朝秦暮楚
Chinese
| morning | surname; name of a dynasty | evening; dusk; sunset evening; dusk; sunset; (of time) late; closing |
distinct; clear; orderly distinct; clear; orderly; pain; suffering; ancient place name; surname | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (朝秦暮楚) | 朝 | 秦 | 暮 | 楚 | |
| simp. #(朝秦暮楚) | 朝 | 秦 | 暮 | 楚 | |
| alternative forms | 暮楚朝秦 | ||||
| anagram | 暮楚朝秦 | ||||
| Literally: “in the morning, Qin; in the evening, Chu”. | |||||
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: zhāoqínmùchǔ
- Zhuyin: ㄓㄠ ㄑㄧㄣˊ ㄇㄨˋ ㄔㄨˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: jhaocínmùchǔ
- Wade–Giles: chao1-chʻin2-mu4-chʻu3
- Yale: jāu-chín-mù-chǔ
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jauchynmuhchuu
- Palladius: чжаоциньмучу (čžaocinʹmuču)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ mu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: ziu1 ceon4 mou6 co2
- Yale: jīu chèuhn mouh chó
- Cantonese Pinyin: dziu1 tsoen4 mou6 tso2
- Guangdong Romanization: jiu1 cên4 mou6 co2
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡siːu̯⁵⁵ t͡sʰɵn²¹ mou̯²² t͡sʰɔː³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
朝秦暮楚
- (figurative) to be quick to switch sides
- 「你這猴子好不曉事，也不看看外面光景！此時四處兵荒馬亂，朝秦暮楚，我勉強做了一部《舊唐書》，那裡還有閑情逸志弄這筆墨！」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
- From: Li Ruzhen, Flowers in the Mirror, 1818 CE, translated based on Lin Tai-yi's version
- “Nǐ zhè hóuzi hǎobù xiǎoshì, yě bù kànkan wàimiàn guāngjǐng! Cǐshí sìchù bīnghuāngmǎluàn, zhāoqínmùchǔ, wǒ miǎnqiǎng zuò le yī bù “Jiùtángshū”, nǎlǐ háiyǒu xiánqíngyìzhì nòng zhè bǐmò!” [Pinyin]
- “Gibbon, you really aren't very bright. Look around you—there is fighting and famine, and confusion in the country, and power changes hands from one day to the next. I had all I could cope with to write The History of the Tang Dynasty. Who has the time or the desire to toy with this kind of work?”
「你这猴子好不晓事，也不看看外面光景！此时四处兵荒马乱，朝秦暮楚，我勉强做了一部《旧唐书》，那里还有闲情逸志弄这笔墨！」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
Descendants
See also
- 朝三暮四 (zhāosānmùsì)