乞骸骨

Chinese

		beg	skeleton bones; skeletal remains
trad. (乞骸骨)		乞	骸骨
simp. #(乞骸骨)		乞	骸骨
Literally: “beg for a skeleton”.

Etymology

A metaphor for an old man who served his master for many years, which can be compared to a skeleton:

晏子對曰、前臣之治東阿也、屬託不行、貨賂不至、陂池之魚、以利貧民。當此之時、民無飢、君反以罪臣。今臣後之東阿也、屬託行、貨賂至、并重賦斂、倉庫少内、便事左右、陂池之魚、入于權宗。當此之時、飢者過半矣。君迺反迎而賀。臣愚不能復治東阿。願乞骸骨、避賢者之路。再拜便僻。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

晏子对曰、前臣之治东阿也、属托不行、货赂不至、陂池之鱼、以利贫民。当此之时、民无饥、君反以罪臣。今臣后之东阿也、属托行、货赂至、并重赋敛、仓库少内、便事左右、陂池之鱼、入于权宗。当此之时、饥者过半矣。君迺反迎而贺。臣愚不能复治东阿。愿乞骸骨、避贤者之路。再拜便僻。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Annals of Master Yan, c. 3^rd century BCE

Yànzǐ duì yuē, qián chén zhī zhì Dōng'ē yě, shǔtuō bù xíng, huòlù bù zhì, bēichí zhī yú, yǐ lì pínmín. Dāng cǐ zhī shí, mín wú jī, jūn fǎn yǐ zuì chén. Jīn chén hòu zhī Dōng'ē yě, shǔtuō xíng, huòlù zhì, bìng zhòng fùliǎn, cāngkù shào nèi, biànshì zuǒyòu, bēichí zhī yú, rù yú quánzōng. Dāng cǐ zhī shí, jī zhě guòbàn yǐ. Jūn nǎi fǎn yíng ér hè. Chényú bù néng fù zhì Dōng'ē. Yuàn qǐ háigǔ, bì xiánzhě zhī lù. Zàibài biàn pì. [Pinyin]

Master Yan answered: "In Dong'e when I once ruled, there wasn't any collusion, no bribes offered, fishes in the ponds profited poor people. In that time, there weren't any starved people; your majesty rather penalized me. In Dong'e after my rule, there is collusion, some bribes offered, and heavy taxes, warehouses getting empty, public interests turn aside, fishes in the ponds are obtained by the nobles. In this time, more than half of the people are starved. Your majesty is rather welcoming and celebrating those things. I, stupid vassal can't rule Dong'e again. I wish to beg for (my) skeleton and avoid the path of the wise man." He bowed twice and then got away.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qǐ háigǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧˇ ㄏㄞˊ ㄍㄨˇ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qǐ háigǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧˇ ㄏㄞˊ ㄍㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cǐ háigǔ
    • Wade–Giles: chʻi³ hai²-ku³
    • Yale: chǐ hái-gǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chii hairguu
    • Palladius: ци хайгу (ci xajgu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ xaɪ̯³⁵ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

---

• Middle Chinese: khj+t heaj kwot

Rime
Character	乞	骸	骨
Reading #	1/2	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)	匣 (33)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	迄 (58)	皆 (33)	沒 (56)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	II	I
Fanqie	去迄切	戸皆切	古忽切
Baxter	khj+t	heaj	kwot
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰɨt̚/	/ɦˠɛi/	/kuət̚/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰɨt̚/	/ɦᵚæi/	/kuot̚/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰiət̚/	/ɣɐi/	/kuət̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰɨt̚/	/ɦəɨj/	/kwət̚/
Li Rong	/kʰiət̚/	/ɣɛi/	/kuət̚/
Wang Li	/kʰĭət̚/	/ɣɐi/	/kuət̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/kʰi̯ət̚/	/ɣăi/	/kuət̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qi	xié	gu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hat1	haai4	gwat1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*C.qʰət  [ɡ]ˤrə  kˤut/

  (Zhengzhang): /*kʰɯds  ɡrɯː  kuːd/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	乞	骸	骨
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qǐ	hái	gǔ
Middle Chinese	‹ khjɨt ›	‹ hɛj ›	‹ kwot ›
Old Chinese	/*C.qʰət/	/*[ɡ]ˁrə/	/*kˁut/
English	beg, ask	bones, skeleton	bone
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	乞	骸	骨
Reading #	1/2	1/1	1/1
No.	10073	4835	4321
Phonetic component	乞	亥	骨
Rime group	隊	之	物
Rime subdivision	1	0	2
Corresponding MC rime		諧	骨
Old Chinese	/*kʰɯds/	/*ɡrɯː/	/*kuːd/
Notes	氣字注今體，集韻徑作乞（與）		冎亦聲

Verb

乞⫽骸骨 (verb-object) (intransitive)

1. (literary, figurative, historical, of a state minister) to resign, so as to be buried in one's hometown at death.

Synonyms

• 乞骸
• 致事
• 致政
• 致仕 (zhìshì)
• 休致 (xiūzhì)
• 退休 (tuìxiū)

Descendants

• → Japanese: 骸骨を乞う (gaikotsu o kou) (calque)