安然無恙 (ān rán wú yàng)
(1) safe and sound (idiom)
(2) to come out unscathed (e.g. from an accident or illness)
Explanation:
To be safe and sound, without encountering disasters or unwanted accidents. 恙 (yàng – literally means ‘sickness’) metaphorically refers to disasters.
In the year 266 B.C., King Huiwen of Zhao passed away. His son, the Crowned Prince Dan, inherited the throne, becoming King Xiaocheng of Zhao. Due to King Xiaocheng not of ruling age at that time, all policies concerning the country were handled by his mother, the Dowager Queen Wei of Zhao (趙威后). Dowager Queen Wei of Zhao was a relatively just, perceptive, and knowledgeable middle-aged woman. Soon after she took charge of the state of Zhao‘s affairs, the state of Qin intensified their military campaign against Zhao. Zhao was in danger, so it turned to the state of Qi for help. Qi asked the Dowager Queen to first deliver her younger son, Prince Changan (長安君), to Qi as a hostage, after which Qi would come to Zhao’s aid. The Dowager Queen could not bear to part with her younger son, but she listened to the court official Chu Long (觸龍)’s opinion and allowed Prince Changan to leave for Qi. Qi’s soldiers then came to aid Zhao, repelling Qin’s troops.
Once, the King of Qi sent an envoy carrying his letter of homage to the Dowager Queen Wei of Zhao. She did not open the letter, but proceeded to ask the envoy: “Did Qi have a good harvest? Are the common people safe and sound? Is your king in good health?”
Qi’s envoy was not happy upon hearing her questions. He said: “My king sent me to pay respect to your majesty, but just now you did not consider his well-being before others. You first asked about our harvest and then the common people: how could you place such insignificant matters in the beginning, and put honorable beings like my king at the end?”
The Dowager Queen smiled and said: “That is not true. If you do not have a harvest, how then can you have the common people? And if you do not have the common people, how then can you have a king? Don’t tell me that when it’s time to pay respect one should abandon the root and only ask about the trivial matters?”
Upon hearing this, Qi’s envoy was at a loss for words. This “無恙” (e.g. no sickness, in good health) story later evolved to become the idiom “安然無恙” (safe and sound).
—– VOCABULARY —–
損害 sǔn hài – harm; to damage; to impair [[tổn hại]]
恙 yàng – sickness [[dạng: bệnh, tật; lo âu]]
疾病 jí bìng – disease; sickness; ailment
疾 jí – sickness; disease; hate; envy; swift [[tật]]
病 bìng – illness; disease; to fall ill; defect
借指 jiè zhǐ – to refer to; metaphor
借 jiè – to lend; to borrow; by means of; to take (an opportunity) [[tá: vay, mượn; cho vay, cho mượn; giả thác, lợi dụng]]
災禍 zāi huò – disaster
由於 yóu yú – due to; as a result of; thanks to; owing to; since; because
年輕 nián qīng – young
負責 fù zé – to be in charge of; to take responsibility for; to be to blame; conscientious
比較 bǐ jiào – to compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison
較 jiào – to compare; to dispute; compared to; (before adj.) relatively; comparatively; rather [[giếu, giảo: so sánh; khái lược, đại khái; khá tương đối; rõ rệt, rành rành]]
見識 jiàn shi – knowledge and experience; to increase one’s knowledge
婦女 fù nǚ – woman
婦 fù – woman
剛剛 gāng gang – just recently; just a moment ago
主持 zhǔ chí – to take charge of; to manage or direct; to preside over; to uphold; to stand for (justice etc); to host (a TV or radio program etc.) [[chủ trì]]
持 chí – to hold; to grasp; to support; to maintain; to persevere; to manage; to run (i.e. administer); to control [[trì]]
加劇 jiā jù – to intensify; to sharpen; to accelerate; to aggravate; to exacerbate; to embitter
劇 jù – theatrical work (play, opera, TV series, etc.); dramatic (change, increase etc.); acute; severe [[kịch]]
危急 wēi jí – critical; desperate (situation) [[nguy cấp]]
求救 qiú jiù – to cry for help [[cầu cứu]]
送 sòng – to deliver; to carry; to give (as a present); to present (with); to see off; to send [[tống]]
人質 rén zhì – hostage
質 zhì – character; nature; quality; plain; to pawn; pledge; hostage; to question [[chí: để một vật hay người làm tin; chất: bản thể; bẩm tính; hỏi, cật vấn]]
舍不得 shě bu de – to hate to do sth; to hate to part with; to begrudge
舍 shě – to give up; to abandon; to give alms [[xả – bỏ, vất; thôi, ngừng; xá – quán trọ; nhà ở; chuồng nuôi xúc vật]]
但是 dàn shì – but, however
觸 chù – to touch; to make contact with sth; to stir up sb’s emotions [[xúc]]
幫助 bāng zhù – assistance; aid; to help; to assist
打退 dǎ tuì – to beat back; to repel; to repulse
有一次 yǒu yī cì – once; once upon a time
派 pài – clique; school; group; faction; to dispatch; to send; to assign; to appoint [[phái]]
問候 wèn hòu – to give one’s respects; to send a greeting
拆 chāi – to tear open; to tear down; to tear apart; to open [[sách: mở ra, bóc, tháo]]
收成 shōu chéng – harvest
收 shōu – to receive; to accept; to collect; to put away; to restrain; to stop [[thu]]
受 shòu – to receive; to accept; to suffer; subjected to; to bear; to stand; pleasant [[thụ]]
遣 qiǎn – to dispatch; to send; to dispel [[khiển]]
卻 què – but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though [[khước]]
低 dī – low; beneath; to lower (one’s head); to let droop; to hang down; to incline [[đê]]
賤 jiàn – inexpensive; lowly [[tiện]]
微微 wēi wēi – slight; faint; humble
難道 nán dào – don’t tell me …; could it be that …?
可以 kě yǐ – can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good
捨棄 shě qì – to give up; to abandon; to abort (note the similarity between 捨 and 舍)
舍 shě – to give up; to abandon; to give alms [[xả]]
棄 qì – to abandon; to relinquish; to discard; to throw away [[khí]]
隻 zhī – classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels, etc. [[chích: một mình, cô độc; lẻ (số); riêng biệt, độc đặc, đặc thù]]
枝節 zhī jié – branches and knots; fig. side issue; minor peripheral problem
節 jié – festival; holiday; node; joint; section; segment; part; to economize; to save; to abridge; moral integrity [[tiết]]
則 zé – then; standard; norm; principle; to imitate; to follow; classifier for written items [[tắc]]
無恙 wú yàng – in good health
恙 yàng – sickness [[dạng: 無恙 không việc gì chứ?]]