折桂

Chinese

		tenth (in price); to break; to fold tenth (in price); to break; to fold; to turn; broken (as of rope, stick)	Cinnamomum cassia; Guangxi Autonomous Region (abbrev.)
simp. and trad. (折桂)		折	桂
Literally: “to break off a sprig of osmanthus”.

Etymology

This figurative term has its origin in Xi Shen (郤詵) of the Jin dynasty (265–420), who self-deprecatingly referred to himself before the emperor as:

「桂林一枝、昆山片玉」 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

“guìlín yī zhī, Kūnshān piàn yù” [Pinyin]

“a sprig from an osmanthus grove, a chip of jade from Kunshan”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhéguì

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄜˊ ㄍㄨㄟˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zit³ gwai³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhéguì
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄜˊ ㄍㄨㄟˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhéguèi
    • Wade–Giles: chê²-kuei⁴
    • Yale: jé-gwèi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jerguey
    • Palladius: чжэгуй (čžɛguj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂɤ³⁵ ku̯eɪ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zit³ gwai³
    • Yale: jit gwai
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzit⁸ gwai³
    • Guangdong Romanization: jid³ guei³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siːt̚³ kʷɐi̯³³/

Verb

折桂

1. (literary, figurative, historical) to pass the imperial examination
2. (figurative) to obtain first place in an examination or competition; to win the laurels

Derived terms

• 折桂攀蟾
• 攀蟾折桂
• 月中折桂
• 蟾宮折桂 / 蟾宫折桂 (chángōngzhéguì)