''Xiehouyu'' is a kind of
Chinese proverb consisting of two elements: the former segment presents a novel scenario while the latter provides the rationale thereof. One would often only state the first part, expecting the listener to know the second. Compare English "
an apple a day
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a common English-language proverb that appeared in the 19th century, advocating for the consumption of apples, and by extension, "if one eats healthful foods, one will remain in good health and will not nee ...
(keeps the doctor away)" or "
speak of the devil
"Speak of the devil" is the short form of the English-language idiom "Speak of the devil and he doth appear" (or its alternative form "speak of the devil and he shall appear"). The form "talk of the devil" is also in use in England. It is used ...
(and he doth/shall appear)".
''Xiēhòuyǔ'' is translated as "enigmatic folk simile; truncated witticism; pun" (''
Wenlin
Wenlin Software for Learning Chinese () is a software application designed by Tom Bishop, who is also president of the Wenlin Institute. It is based on his experience of the needs of learners of the Chinese language, predominantly Mandarin. It co ...
'' 2016).
Pun
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
s are often involved in '. In this case the second part is derived from the first through one meaning, but then another possible meaning of the second part is taken as the true meaning. To create examples in English, one can say "get hospitalized" to mean "be patient", or "small transactions only" to mean "no big deal". Thus a ''xiēhòuyǔ'' in one dialect can be unintelligible to a listener speaking another. Valuable linguistic data can sometimes be gleaned from ancient ''xiēhòuyǔ''.
The origin of Xiehouyu
Xiēhòuyǔ is a special form of language created by the Chinese
working people
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
since ancient times. It is a short, funny and figurative sentence. It consists of two parts: the former part ACTS as a "lead", like a riddle, and the latter part plays the role of "back lining", which is like a riddle, which is quite natural. In a certain language environment, usually the first half, "rest" to the second half, can understand and guess its original meaning, so it is called "xiēhòuyǔ" ("saying with the latter part suspended"). The Chinese civilization has a long history. Five thousand years of historical vicissitudes, quenching, condensing into brilliant language art. The rest of the language is characterized by its unique expressiveness. To give people a deep thought and enlightenment. It reflects the unique customs and national culture of
Huaxia
''Huaxia'' (華夏, ) is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by the various confederations of pre-Qin ethnic ancestors of Han people.
Etymology
The earliest ext ...
nationality, tastes life, understands philosophy and promotes wisdom. Xiēhòuyǔ generally has a profound meaning, and a short sentence condensed a lot of wisdom.
Examples
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**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: wàishēng dǎ dēnglong—zhào jiù
** translation: Nephew handling a lantern — illuminating his uncle/according to the old
ay
**
gloss: as usual, as before
** Note: 舅 and 舊/旧 are homophones, and 照 means "according to" as well as "to illuminate"
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**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: huángdì de nǚér—bù chóu jià
** translation: The daughter of the emperor — need not worry that she cannot soon be wed
** gloss: someone or something that is always wanted
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: lǐyú chī shuǐ——tūntūn tǔtǔ
** translation: Carp drinks eater - swallow and spit
** gloss: speaking hesitantly
** Note: 吞吞吐吐 (swallow and spit) is used describe someone speaking hesitantly
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: èrwàn wǔqiān lǐ chángzhēng —— rènzhòngdàoyuǎn
** translation: 25000
Li (unit)
''Li'' (, ''lǐ'', or , ''shìlǐ''), also known as the Chinese mile, is a traditional Chinese unit of distance. The li has varied considerably over time but was usually about one third of an English mile and now has a standardized length of a ...
long
Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...
- arduous journey
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**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: Lúgōuqiáo shang shí shīzi - shǔ bù qīng
** translation: Stone lions on Lu Gou Bridge - uncountably many
** gloss: A very large amount.
** Note: There are numerous stone lions on
Lu Gou Bridge.
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: cháhú lǐ zhǔ jiǎozi — yǒu kǒu dào bù chū
** translation: Cooking dumplings in a tea kettle — cannot be poured out despite having an opening
** gloss: unable to say something
** Note: 口 can mean both "opening" and "mouth".
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: chuántóu shang pǎo mǎ —— zǒutóuwúlù
** translation: Riding a horse on the ship's bow — nowhere to go
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: dǎ pò shāguō —— wèn dào dǐ
** translation: break a pot - cracks to the bottom
** gloss: Insists to get to the bottom of a question or problem
** Note: 璺 (means cracks) and 问/問 (means ask) have the same pronunciation
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: dī shuǐ shí chuān —— fēi yírì zhī gōng
** translation: Water drops penetrates stone - not done in one day
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: diàn xiàn gǎn shàng bǎng jī máo —— hǎo dà de dǎn (dǎn) zi
** translation: Tying chicken feathers on power pole — what a big feather duster
** gloss: Being cocky
** Note: 掸子 (duster) and 胆子 (guts) have the same pronunciation
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: fènkēng lǐ de shítou —— yòu chòu yòu yìng
** translation: stone in the cesspit — smelly and hard
** gloss: To describe someone being stubborn
** Note: 又臭又硬 literally means "smelly and hard", but is also used to say someone is stubborn
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: jiǎo cǎi liǎng zhī chuán —— yáo bǎi bú dìng
** translation: Each foot stepping on one boat - swinging back and forth
** gloss: Unable to make a decision
** Note: 摇摆/搖擺不定 literally means "swinging back and forth", but is also used to express a situation where a decision is tough to be made
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: lǎohǔ de pìgu —— mō bù dé
** translation: Tiger's butt - mustn't touch
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: huángshǔláng gěi jī bàinián —— búhuáihǎoyì
** translation: A Siberian weasel wishing Happy New Year to a chicken — harboring no good intention.
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ròu bāozi dǎ gǒu —— yǒuqùwúhuí
** translation: hitting a dog by throwing meat dumplings — gone, never returns
* /
**
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: shǒuliúdàn zhà máofáng – jī qǐ gōngfèn (fèn)
** translation: Throwing grenade into a public toilet — stirring up public anger
** Note: 愤/憤 (anger of the public) and 粪/糞 (feces) have the same pronunciation
See also
*
Anapodoton
An anapodoton (from Ancient Greek ''anapódoton'': "that which lacks an apodosis, that is, the consequential clause in a conditional sentence), plural anapodota, is a rhetorical device related to the anacoluthon; both involve a thought being in ...
*
Chengyu
''Chengyu'' () are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression, 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 t ...
: Chinese "set phrases" reflecting conventional wisdom
*
Homophonic puns in Mandarin Chinese
Standard Chinese, like many Sinitic varieties, has a significant number of homophonous syllables and words due to its limited phonetic inventory. The Cihai dictionary lists 149 characters representing the syllable "yì". (However, modern Chi ...
*
Proverbs commonly said to be Chinese
Many Chinese proverbs exist, some of which have entered English in forms that are of varying degrees of faithfulness. A notable example is " A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", from the ''Dao De Jing'', ascribed to Laozi.
Th ...
References
* Rohsenow, John Snowden. ''A Chinese-English dictionary of enigmatic folk similes (xiēhòuyǔ)''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1991.
* ''
Encyclopedia of China
The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...
''. First Edition. Beijing; Shanghai:
Encyclopedia of China Publishing House The Encyclopedia of China Publishing House () is a publishing company in China. It was established in Beijing on November 18, 1978.
The Publishing House has published the ''Encyclopedia of China'' (中国大百科全书) and the Chinese version o ...
. 1980–1993.
External links
A collection of ''xiehouyu''(archived page)
{{Chinese language
Chinese proverbs
Riddles