安居樂業 (Ān jū lè yè)
Originates from 《老子》(LaoZi)
“Sweet delicacies, beautiful clothes, to reside in peace, a happy life.”
Explanation: To indicate a blissful, calm and orderly life.
In the Spring and Autumn period, there was a well-known philosopher and thinker whose last name was Li (李 – plum), first name was Er (耳 – ear), and courtesy name Dan (聃 – literally ears without rim). It was said that at the time when he was born, he already had a head full of white hair. A little old man with white beard, so the people called him “老子” (Lao Zi – Old Master/Teacher). They also said that he came to the world under a plum tree, hence his last name was Li. And as his long ears were especially large, his first name was taken as Er. In reality, Lao Zi was what people used to cordially address him.
He was dissatisfied with reality at the time, being opposed to the waves of changes in society, and wanted to go back to the way things were before. He longed for the original society from ancient time, believing that the improvement in materialistic matters and the development of culture had destroyed the people’s simple and honest nature, leading them to pain and suffering. Therefore he longed for the (re-)appearance of an ideal society, namely a “small country [with] sparse population” (“小國寡民”). He described his vision for this “small country sparse population” society as follows: the country being very small, and the population being sparse. Even if there are many [advanced] tools, one will not make use of them. People do not take risk with their lives; they do not seek to move to faraway lands even when there are carts and boats, as no one will ride in them; even if there are weapons and equipment, there are no place to make use of them. People again make use of techniques passed down from ancient times through memorization, eating sweet food, wearing comfortable clothes, living quietly and comfortably, and to be satisfied with the traditional customs. Neighboring states can see one another, clucking chicken and barking dogs can hear one another, but men until their old age and death have yet to visit one another [as everyone is self-sufficient].
—– VOCABULARY —–
俗 sú – custom; convention; popular; common; coarse; vulgar; secular [[tục]]
哲學 zhé xué – philosophy
耳 ěr – ear; handle (archaeology); and that is all (classical Chinese) [[nhĩ]]
聃 dān – ears without rim [[đam: mê đắm, trầm mê; có vành tai to and thõng xuống; tên tự của Lão Tử]]
剛 gāng – hard; firm; strong; just; barely; exactly [[cương]]
發 fā – to send out; to show (one’s feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds) [[phát]]
胡子 hú zi – beard; mustache or whiskers; facial hair
棵 kē – classifier for trees, cabbages, plants, etc. [[khỏa]]
李 lǐ – plum [[lí: cây mận]]
耳朵 ěr duo – ear; handle (on a cup)
革新 gé xīn – to innovate; innovation
革 gé – animal hide; leather; to reform; to remove; to expel (from office) [[cách]]
浪潮 làng cháo – wave; tides
浪 làng – wave; breaker; unrestrained; dissipated [[lãng]]
潮 cháo – tide; current; damp; moist; humid [[triều]]
懷 huái – bosom; heart; mind; to think of; to harbor in one’s mind; to conceive (a child) [[hoài]]
戀 liàn – to feel attached to; to long for; to love [[luyến]]
著 zhe – aspect particle indicating action in progress
認為 rèn wéi – to believe; to think; to consider; to feel
物質 wù zhì – matter; substance; material; materialistic
質 zhì – character; nature; quality; plain; to pawn; pledge; hostage; to question [[chất]]
發展 fā zhǎn – development; growth; to develop; to grow; to expand [[phát triển]]
毀壞 huǐ huài – to damage; to devastate; to vandalize; damage; destruction [[hủy hoại]]
淳樸 chún pǔ – simple and honest; unsophisticated; guileless
淳 chún – genuine; pure; honest [[thuần]]
樸 pǔ – plain and simple [[phát: giản dị, thật thà]]
渴望 kě wàng – to thirst for; to long for [[khát vọng]]
渴 kě – thirsty [[khát]]
寡 guǎ – few; scant; widowed [[quả]]
描繪 miáo huì – to describe; to portray
繪 huì – to draw, to paint [[hội: vẽ]]
設想 shè xiǎng – to imagine; to assume; to envisage; tentative plan; to have consideration for [[thiết tưởng]]
設 shè – to set up; to arrange; to establish; to found; to display [[thiết: sắp bày, đặt bày; thành lập, sáng lập; ví thử, nếu, giả sử]]
稀少 xī shǎo – sparse; rare
稀 xī – rare; uncommon; watery; sparse [[hi]]
即使 jí shǐ – even if; even though
即 jí – namely; that is; i.e.; prompt; at once; at present; even if; prompted (by the occasion); to approach; to come into contact; to assume (office); to draw near [[tức]]
使 shǐ – to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger [[sử]]
許多 xǔ duō – many; a lot of; much
器具 qì jù – implement, ware [[khí cụ: đồ dùng, dụng cụ]]
不要 bù yào – don’t; must not
冒險 mào xiǎn – to take risks; to take chances; foray; adventure [[mạo hiểm]]
遷移 qiān yí – to migrate, to move [[thiên di]]
船隻 chuán zhī – ship, boat, vessel
隻 zhī – classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels, etc. [[chích]]
乘坐 chéng zuò – to ride (in a vehicle)
裝備 zhuāng bèi – equipment; to equip; to outfit [[trang bị]]
重新 chóng xīn – again; once more; re- [[trùng tân]]
繩 shéng – rope [[thằng: dây thừng]]
記事 jì shì – to keep a record of events; record; to start to form memories (after one’s infancy)
香甜 xiāng tián – fragrant and sweet; sound (sleep)
甜 tián – sweet [[điềm]]
穿 chuān – to wear; to put on; to dress; to bore through; to pierce; to perforate; to penetrate; to pass through; to thread [[xuyên: suốt, xâu qua]]
舒服 shū fu – comfortable; feeling well
舒 shū – to stretch; to unfold; to relax; leisurely [[thư]]
住 zhù – to live; to dwell; to stay; to reside; to stop [[trụ]]
安適 ān shì – quiet and comfortable; yên ổn và thoải mái
適 shì – to fit; suitable; proper; just (now); comfortable; well; to go; to follow or pursue [[thích]]
滿足 mǎn zú – to satisfy; to meet (the needs of); satisfied; content
風俗 fēng sú – social custom [[phong tục]]
習慣 xí guàn – habit; custom; usual practice; to be used to [[tập quán]]
慣 guàn – accustomed to; used to; indulge; to spoil (a child) [[quán: thói quen]]
互 hù – mutual [[hỗ]]
相望 xiāng wàng – to look at one another; to face each other
雞 jī – fowl; chicken [[kê]]
鳴 míng – to cry (of birds, animals, and insects) [[minh]]
但是 dàn shì – but, however
直到 zhí dào – until
互相 hù xiāng – each other; mutually; mutual [[hỗ tương: lẫn nhau, qua lại]]
往來 wǎng lái – dealings; contacts; to go back and forth [[vãng lai: qua lại, tới lui]]