河漢
Chinese
| river | Chinese; name of a dynasty; man | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (河漢) | 河 | 漢 | |
| simp. (河汉) | 河 | 汉 | |
Etymology
The figurative sense “empty talk” is from Zhuangzi:
- 肩吾問於連叔曰：「吾聞言於接輿，大而無當，往而不反。吾驚怖其言，猶河漢而無極也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Jiānwú wèn yú Liánshū yuē: “Wú wén yán yú Jiēyú, dà ér wú dàng, wǎng ér bù fǎn. Wú jīngbù qí yán, yóu héhàn ér wújí yě.” [Pinyin]
- Jian Wu asked Lian Shu, saying, 'I heard Jie Yu talking words which were great, but had nothing corresponding to them (in reality); once gone, they could not be brought back. I was frightened by them; they were like the Milky Way which cannot be traced to its beginning or end.'
肩吾问于连叔曰：「吾闻言于接舆，大而无当，往而不反。吾惊怖其言，犹河汉而无极也。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Noun
河漢
- (literary) the Yellow River and the Han River
- (literary or Taiwanese Hakka) Milky Way
- (literary, figuratively) something wide-ranging and profound
- (literary, figuratively) empty talk
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 銀河 (“Milky Way”) [map]
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