衣錦還鄉

See also: 衣锦还乡

Chinese

		to wear brocade clothing; wealth and rank; glory	to return to one's hometown; to return home; to retire from public life
trad. (衣錦還鄉)		衣錦	還鄉
simp. (衣锦还乡)		衣锦	还乡
Literally: “to return to one's hometown in silken robes”.

Etymology

From the Records of the Grand Historian:

項王見秦宮皆以燒殘破，又心懷思欲東歸，曰：「富貴不歸故鄉、如衣錦夜行、誰知之者？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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项王见秦宫皆以烧残破，又心怀思欲东归，曰：「富贵不归故乡、如衣锦夜行、谁知之者？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Xiàng wáng jiàn Qín gōng jiē yǐ shāo cánpò, yòu xīnhuái sī yù dōng guī, yuē: “Fùguì bù guī gùxiāng, rú yījǐn yèxíng, shéi zhī zhī zhě?” [Pinyin]

Seeing the palace of Qin was burnt to the ground, Xiang Yu wondered if he should go eastward to his hometown, saying: "To not return home when one has made his fortune is like walking in the night with silken robes, who will notice?"

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yījǐnhuánxiāng, yìjǐnhuánxiāng

  (Zhuyin): ㄧ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ, ㄧˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): i-gím-hoân-hiong

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yījǐnhuánxiāng
    • Zhuyin: ㄧ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yijǐnhuánsiang
    • Wade–Giles: i¹-chin³-huan²-hsiang¹
    • Yale: yī-jǐn-hwán-syāng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ijiinhwanshiang
    • Palladius: ицзиньхуаньсян (iczinʹxuanʹsjan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯än³⁵ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, Taiwan, dated variant in Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yìjǐnhuánxiāng
    • Zhuyin: ㄧˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yìjǐnhuánsiang
    • Wade–Giles: i⁴-chin³-huan²-hsiang¹
    • Yale: yì-jǐn-hwán-syāng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yihjiinhwanshiang
    • Palladius: ицзиньхуаньсян (iczinʹxuanʹsjan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵¹ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯än³⁵ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
    • Yale: yi gám wàahn hēung, yī gám wàahn hēung
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yi³ gem² wan⁴ hêng¹, yi¹ gem² wan⁴ hêng¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː³³ kɐm³⁵ waːn²¹ hœːŋ⁵⁵/, /jiː⁵⁵ kɐm³⁵ waːn²¹ hœːŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: i-gím-hoân-hiong
    • Tâi-lô: i-gím-huân-hiong
    • Phofsit Daibuun: i'gymhoanhiofng
    • IPA (Taipei): /i⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ huan²⁴⁻¹¹ hiɔŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /i⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ huan²³⁻³³ hiɔŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /i⁴⁴⁻²² ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ huan²⁴⁻²² hiɔŋ⁴⁴/

Idiom

衣錦還鄉

1. to return home a success; to return home in glory

Synonyms

• 衣錦故鄉／衣锦故乡
• 衣錦過鄉／衣锦过乡
• 衣錦榮歸／衣锦荣归 (yījǐnróngguī)