew over 100 enemy soldiers, but he had also sustained several wounds all over his body. Just then, Xiang Yu saw an old friend Lü Matong among
5358-474: The first idiom is the same as the first character of the second idiom, and so forth. The following three examples show that the meaning of the idiom can be totally different by only changing one character. Yojijukugo is the similar format in Japanese . The term yojijukugo ( 四 字 熟語 , four character idiom) is autological . Many of these idioms were adopted from their Chinese counterparts and have
5452-593: The former Liang and Chu territories, with his capital at Pengcheng . In the spring of 206, Xiang Yu divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms , to be granted to his subordinates and some leaders of the former rebel forces. He moved some of the rulers of other states to more remote areas and granted the land of Guanzhong to the three surrendered Qin generals, ignoring Emperor Yi's earlier promise to appoint Liu Bang as king of that region. Liu Bang
5546-415: The heartland of the Qin dynasty . In the winter of 207 BC, Ziying of Qin surrendered to Liu Bang in the Qin capital of Xianyang , bringing an end to the Qin dynasty. When Xiang Yu arrived at Hangu Pass , the eastern gateway to Guanzhong, he saw that the pass was occupied by Liu Bang's troops, a sign that Guanzhong was already under Liu's control. Cao Wushang ( 曹無傷 ), a subordinate of Liu Bang, sent
5640-417: The hills, My might shadowed the world; But the times were against me, And Dapple runs no more; When Dapple runs no more, What then can I do? Ah, Yu, my Yu , What will your fate be? Xiang Yu's might and prowess in battle has been glorified in Chinese folk tales, poetry, and novels, and he has been the subject of films, television, plays, Chinese operas , video games and comics. His classic image
5734-404: The idea that leaders should rule with benevolence and not govern by instilling fear in the people. His ambitions ended with the collapse of Western Chu, his defeat by Liu Bang, and his death at the early age of around 30. Liu Bang's general Han Xin , who was one of Xiang Yu's opponents on the battlefield, made a statement criticising Xiang, "A man who turns into a fierce warrior when he encounters
SECTION 60
#17327654456715828-493: The inverse is equally true as well. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters. In Hong Kong and Macau , traditional characters were retained during the colonial period, while the mainland adopted simplified characters. Simplified characters are contemporaneously used to accommodate immigrants and tourists, often from
5922-472: The language, but there exists native counterparts to the Classical Chinese idioms. There are also many idioms that are Vietnamese in origin. Vietnamese idioms can be classified into Sino-Vietnamese idioms ( Vietnamese : thành ngữ Hán Việt, chữ Hán Nôm : 成語漢越) and native Vietnamese idioms ( Vietnamese : thành ngữ thuần Việt, chữ Hán Nôm : 成語純越) that were once written in chữ Nôm , are now written in
6016-562: The latter at the Battle of Pengcheng , with the Han army suffering heavy casualties. Liu Bang managed to escape after his defeat with Xiang Yu's troops in pursuit. Han troops retreated to Xingyang and defended the city firmly, preventing Chu forces from advancing west any further, but only managed to hold on until 204 BC. Liu Bang's subordinate Ji Xin disguised himself as his lord and surrendered to Xiang Yu, buying time for Liu Bang to escape. When Xiang Yu learned that he had been fooled, he became furious and had Ji Xin burned to death. After
6110-725: The mainland. The increasing use of simplified characters has led to concern among residents regarding protecting what they see as their local heritage. Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, with sufficient context simplified characters are likely to be successfully read by those used to traditional characters, especially given some previous exposure. Many simplified characters were previously variants that had long been in some use, with systematic stroke simplifications used in folk handwriting since antiquity. Traditional characters were recognized as
6204-682: The majority of Chinese text in mainland China are simplified characters , there is no legislation prohibiting the use of traditional Chinese characters, and often traditional Chinese characters remain in use for stylistic and commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertising. Traditional Chinese characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promulgation of the current simplification scheme, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional Chinese characters continue to be used for ceremonial, cultural, scholarly/academic research, and artistic/decorative purposes. In
6298-983: The merging of previously distinct character forms. Many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between these character sets. Traditional characters are known by different names throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially refers to traditional Chinese characters as 正體字 ; 正体字 ; zhèngtǐzì ; 'orthodox characters'. This term is also used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard characters, including both simplified, and traditional, from other variants and idiomatic characters . Users of traditional characters elsewhere, as well as those using simplified characters, call traditional characters 繁體字 ; 繁体字 ; fántǐzì ; 'complex characters', 老字 ; lǎozì ; 'old characters', or 全體字 ; 全体字 ; quántǐzì ; 'full characters' to distinguish them from simplified characters. Some argue that since traditional characters are often
6392-697: The most stringent definition, there are about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese language , though some dictionaries list over 20,000. Chengyu are considered the collected wisdom of the Chinese culture , and contain the experiences, moral concepts, and admonishments from previous generations of Chinese speakers. Chengyu still play an important role in Chinese conversation and education. Chinese idioms are one of four types of formulaic expressions ( 熟语 ; 熟語 ; shúyǔ ), which also include collocations ( 惯用语 ; 慣用語 ; guànyòngyǔ ), two-part allegorical sayings called xiehouyu , and proverbs ( 谚语 ; 諺語 ; yànyǔ ). While not
6486-677: The official script in Singapore until 1969, when the government officially adopted Simplified characters. Traditional characters still are widely used in contexts such as in baby and corporation names, advertisements, decorations, official documents and in newspapers. The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach in simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as
6580-434: The only idioms in Chinese, and not always four characters long, they are often referred to as Chinese idioms or four-character idioms . Chengyu are mostly derived from ancient literature , including the pre-Qin classics, poetry from all periods of Chinese history, and late imperial vernacular novels and short stories. A small number were constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries from Western source materials. Among
6674-700: The original standard forms, they should not be called 'complex'. Conversely, there is a common objection to the description of traditional characters as 'standard', due to them not being used by a large population of Chinese speakers. Additionally, as the process of Chinese character creation often made many characters more elaborate over time, there is sometimes a hesitation to characterize them as 'traditional'. Some people refer to traditional characters as 'proper characters' ( 正字 ; zhèngzì or 正寫 ; zhèngxiě ) and to simplified characters as 簡筆字 ; 简笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'simplified-stroke characters' or 減筆字 ; 减笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'reduced-stroke characters', as
6768-401: The overthrow of Qin. In winter, Xiang Yu moved Emperor Yi to the remote region of Chen , effectively sending the puppet emperor into exile. At the same time, he issued a secret order to the vassal kings in that area and had the emperor assassinated during his journey in 205. The emperor's death was later used by Liu Bang as political propaganda to justify his war against Xiang Yu. Shortly after
6862-445: The pots and sink the ships") 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. Thus, the idiom is used as a verb phrase with the meaning "to make an all-out effort to achieve success by the deliberate removal of recourse or backup." Similar phrases are known in
6956-460: The restoring Chu state in 208 BC. The following year, he led the Chu forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han . After the fall of Qin, Xiang Yu was enthroned as the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" ( 西楚霸王 ) and ruled a vast area spanning central and eastern China, with Pengcheng as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang , the founding emperor of the Han dynasty , in
7050-907: The same or similar meaning as in Chinese. The term koji seigo ( 故事 成語 , historical idiom) 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: The Korean equivalent are Sajaseong-eo ( Korean : 사자성어 ; Hanja : 四字成語 ). They have similar categorization to Japanese ones, such as Gosaseong-eo ( 고사성어 ; 故事成語 ) for historical idioms. Four word idioms or any idiom in Vietnamese are known as thành ngữ ( chữ Hán : 成語, literally "set phrase/speech"). A large amount of idioms originating from Classical Chinese have been borrowed into
7144-418: The story. All Chinese people know idioms, though the total number known by any one individual will depend on their background. Idioms are such an important part of Chinese popular culture that there is a game called 成語接龍 'connect the chengyu' that involves someone calling out an idiom, with someone else then being supposed to think of another idiom to link up with the first one, so that the last character of
7238-515: The streets at night in glamorous outfits. Who would notice that?" One of his followers said, "It is indeed true when people say that the men of Chu are apes dressed in human clothing." Xiang Yu had that man boiled alive when he heard that insult. After the downfall of the Qin, Xiang Yu offered Huai II the more honourable title of "Emperor Yi of Chu" and announced his decision to divide the former Qin empire. Xiang Yu declared himself "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" ( 西楚霸王 ) and ruled nine commanderies in
7332-576: The title of "Duke of Lu" ( 魯公 ), and appointed him as a second-in-command to Song Yi , who was ordered to lead an army to reinforce Zhao Xie. At the same time, the king placed Liu Bang in command of another army to attack Guanzhong , the heartland (capital territory) of Qin. The king promised that whoever managed to enter Guanzhong first will be granted the title "King of Guanzhong". The Chu army led by Song Yi and Xiang Yu reached Anyang , some distance away from Julu ( 巨鹿 ; modern Xingtai , Hebei), where Zhao Xie's forces had retreated to. Song Yi ordered
7426-581: The traditional character set used in Taiwan ( TC ) and the set used in Hong Kong ( HK ). Most Chinese-language webpages now use Unicode for their text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends the use of the language tag zh-Hant to specify webpage content written with traditional characters. In the Japanese writing system , kyujitai are traditional forms, which were simplified to create shinjitai for standardized Japanese use following World War II. Kyūjitai are mostly congruent with
7520-985: The traditional characters in Chinese, save for minor stylistic variation. Characters that are not included in the jōyō kanji list are generally recommended to be printed in their traditional forms, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there are kokuji , which are kanji wholly created in Japan, rather than originally being borrowed from China. In the Korean writing system , hanja —replaced almost entirely by hangul in South Korea and totally replaced in North Korea —are mostly identical with their traditional counterparts, save minor stylistic variations. As with Japanese, there are autochthonous hanja, known as gukja . Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups. The Maniq people living in Thailand and Malaysia use Chinese characters to write
7614-491: The troops to lay camp there for 46 days and he refused to accept Xiang Yu's suggestion to proceed further. Xiang Yu took Song Yi by surprise in a meeting and killed him on a charge of treason. Song Yi's other subordinates were afraid of Xiang Yu so they let him become the acting commander-in-chief. Xiang Yu sent a messenger to inform King Huai II and the king approved Xiang's command. In 207 BC, Xiang Yu's army advanced towards Julu and he sent Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo to lead
7708-518: The ubiquitous Unicode standard gives equal weight to simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and has become by far the most popular encoding for Chinese-language text. There are various input method editors (IMEs) available for the input of Chinese characters . Many characters, often dialectical variants, are encoded in Unicode but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being
7802-488: The vocabulary and follow the syntactic rules of Literary Chinese . Consequently, they convey information more compactly than normal vernacular speech or writing. They may contain subject and predicate and act as an independent clause (or even twin two-character independent clauses in parallel), or they may play the role of any part of speech in a sentence, acting syntactically as an adjective, adverb, verb, or noun phrase. In both speech and writing, they serve to succinctly convey
7896-634: The walls of the city with no supplies or any hope of escape. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Chu forces scored a great victory after nine engagements, defeating the 300,000 strong Qin army. After the battle, other rebel forces, including those not from Chu, came to join Xiang Yu out of admiration for his martial valour. When Xiang Yu received them at the gate, the rebel chiefs were so fearful of him that they sank to their knees and did not even dare to look up at him. Zhang Han sent his deputy Sima Xin to Xianyang to request for reinforcements and supplies from
7990-539: The words for simplified and reduced are homophonous in Standard Chinese , both pronounced as jiǎn . The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty c. 200 BCE , with the sets of forms and norms more or less stable since the Southern and Northern dynasties period c. the 5th century . Although
8084-449: Was a descendant of a noble clan from the Lu state and his family had served in the Chu military for generations. Xiang Yu's grandfather Xiang Yan [ zh ] was a well known general who led the Chu army in resisting the Qin invaders led by Wang Jian , and was killed in action when Qin conquered Chu in 223 BC. Xiang Yu was born in 232 BC in the late Warring States period when
8178-567: Was also derived from the Battle of Gaixia , and used to describe someone in a desperate situation without help. Another saying by Liu Bang, "Having a Fan Zeng but unable to use him" ( 有一范增而不能用 ), was also used to describe Xiang Yu's reliance on his advisor Fan Zeng and failure to actually listen to Fan's advice. Modern study of history has drawn similarities between Xiang Yu's military brilliance and that of his Mediterranean contemporary Hannibal . Researchers emphasized Xiang Yu's strategic thinking, while also exploiting any opportunities to launch
8272-440: Was instructed in scholarly arts and swordsmanship but he did not manage to master what he was taught, and his uncle Xiang Liang was not very satisfied with him. Xiang Yu said, "Books are only useful in helping me remember my name. Mastering swordsmanship allows me to face only one opponent, so it's not worth learning. I want to learn how to defeat thousands of enemies." Hence, his uncle tried to educate him in military strategy and
8366-563: Was killed at the Battle of Dingtao against the Qin army led by Zhang Han and the military power of Chu fell into the hands of the king and some other generals. In the winter of 208, another rebel force claiming to restore the Zhao state , led by Zhao Xie [ zh ] ( 趙歇 ), was besieged in Handan by Zhang Han. Zhao Xie requested for reinforcements from Chu. King Huai II granted Xiang Yu
8460-522: Was low on supplies, at Gaixia. Liu Bang ordered his troops to sing folk songs from the Chu region to create a false impression that Xiang Yu's native land had been conquered by Han forces. The morale of the Chu army plummeted and many of Xiang Yu's troops deserted in despair. Xiang Yu sank into a state of depression and he composed the Song of Gaixia . His wife Consort Yu committed suicide. The next morning, Xiang Yu led about 800 of his remaining elite cavalry on
8554-458: Was on an inspection tour in that area and Xiang Yu and his uncle watched the emperor's procession pass by. Xiang Yu said, "I can replace him." Xiang Liang was shocked and immediately covered his nephew's mouth with his hand. Afterwards, Xiang Liang began to see his nephew in a different light. In 209 BC, during the reign of Qin Er Shi , peasant rebellions erupted throughout China to overthrow
8648-407: Was relocated to the remote Hanzhong area and given the title of "King of Han" ( 漢王 ). Xiang Yu appointed several generals from the rebel coalition as vassal kings, even though these generals were subordinates of other lords, who should rightfully be the kings in place of their followers. Xiang Yu also left out some other important rebel leaders who did not support him earlier, but did contribute to
8742-407: Was ridiculous when Xiang Yu claimed that his downfall was due to Heaven's will and not his personal failure. Xiang Yu depicted as a ruthless leader, ordering the massacres of entire cities even after they surrendered peacefully. This often led to cities putting up strong resistance, as they knew they would be killed even if they surrendered. The most notorious example of his cruelty was when he ordered
8836-712: Was said to be dismembered and mutilated in the fight. The reward was eventually claimed by Lü Matong and four others. After Xiang Yu's death, Western Chu surrendered and China was united under Liu Bang's rule, marking the victory of the Han dynasty . Liu Bang held a grand state funeral for Xiang Yu in Gucheng ( 穀城 ; in Dongping County , Tai'an , Shandong), with the ceremony befitting Xiang's title "Duke of Lu". Xiang Yu's relatives were spared from death, including Xiang Bo , who saved Liu Bang's life at Hong Gate, and they were granted marquis titles. Xiang Yu's biography in
#670329