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採薇. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
採薇, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
採薇 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
採薇 you have here. The definition of the word
採薇 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
採薇, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
Etymology
Boyi and Shuqi (approximately 1046 BCE), two princes of the former Shang dynasty, refused to eat the food of the newly founded (in their opinion, usurping) Zhou dynasty. They lived in seclusion in Shouyang Mountain and ate fiddlehead ferns before starving to death:
武王已平殷亂，天下宗周，而伯夷、叔齊恥之，義不食周粟，隱於首陽山，采薇而食之。
武王已平殷乱，天下宗周，而伯夷、叔齐耻之，义不食周粟，隐于首阳山，采薇而食之。 - From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
- Wǔ wáng yǐ píng Yīn luàn, tiānxià zōng Zhōu, ér Bóyí, Shūqí chǐ zhī, yì bùshízhōusù, yǐn yú Shǒuyáng Shān, cǎiwēi ér shí zhī.
- King Wu pacified the unrest of Yin (Shang), and the whole nation switched allegiance to the Zhou dynasty. But Boyi and Shuqi considered it disgraceful and expressed their loyalty to Yin by not eating any grain of Zhou. They secluded themselves in Shouyang Mountain, where they gathered ferns to eat.
Pronunciation
Verb
採薇
- (literary) to pick ferns
采薇采薇、薇亦作止。 - From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Cǎiwēi cǎiwēi, wēi yì zuò zhǐ.
- Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thorn-ferns; The thorn-ferns are now springing up.
- (literary, by extension) to seclude oneself
相顧無相識，長歌懷採薇。
相顾无相识，长歌怀采薇。 - From: 野望 by Wang Ji (王績)
- Xiāng gù wú xiāngshí, cháng gē huái cǎiwēi.
- Among faces around I was acquainted with none; I chanted a song while reflecting upon those who picked ferns in seclusion.