一衣帶水 (Yī yī dài shuǐ)
Lit. A belt of water
Fig. (separated only by) a narrow strip of water
From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=665
Source: Tang – Li Dashi (李大師), Li Yanshou (李延壽) – History of the Southern Dynasties – Latter History of Chen (南史·陳紀下): “Emperor Wen of Sui said to the Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat (僕射) Gao Jiong: ‘I am like the parent of the people, how can I be limited by a belt of water and not lend my help?'” Later generations then refined this quote into the idiom “A belt of water”.
Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, was from the Northern Zhou‘s nobility class and was Yang Zhong‘s son. Yang Zhong once accompanied Emperor Taizu of Zhou in the uprising at Guanxi (關西), where he later rose up to the position of Minister of Works (大司空) and was made the Duke of Sui (隋國公). Yang Jian inherited his father’s title and eventually became the Regent-General (大司馬). After Emperor Xuan of Zhou (周宣帝) died from illness, Emperor Jing inherited the throne, and due to the new ruler’s young age, Yang Jian became the prime minister and took charge of governing the kingdom. He later took on the title of the Prince of Sui, then removed Emperor Jing from the throne and made himself emperor, calling his new government Sui, changing the Era name to Kaihuang (開皇), establishing a new capital called Daxing (大興), where now only lands south of the Yangtze was [not under his control and] ruled by the Chen Dynasty.
At that time Chen Houzhu (陳後主 – lit. the second ruler of Chen) indulged in debauchery and neglected his duties in governing the country, so Emperor Wen of Sui sent troops to attack Chen on the pretext of pacifying the lands and eliminating the despotic rule of the Chen’s ruler. Before the expedition, Emperor Wen said to his subordinates: “I am like a parent of the common people, how can I then refrain from rescuing those suffering on the other bank just because of the separation between the two sides by this insignificant belt of water [e.g. Yangtze River]?” In reality, the Yangtze is a very large river, reaching a width of more than 1700 chi’s at its widest stretch. But in order to emphasize his determination to send troops south to fight Chen, Emperor Wen used the word “belt” to describe the Yangtze River. In the 9th year of Kaihuang Era, the Chen Dynasty was overthrown, ending more than 260 years of division and war since the ruling of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The idiom “A belt of water” was taken directly from this source, and was originally used to describe a river being as narrow as that of a belt. Later it was also used to generally indicate the fact that the separation by a river is not enough to limit contact and/or association [between two parties].
—– VOCABULARY —–
總攬 zǒng lǎn – to assume full responsibility; to be in full control; to monopolize
攬 lǎn – to monopolize; to seize; to take into one’s arms; to embrace; to fasten (with a rope etc); to take on (responsiblity etc); to canvass [[lãm: nắm giữ, nắm hết; bao thầu; ôm lấy, bồng, bế, ẵm; hái, ngắt, bắt lấy; gạt; gây ra, đem lại; chiêu dẫn, lôi kéo; vén, thoát ra; xem, nhìn]]
改元 gǎi yuán – to change an emperor’s or ruler’s reign title (old)
但 dàn – but, yet, however, only, merely, still [[đãn: nhưng mà, song, những; hễ, phàm, nếu; chỉ]]
仍 réng – still, yet, to remain [[nhưng: noi theo, chiếu theo; vẫn, cứ, như cũ; luôn luôn, nhiều lần; nên, rồi, vì thế]]
誤 wù – mistake; error; to miss; to harm; to delay; to neglect; mistakenly [[ngộ: sự sai lầm; lầm lẫn; lỡ, bỏ lỡ; mê hoặc; làm hại, làm lụy]]
藉口 jiè kǒu – to use as an excuse; on the pretext; excuse; pretext
阻隔 zǔ gé – to separate; to cut off
拯救 zhěng jiù – to save; to rescue [[cứu nguy, cứu vãn, cứu vớt]]
拯 zhěng – to raise; to aid; to support; to save; to rescue [[chửng: cứu vớt, cứu trợ; giơ lên]]
寬 kuān – lenient; wide; broad [[khoan: rộng, lớn; độ lượng, không nghiêm khắc; ung dung, thư thái; thừa thãi, dư dả, sung túc; bề rộng, chiều rộng; cởi, nới; kéo dài, nới rộng, thả lỏng; khoan dung, tha thứ]]
摘 zhāi – to take; to borrow; to pick (flowers, fruit etc); to pluck; to select; to remove; to take off (glasses, hat etc) [[trích: hái, ngắt, bẻ; chọn lấy; phát giác, tố giác, cáo giác, chê trách, phê bình; vay mượn; quấy nhiễu; phát động]]
狹窄 xiá zhǎi – narrow
窄 zhǎi – narrow; narrow-minded; badly off [[trách: chật, hẹp]]
泛 fàn – to float; to be suffused with; general; extensive; non-specific; flood; pan- (prefix) [[phiếm: trôi nổi, bồng bềnh, lênh đênh; hiện ra, bốc lên; tràn, ngập; lật, lật đổ; thua, bại; không thiết thực; ố, bẩn, ô nhiễm; không chuyên chỉ vào một sự gì nhất định; rộng khắp, phổ biến]]
交往 jiāo wǎng – to associate (with); to have contact (with); to hang out (with); to date; (interpersonal) relationship; association; contact
熲 jiǒng – blaze; bright [[huỳnh, quýnh: ánh lửa; sáng chói, soi tỏ]]
系列 xì liè – series; set
依 yī – to depend on; to comply with or listen to sb; according to; in the light of [[y: dựa, tựa; nương nhờ; theo cách sẵn có, làm theo lối đã định; nghe theo, thuận theo; như cũ, như trước]]
恃 shì – to rely on; mother (formal) [[thị: cậy, nương nhờ]]
天險 tiān xiǎn – a natural stronghold
詢問 xún wèn – to inquire
詢 xún – to ask about; to inquire about [[tuân: tra hỏi, hỏi ý nhiều người để quyết nên chăng; tin; đều, bằng]]
莊稼 zhuāng jia – farm crop
稼 jià – to sow grain; (farm) crop [[giá: cấy, canh tác; lúa má, phiếm chỉ sản vật nhà nông]]
成熟 chéng shú – mature; ripe; to mature; to ripen [[thành thục, làm quen]]
熟 shú – cooked (of food); ripe (of fruit); mature (of seeds); familiar; skilled; done [[thục: nấu chín; trưởng thành, mọc lớn lên (nói về trồng trọt); được mùa; thành thạo; đã quen, đã thuộc; luyện, rèn, thuộc, bào chế; kĩ càng, tinh tường; say]]
收穫 shōu huò – to harvest; to reap; to gain; crop; harvest; profit; gain; bonus; reward [[thu hoạch, lấy được]]
穫 huò – to reap; to harvest [[hoạch: gặt, cắt lúa; giành được, lấy được; vụ, mùa (gặt hái)]]
季節 jì jié – time; season; period [[mùa, vụ, kỳ]]
揚言 yáng yán – to put about (a story, plan, threat etc); to let it be known (esp. of threat or malicious story); to threaten
屯 tún – to station (soldiers); to store up; village [[truân: khó khăn; đồn: họp, tụ tập, tích trữ; đóng quân phòng thủ; đóng quân khẩn hoang, trồng trọt; chất đống, làm trở ngại; thôn trang, làng quê; trại binh, quân doanh]]
措手不及 cuò shǒu bù jí – no time to deal with it (idiom); caught unprepared
措 cuò – to handle; to manage; to put in order; to arrange; to administer; to execute; to take action on; to plan [[thố: đặt để; vất bỏ, phế bỏ; bắt tay làm, thi hành; lo liệu, sửa soạn; đâm, giết; trách: đuổi bắt]]
地窖 dì jiào – cellar; basement
窖 jiào – cellar [[giáo: hầm, hố, như “địa giáo” 地窖 nhà hầm trong lòng đất; chôn giấu, cất giữa; sâu xa (tấm lòng)]]
茅 máo – reeds; rushes [[mao: cỏ tranh, lá dùng lợp nhà, rễ dùng làm thuốc và đánh dây; rơm rác, nói ví cảnh nhà quê]]
禎 zhēn – auspicious; lucky [[trinh: điềm lành, cát tường]]