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The phase: "Tan Wei Guan Zhi "
Today
we introduce a phrase we often use when we see something that we
think couldn’t be better. The idiom goes Tan Wei Guan Zhi????
meaning “to praise something as the acme of perfection”.
This
is how the idiom came about.
It
happened during the Spring and Autumn Period, about 2500 years ago.
The king of the State of Wu was dying. He called his four sons to
his side and said to them: “ I know I can’t live long,
so I want to choose one of you to succeed the throne. I always think
the youngest brother Ji Zha?? is the most capable among you four.
Therefore I’ve decided to let him be the future monarch of
Wu. You brothers should help each other in days to come.”
But Ji Zha was so modest that he refused to accept the decision.
So the old monarch made his testament, in which he ordered his four
sons to come to the throne successively, and Ji Zha should be the
last to get the crown.
Thus
the eldest son was in power for thirteen years, and the second one
for seventeen years. When the third son came to the throne, he appointed
Ji Zha to be his Prime Minister. Ji Zha advocated peace, and making
friends with the princes of the states of Qi?and Jin?. The monarch
approved his idea and sent him to the States of Lu?, Qi?, Zhen?,
Wei? and Jin? on diplomatic missions.
In
544 B.C., Ji Zha visited the State of Lu and expressed the wish
of being everlasting friends to Lu’s monarch, who appreciated
it very much, and treated Ji Zha to magnificent entertainment. Ji
Zha, who was quite an expert on singing and dancing, enjoyed it
immensely. When a most elegant, gorgeous dance was presented, Ji
Zha guessed it must be the final item of the show. So he said, “Today’s
performances were wonderful. I liked them very much indeed. Let’s
call it a night.” The people of Lu were very surprised by
Ji Zha’s knowing that that magnificent perfomance signaled
the end of the whole program.
Ji
Zha’s erudition won their great admiration, and also made
him successful in his diplomatic mission.
From
what Ji Zha said about the final item of the show, people drew the
idiom Tan Wei Guan Zhi, which word for word means, Acclaim, as,
look, stop. But it really means “to acclaim something as the
height of perfection”. If you want to say something could
not be better, you can call it Tan Wei Guan Zhi. The spelling? T-A-N,
W-E-I, G-U-A-N, Z-H-I. The tone pattern is fourth, second, first,
third. Now let’s say it together: Tan Wei Guan Zhi. Again:
Tan Wei Guan Zhi. Good. And that’s our idiom and its story
for today. Hope you enjoyed it.
from
CRI
Online.
2.
Books with mentioning about Prince Wu
ZUO'S
COMMENTARY ON SPRING AND AUTUMN ANNALS (SELECTIONS) -
Translation of Confucian Classics (A Chinese-English Bilingual Edition)
- ISBN
7806422927, paperback 07/01/2000
-
Translations of Confucian Classics / Chinese-English Bilingual
Edition
-
Translated into Modern Chinese: Li Shibiao
-
Translated into English: Hu Zhihui & Zheng Aifang
Compiled
on the basis of the record of events pre- served in various states
during the first years of the Warring States period, Zuozhuan (Zuo's
Commentary) is a book devoted to render an interpretation of Chunqiu
(the Spring and Autumn Annals). As for the question of authorship,
it has been generally accepted that the putative author of this
work is Zuo Qiuming, a court historiographer of the State of Lu,
who was a younger contemporary of Confucius (511-479 B. C.).
Apart
from being one of the "Thirteen Classics in the field of Confucitisrn",
it is widely acknowledged as a gigantic historical book and an epoch-making
literary works. Judging merely from the literary angle alone, Zuozhuan
has obtained an amazing achievement. For instance, in addition to
giving a vivid descriptions of battles, it has recorded the speech
and activities of many talented scholars as well as the overt contentions
and covert struggles among the members of the royal house and their
supporters. All of these are none other than the cream of this works.
Hence, we have laid our emphasis on choosing the text in the above-mentioned
fields. For example, we have covered almost all important battles
as well as the speeches and activities of the famous celebrities,
including Shu Xiang (Jin), Yan Ying(Qi), Zi Chan (Zheng) and Ji
Zha (Wu), known as the Four Talented Scholars during the Spring
and Autumn period.
It
is acknowledged that the history of the State of Lu is quite sketchy
in the selections from Zuozhuan compiled and published in the past.
For this reason, in order to make up this shortcoming, we have purposely
covered the history of the State of Lu in an appropriate manner.
Considering the inconvenience in the field of translation, we avoid
to choose the text related to either the laws or institutions.
In
the process of our translation we have made it a principle to unfold
the original in a pithy style. As for the presentation, we have
done our utmost to get the exact meaning of the original with the
help of the results achieved by the former scholars. But, instead
of sticking only to a single expert, we "choose and follow
what is good". Since the background of this works is quite
complicated, there will be a lot of places in the translation that
ought to be corrected or can be improved. It is our sincere wish
that readers would give us criticisms and suggestions.
**
Available on a separate page, are Ji
Zha's comments. These comments are taken from Ji Zha's appraisal
of the Zhou musical traditions preserved by the state of Lu ?as
told in the Zuo Transmission«??»??????. These comments
are interesting since they weave odes together to narrate a history
of the Zhou dynasty. David Schaberg devotes a section to Ji Zha
in his book A Patterned Past. Maybe someday I'll get around to posting
a bibilography. This is taken from Harrison
Z. Huang, Ph.D Student in E. Asian Lang. & Cultures, University
of California, Berkeley
3.
Story from Ancient China: Autumn Wind Passing by My Ears
During
the Spring and Autumn Period, Shou Mong, the king of the state of
Wu had four sons. He named the eldest son Zhu Fan, the second Yu
Ji, the third Yu Muo and the youngest Ji Zha. Among all four, Ji
Zha was the one with the most pleasant personality. The king was
extremely fond of his youngest son. In A.D. 561, the king became
seriously ill. He asked for Ji Zha and told him that he would be
the successor to his throne. However, Ji Zha would not accept it.
He said: “Generally, the eldest son inherits the throne. Father,
please, do not continue to shower me with gifts to show your affection.”
Therefore, the king’s eldest son, Zhu Fan, inherited the throne.
Before he died, the king tasked his oldest son to take good care
of Ji Zha.
After
Zhu Fan was made the king, he called on his two younger brothers
to discuss the order of succession. They decided that the throne
should be handed from brother to brother. That meant that Ji Zha
would become king in the end. Three of the brothers inherited the
throne, one after each other. Ji Zha served them loyally. His virtue
became well known by people far and wide. Before King Yu Muo died,
he called Ji Zha to hand the throne to him. Ji Zha refused again.
He said: "I already made it clear that I did not want to sit
on the throne. I only wish to live an honest and noble life. Splendor,
wealth and honor are just like the autumn wind passing by my ear.
They mean nothing to me." He left the capital and didn’t
return until a royal relative Liao was made emperor. Only then did
he return to help Liao govern the country. The proverb "Autumn
Wind passing by the ears" is a metaphor that indicates that
such matters are of no importance.
Excerpt
from ("Window of Cartoon")
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