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Chengyu
''Chengyu'' ( zh, t=, s=, first=t, p=chéngyǔ, tr=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 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. ''Chengyu'' are one of four types of formulaic expressions (), which also include collocations (), two-part allegorical sayings called '' xiehouyu'', and proverbs (). While not the only idioms in Chinese, and not always four characters long, they are often referred to as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zuo Zhuan
The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' Spring and Autumn Annals''. It comprises 30 chapters covering the period from 722 to 468BC, and focuses mainly on political, diplomatic, and military affairs from that era. For many centuries, the ''Zuo Zhuan'' was the primary text through which educated Chinese learned their ancient history. The ''Zuo Zhuan'' does not simply explain the wording of the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', but rather expounds upon its historical background with rich and lively accounts of the history and culture of the Spring and Autumn period (771476 BC). The ''Zuo Zhuan'' is the source of more Chinese sayings and idioms than any other classical work, and its concise, flowing style served as a paragon of elegant Classical Chinese. Its tendency toward thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Written Vernacular Chinese
Written vernacular Chinese, also known as ''baihua'', comprises forms of written Chinese based on the vernacular varieties of the language spoken throughout China. It is contrasted with Literary Chinese, which was the predominant written form of the language in imperial China until the early 20th century. A style based on vernacular Mandarin Chinese was used in novels by Ming and Qing dynasty authors, and was later refined by intellectuals associated with the May Fourth Movement. This form corresponds to spoken Standard Chinese, but is the standard form of writing used by speakers of all varieties of Chinese throughout mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is commonly called Standard Written Chinese or Modern Written Chinese to distinguish it from spoken vernaculars and other written vernaculars, like written Cantonese and written Hokkien. Background During the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC), Old Chinese was the spoken form of the language, which was re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Julu
The Battle of Julu () was fought in Julu (in present-day Pingxiang County, Xingtai, Hebei, China) in 207 BC primarily between forces of the Qin dynasty and the insurgent state of Chu. The Qin commander was Zhang Han, while the Chu leader was Xiang Yu. The battle concluded with a decisive victory for the rebels over the larger Qin army. The battle marked the decline of Qin military power as the bulk of the Qin armies were destroyed in this battle. Background In the ninth lunar month of 208 BC, at the Battle of Dingtao, the Qin general Zhang Han defeated a force from the insurgent Chu state led by Xiang Liang. Zhang Han then led the Qin army north across the Yellow River to attack another rebel state, Zhao, and defeated the Zhao army. He then ordered his deputies Wang Li () and She Jian () to besiege Handan (Zhao's capital) while he garrisoned his army at the south to maintain a route for supplying the troops attacking Handan. Zhao's ruler Zhao Xie () sent a messenger to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhao Gao
Zhao Gao (died ) was a Chinese politician. He was an official of the Qin dynasty of China. Allegedly a eunuch, he served as a close aide to all three rulers of the Qin dynasty – Qin Shi Huang, Qin Er Shi and Ziying – and was regarded as having played an instrumental role in the downfall of the dynasty. Zhao Gao started his career under Qin Shi Huang as Prefect of the Office for Imperial Carriages (), an official in charge of managing the palace's horse-drawn carriages. During this period of time, he also served as an attendant to Huhai, Qin Shi Huang's youngest son, and tutored him in the laws of the Qin Empire. In 210 BC, after Qin Shi Huang died in Shaqiu (; south of present-day Dapingtai Village, Guangzong County, Hebei), Zhao Gao and Li Si, the Chancellor, secretly changed the emperor's final edict, which originally named Fusu, the crown prince, the heir to the throne. In the falsified edict, Fusu was ordered to commit suicide while Huhai was named the new emperor. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouyang Xiu
Ouyang Xiu (; 1007 – 1072 CE), courtesy name Yongshu, also known by his art names Zuiweng () and Liu Yi Jushi (), was a Chinese historian, calligrapher, epigrapher, essayist, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a renowned writer among his contemporaries and is considered the central figure of the Eight Masters of the Tang and Song. He revived the Classical Prose Movement (first begun by the two Tang dynasty masters two centuries before him) and promoted it in imperial examinations, paving the way for future masters like Su Shi and Su Zhe. Ouyang Xiu's interests as a writer were remarkably diverse. As a historian, he was put in charge by Emperor Renzong of Song of creating the ''New Book of Tang'', which was completed in 1060 CE. He also wrote in his spare time the '' Historical Records of the Five Dynasties'', the only book in the Twenty-Four Histories to have been written in private by a single author. As a poet, he was a noted writer of both the '' cí'' and ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classic Of Poetry
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. It is one of the " Five Classics" traditionally said to have been compiled by Confucius, and has been studied and memorized by scholars in China and neighboring countries over two millennia. It is also a rich source of '' chengyu'' (four-character classical idioms) that are still a part of learned discourse and even everyday language in modern Chinese. Since the Qing dynasty, its rhyme patterns have also been analysed in the study of Old Chinese phonology. Name Early references refer to the anthology as the ''300 Poems'' ('' shi''). ''The Odes'' first became known as a ''jīng'', or a "classic book", in the canonical sense, as part of the Han dynasty's official adoption of Con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
:Category:Chinese Words And Phrases
For articles on words and phrases related to a specific area of China, or to a specific spoken variant, please refer to one of the subcategories. Words A word is a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguists on its ... Words and phrases by language {{CatAutoTOC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Great Classical Novels
Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known works of literary fiction across pre-modern Chinese literature. The group usually includes the following works: Ming dynasty novels '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', '' Water Margin'', ''Journey to the West'', and '' The Plum in the Golden Vase''; and Qing dynasty novels '' Dream of the Red Chamber'' and '' The Scholars''. These works are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish the novel as a respected form among later popular audiences and erudite critics. The Chinese historian and literary theorist C. T. Hsia wrote in 1968 that these six works "remain the most beloved novels among the Chinese." During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Chinese novels inspired sequels, rebuttals, and reinventions with new settings, sometimes in different genres. Far more than in the European tradition, every level of society was familiar with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of The Northern Dynasties
The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618 CE: the histories of Northern Wei, Western Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Zhou, Northern Qi, and Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri .... Like the '' History of the Southern Dynasties'', the book was started by Li Dashi and compiled from texts of the '' Book of Wei'' and '' Book of Zhou''. Following his death, Li Yanshou (李延寿), son of Li Dashi, completed work on the book between 643 and 659 CE. Unlike most of the rest of the Twenty-Four Histories, this work was not commissioned by the state. Content Volumes 1–5 contain the Wei annals including the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. The state was based in the area around present-day Hanzhong, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, and north Guangxi, an area historically referred to as "Shu" based on the name of the past Shu (kingdom), ancient kingdom of Shu, which also occupied this approximate geographical area. Its core territory also coincided with Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang's Emperor Gaozu of Han#King of Han, Kingdom of Han, the precursor of the Han dynasty. Shu Han's founder, Liu Bei (Emperor Zhaolie), had named his dynasty "Han", as he considered it a rump state of the Han dynasty and thus the legitimate successor to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Shan
Liu Shan (, 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan. His reign of 40 years was the longest of all emperors in the Three Kingdoms era. During Liu Shan's reign, many campaigns were led against the rival state of Cao Wei, primarily by Zhuge Liang and his successor Jiang Wei, but to little avail, due to their drastic mismatch in terms of population and geographic extent. Liu Shan eventually surrendered to Wei in 263 after Deng Ai led a surprise attack on the Shu capital Chengdu. He was quickly relocated to the Wei capital at Luoyang, and enfeoffed as "Duke Anle". There he enjoyed his last years peacefully before dying in 271, most probably of natural causes. Widely known to later generations by his infant name "Adou" (), Liu Shan was commonly perceived as an i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
