寒蟬
Chinese
cold; poor; to tremble | cicada | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (寒蟬) | 寒 | 蟬 | |
simp. (寒蝉) | 寒 | 蝉 |
Pronunciation
Noun
寒蟬
- (literally) cicada in winter
- (literary) a kind of cicada that is small in size and bluegreen-red in colour
- (literary, figurative) one who stays silent
- 劉勝位為大夫,見禮上賓,而知善不薦,聞惡無言,隱情惜己,自同寒蟬,此罪人也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5th century CE
- Liú Shèng wèiwéi dàfū, jiànlǐ shàngbīn, ér zhīshàn bùjiàn, wén'è wúyán, yǐnqíng xījǐ, zìtóng hánchán, cǐ zuìrén yě. [Pinyin]
- Liu Sheng ranks as a dafu (great official) and is received as the guest of honour everywhere; yet he fails to promote the virtuous persons he meets; he fails to speak against the evil he witnesses; he buries the truth, unwilling to risk himself; he chooses to be as silent as a chilled cicada. We have a guilty man in him.
刘胜位为大夫,见礼上宾,而知善不荐,闻恶无言,隐情惜己,自同寒蝉,此罪人也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
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