sử xanh

Vietnamese

FWOTD – 22 June 2023

Etymology

From sử (“history”) +‎ xanh (“green”). Calque of Chinese 青史 (thanh sử).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [sɨ˧˩ sajŋ̟˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʂɨ˧˨ sɛɲ˧˧] ~ [sɨ˧˨ sɛɲ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʂɨ˨˩˦ san˧˧] ~ [sɨ˨˩˦ san˧˧]

Noun

sử xanh

1. green chronicles (account of historical events written on green bamboo slips); (figurative) old book; history book
   • 1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều)‎^[1], published 1870, lines 7–8:

     藁(Cảo)𦹳(thơm)吝(lần)𢷣(giở)𠓀(trước)畑(đèn)
     風(Phong)情(tình)古(cổ)錄(lục)群(còn)傳(truyền)史(sử)撑(xanh)

     Turning scented pages of an old volume under an oil lamp,
     I started reading a long-ago tale of love and romance.