罄竹難書

Chinese

		entirely; exhausted; stern	bamboo	disaster; distress; to scold disaster; distress; to scold; difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good	book; letter
trad. (罄竹難書)		罄	竹	難	書
simp. (罄竹难书)		罄	竹	难	书
Literally: “so many that one cannot record all of them on bamboo slips even when they have been exhausted”.

Etymology

From Lüshi Chunqiu:

此皆亂國之所生也，不能勝數，盡荊、越之竹，猶不能書。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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此皆乱国之所生也，不能胜数，尽荆、越之竹，犹不能书。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

Cǐ jiē luàn guó zhī suǒ shēng yě, bùnéng shēng shǔ, jìn Jīng, Yuè zhī zhú, yóu bùnéng shū. [Pinyin]

These weird phenomena were due to political corruption. There were so many of them that it would not be enough to record all even if the bamboos in Jing (also known as Chu) and Yue states were used up.

Another source is from Zu Junyan's letter of declaration of war against Emperor Yang of Sui on behalf of Li Mi, which was also quoted in the Old Book of Tang:

罄南山之竹，書罪無窮；決東海之波，流惡難盡。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

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罄南山之竹，书罪无穷；决东海之波，流恶难尽。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: The Old Book of Tang, 945 CE

Qìng Nánshān zhī zhú, shū zuì wúqióng; jué Dōnghǎi zhī bō, liú è nán jìn. [Pinyin]

Even using up the bamboos in Zhongnan Mountains would not be enough to write (Emperor Yang's) crimes; even using up the water in the East Sea would not be enough to wash away his crimes.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qìngzhúnánshū

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥˋ ㄓㄨˊ ㄋㄢˊ ㄕㄨ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hing³ zuk¹ naan⁴ syu¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qìngzhúnánshū
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥˋ ㄓㄨˊ ㄋㄢˊ ㄕㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cìngjhúnánshu
    • Wade–Giles: chʻing⁴-chu²-nan²-shu¹
    • Yale: chìng-jú-nán-shū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chinqjwunanshu
    • Palladius: цинчжунаньшу (cinčžunanʹšu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ nän³⁵ ʂu⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: hing³ zuk¹ naan⁴ syu¹
    • Yale: hing jūk nàahn syū
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hing³ dzuk⁷ naan⁴ sy¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: hing³ zug¹ nan⁴ xu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɪŋ³³ t͡sʊk̚⁵ naːn²¹ syː⁵⁵/

Idiom

罄竹難書

1. (of crimes) to be innumerable

Synonyms

• 擢髮難數／擢发难数 (zhuófànánshǔ)