阿堵物
Chinese
| this; money | thing; object; matter | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (阿堵物) |
阿堵 | 物 | |
Etymology
In reference to an anecdote attributed to Wang Yan (aka Yifu, 256–311) in the New Account of the Tales of the World (5th century), who was said to have a morbid taboo against money and the mere mentioning of it:
- 王夷甫雅尚玄遠，常嫉其婦貪濁，口未嘗言「錢」字。婦欲試之，令婢以錢遶床，不得行。夷甫晨起，見錢閡行，呼婢曰：「舉卻阿堵物。」 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5th century CE
- Wáng Yífǔ yǎ shàng xuán yuǎn, cháng jí qí fù tānzhuó, kǒu wèicháng yán “qián” zì. Fù yù shìzhī, lìng bì yǐ qián rǎo chuáng, bùdé xíng. Yífǔ chénqǐ, jiàn qián hé xíng, hū bì yuē: “Jǔ què ādǔwù.” [Pinyin]
- Wang Yifu, a highly refined and profoundly spiritual person, disapproved of his wife's "worldly greed", and he refrained from uttering any word that referred to money. His wife, determined to try him, made a maidservant encircle his couch with coins and thus trapped him inside. When Yifu awoke the next morning and saw the coins blocking his way, he called aloud to the maid and said: "Take away these stuff."
王夷甫雅尚玄远，常嫉其妇贪浊，口未尝言「钱」字。妇欲试之，令婢以钱绕床，不得行。夷甫晨起，见钱阂行，呼婢曰：「举却阿堵物。」 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
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