宿昔

宿昔 (literary)

1. last night; eve

   • 青青河畔草，綿綿思遠道。
     遠道不可思，宿昔夢見之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     青青河畔草，绵绵思远道。
     远道不可思，宿昔梦见之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Anonymous, attributed to Cai Yong by New Songs from the Jade Terrace, 《飲馬長城窟行》(Watering the Horse Under the Great Wall), circa 2^nd century, translated by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang

     Qīngqīng hépàn cǎo, miánmián sī yuǎndào.
     Yuǎndào bùkě sī, sùxī mèngjiàn zhī. [Pinyin]

     Green, green, the grass by the river,
     And in thought I follow it far, far away;
     So far that I can hardly picture him,
     And yet last night I saw him in a dream.

2. former times; in the past

   • 陵雖駑怯，令漢且貰陵罪，全其老母，使得奮大辱之積志，庶幾乎曹柯之盟，此陵宿昔之所不忘也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     陵虽驽怯，令汉且贳陵罪，全其老母，使得奋大辱之积志，庶几乎曹柯之盟，此陵宿昔之所不忘也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

     Líng suī núqiè, lìng Hàn qiě shì Líng zuì, quán qí lǎomǔ, shǐ dé fèn dà rǔ zhī jīzhì, shùjīhū Cáo Kē zhī méng, cǐ Líng sùxī zhī suǒ bùwàng yě. [Pinyin]

     As for myself, though I may be a tired old horse, and a cowardly one at that, if the Han had been willing to overlook my offense, had left my old mother unharmed, and had given me a chance to fulfil those long-nurtured hopes I had of wiping out the terrible shame I had incurred—then I would have become a veritable Cao Mei at the altar of Ke! All those days the thought of it never left my mind.

3. morning and night; day and night; all the time

   • 師曠能鼓《清角》，必有所受，非能質性生出之也。其初受學之時，宿昔習弄，非直一再奏也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     师旷能鼓《清角》，必有所受，非能质性生出之也。其初受学之时，宿昔习弄，非直一再奏也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Wang Chong, Lun Heng (Discussive Weighing), 80 CE

     Shīkuàng néng gǔ “Qīngjué”, bì yǒusuǒ shòu, fēi néng zhìxìng shēng chū zhī yě. Qí chū shòuxué zhī shí, sùxī xí nòng, fēi zhí yī zài zòu yě. [Pinyin]

     Now that Shi Kuang knew how to play the music of Qingjue, he must have learned it from his teacher. When he first learnt that from his teacher, he should practice and play it from morning till night, not just once or twice.

4. overnight

   • 近之所見：李兌之用趙也，餓主父百日而死；卓齒之用齊也，擢湣王之筋，懸之廟梁，宿昔而死。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     近之所见：李兑之用赵也，饿主父百日而死；卓齿之用齐也，擢湣王之筋，悬之庙梁，宿昔而死。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Han Feizi, circa 2^nd century BCE

     Jìn zhī suǒjiàn: Lǐ Duì zhī yòng Zhào yě, è zhǔfù bǎirì ér sǐ; Zhuó Chǐ zhī yòng Qí yě, zhuó Mǐnwáng zhī jīn, xuán zhī miào liáng, sùxī ér sǐ. [Pinyin]

     As witnessed in recent times, no sooner had Li Dui come into power in Zhao, than he starved the Father Sovereign [self-styled by King Wuling of Zhao after he passed the throne to his son] for one hundred days till he died; no sooner had Zhuo Chi [sic, better known as Nao Chi] come into power in Qi, than he pulled out the sinews of King Min and hanged him on the beam of the ancestral shrine where he was found dead the other morning.

(besides the last sense):

• 夙昔 (sùxī)