龍盤虎踞
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See also: 龙盘虎踞
Chinese[edit]
dragon; imperial; surname | dish; tray; to build dish; tray; to build; to check; to examine; to transfer; (a measure word used for dishes of food or coils of wire); to coil |
tiger | be based upon; squat | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (龍盤虎踞) | 龍 | 盤 | 虎 | 踞 | |
simp. (龙盘虎踞) | 龙 | 盘 | 虎 | 踞 | |
alternative forms | 龍蟠虎踞/龙蟠虎踞 | ||||
Literally: “a dragon coiled and a tiger crouched”. |
Etymology[edit]
Quoted from Zhuge Liang's description of Nanjing's terrain:
- 劉備曾使諸葛亮至京,因睹秣陵山阜,歎曰:「鍾山龍盤,石頭虎踞,此帝王之宅。」 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: Taiping Yulan (Readings of the Taiping Era), 977 – 983 CE
- Liú Bèi céng shǐ Zhūgě Liàng zhì jīng, yīn dǔ mòlíng shān fù, tàn yuē: “Zhōngshān lóng pán, shítóu hǔ jù, cǐ dìwáng zhī zhái.” [Pinyin]
- Liu Bei has once ordered Zhuge Liang to Nanjing. He saw the mountains there and said, “The Bell Mountain is like a coiled dragon, and the Stone City is like a crouched tiger. This should be the home of the emperor.”
刘备曾使诸葛亮至京,因睹秣陵山阜,叹曰:「钟山龙盘,石头虎踞,此帝王之宅。」 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation[edit]
Idiom[edit]
龍盤虎踞
- a location with forbidding and dangerous terrain, especially Nanjing