乞骸骨

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Chinese

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

Etymology

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

東阿屬託貨賂陂池貧民東阿屬託貨賂賦斂倉庫便事左右陂池權宗過半臣愚東阿骸骨賢者再拜便 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
东阿属托货赂陂池贫民东阿属托货赂赋敛仓库便事左右陂池权宗过半臣愚东阿骸骨贤者再拜便 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Annals of Master Yan, c. 3rd 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

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Rime
Character
Reading # 1/2 1/1 1/1
Initial () (29) (33) (28)
Final () (58) (33) (56)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø) Level (Ø) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open Closed
Division () III II I
Fanqie
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
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1 1/1 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
hái
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
Reading # 1/2 1/1 1/1
No. 10073 4835 4321
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
1 0 2
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*kʰɯds/ /*ɡrɯː/ /*kuːd/
Notes

Verb

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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

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Descendants

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