愛屋及烏 (ài wū jí wū)
Literally: love the house and its crow
Figuratively: involvement with somebody and everyone connected to that person
Explanation: When you love someone and, by extension, have great care for everything connected to him/her (people or things).
It is said that in the Yin period at the end of the Shang dynasty, King Zhou of Shang had extravagant taste and great lust, being an oppressive and muddle-headed king (refer to the idiom《助紂為虐》zhù Zhòu wéi nüè, which literally means ‘helping the tyrant Zhou in his oppressive ways’). Lord of the Western tribes(“西伯”Xī bó) Ji Chang, who later became King Wen of Zhou, was imprisoned for disagreeing with King Zhou of Shang, but was able to escape after multiple attempts. At the time, Zhou’s capital was at Qishan (now in Shaanxi Province, Qishan county), and after returning to his home base, King Wen of Zhou was determined to overthrow Shang’s ruling dynasty. He first invited the military strategist Jiang Shang (e.g. Jiang Tai Gong) to be his advisor and actively trained his troops to prepare for war. He also joined forces with other neighboring tribes, and together their combined influence gradually strengthened. Next, the capital was moved to Feng township (now in ShaanXi province, in Hu county surroundings) in preparation for the military eastward march. But not long after relocating the capital, King Wen of Zhou passed away.
King Wen of Zhou’s son Ji Fawas enthroned, becoming King Wu of Zhou. Jiang Tai Gong continued to serve as advisor. King Wu’s younger blood brother Ji Dan(Zhou Gong, e.g. Duke of Zhou), younger half brother Ji Shi (Zhao Gong) were his two highly competent assistants. At the same time, King Wu of Zhou also obtained the support from leaders of the other tribes. As such, King Wu of Zhou officially declared a military expedition against King Zhou of Shang. His troops crossed the Yellow River at Mengjin (now a Yellow River Crossing in Henan Province, in the south of Meng County), advancing toward the northeast, directly threatening Shang’s Zhaoge (now in the Northeast of Qi County in Henan Province). Because King Zhou of Shang had already lost the people’s heart, many of his soldiers did not wish to lose their lives for him. As a result, those who could run away did run away, those who could surrender did surrender, those who could join in a revolt did revolt, and Zhaoge was quickly subdued. King Zhou of Shang committed suicide, Shang Dynasty was annihilated. For the next eight hundred years, Zhou ruled over the land, which is now known as the Zhou Dynasty.
During King Wu of Zhou’s early stage of the expedition against Zhaoge, King Wu did not have a plan of how to deal with Shang Dynasty’s remaining nobility and officials, or generals and soldiers, or of how to stabilize the situation going forward, and this caused him great concerns. Due to this, he and Jiang Tai Gong together with the other advisors held a meeting to discuss the matter. Liu Xiang of the Han Dynasty put together the work “Shuo Yuan – Gui Fa”, which contains a description of that meeting:
After King Wu of Zhou defeated Shang, he summoned and asked Jiang Tai Gong: “How should I deal with those [defeated] officials?” Tai Gong replied: “I’ve heard that, if we love a person, that love is also applied to the crow perching on his house’s rooftop; if we despise a person, we’d seize his servants and property (餘胥). Let us kill all the enemies opposing us, leaving none to survive, what is your thought of this proposal?”
The so-called “餘胥” [yúxū] in the original text indicates the lowest-level government officials, or housekeepers of slave-holding noblemen. (餘yú indicates the lowest level; 胥xū refers to a low-level government official.)
Fu Sheng from the Han Dynasty compiled the 《尚書大傳·大戰》(ShangShu Dai Zhuan – Dai Zhan) wherein a similar story was told: “King Zhou of Shang died, King Wu of Zhou was anxious as outcome for the land had yet to be determined. He summoned Tai Gong and asked: ‘How do we deal with Yin Shang?’ Tai Gong replied: ‘Your humble servant heard thus: in loving someone, we also love the crow on top of his house; in not loving someone, we also carry our prejudice against his slaves (胥餘).’ “
That written part, together with《說苑》(Shuo Yuan), showed similar content. However “餘胥” (yúxū) was written as “胥餘“, which the two authors took for different meanings. “胥餘” is not the same thing as, but rather is taken to be apart from, low-level government officials; theseare of even lower status than “餘胥“, people such as slaves or convicted criminals. For example, Jizi, the prime minister of King Zhou of Shang, pretended to be insane and was imprisoned for showing dissatisfaction with the king. He willingly chose to be a slave, so that Zhuangzi called him “胥餘“.
Moreover, 《韓詩外傳》(Han Shi Wai Zhuan),《六韜逸文》 (Liu Tao Yi Wen, perhaps it should be 六韜逸聞 or 六韜軼聞) all recorded the aforementioned conversation between King Wu of Zhou and Jian Tai Gong, with the content being similar in each source. The idiom 愛屋及烏 (àiwūjíwū) was due to this legend.
Our country from ancient time had passed down a superstitious belief that black crows are inauspicious. If crows land on someone’s rooftop, it is said that family will encounter unpropitious incidents. In our country’s oldest poetry collection 《詩經》–《小雅》(ShiJing – Xiao Ya), the poem 《正月》(ZhengYue – please see poem #192) has the following lines “瞻烏爰止，於誰之家” (I see a crow which will rest, —But on whose house?). We see that our ancestors loathed crows, with hardly anyone held them in high esteem. The so called “愛屋及烏” is thus: because we love someone, we don’t even consider the crows perching on his house’s rooftop to be ominous. This idiom has been used to indicate the love one has for another. Because we love someone deeply, by extension we also love his relatives, friends, or similarly connected people. We called this kind of love “愛屋及烏” (love the house to the crow), or “屋烏之愛” (the love for a house’s crow).
Tang poet Du Fu in his poem 《奉贈射洪李四丈》(Poem made for Li SiDai at SheHong, where SheHong is a location name, now in Sichuan province; Li SiDai is Li MingFu) began with two lines: “丈人屋上烏，人好烏亦好” (Crows perched on your rooftop, when the man is virtuous so is the perching crow). Song Dynasty Zhou Dunyi‘s 《濂溪詩》(Poem of Lianqi) contains the following line: “怒移水中蟹，愛及屋上烏” (lit. exasperated, I move the crab found in water; my love extends to the crow perching on the rooftop”. Song Dynasty Chen Shidao‘s 《簡李伯益》(Letter to Li Boyi) has the line “時清視我門前雀，人好看君屋上烏。” (“Under a blue sky I see a sparrow in front of our gate, people can clearly see the crows on your rooftop.”) These are all referencing the idiom “愛屋及烏” (àiwūjíwū).
—– VOCABULARY —–
及 jí – and; to reach; up to; in time for (Hán Việt: cập)
(1) lit. love the house and its crow (idiom); involvement with sb and everyone connected
(2) Love me, love my dog.
而 ér – and, as well as (Hán Việt: nhi)
連帶 lián dài – to be related; to entail; to involve
跟 gēn – heel; to follow closely; to go with; with; compared with; and; to; towards (Hán Việt: cân)
關係 guān xi – relation, relationship; to concern, to affect, to have to do with
殷商 Yīn shāng – final name of the Shang dynasty after their move to Yinxu 殷墟 in modern Henan province
殷 Yīn – final name of the Shang dynasty (Hán Việt: Ân)
商 Shāng – Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – 1046 BC); (Hán Việt: Thương)
商紂王 Shāng zhòu – last king of the Shang dynasty
窮 qióng – poor, destitute, to use up, to exhaust, thoroughly, extremely (Hán Việt: cùng)
奢 shē – extravagant (Hán Việt: xa – xa xỉ, phung phí)
欲 yù – desire, appetite, passion, lust, greed (Hán Việt: dục)
殘 cán – to destroy, to spoil, to ruin, cruel, oppressive (Hán Việt: tàn)
昏 hūn – muddle-headed; twilight; to faint; to lose consciousness (Hán Việt: hôn)
助紂為虐 zhù Zhòu wéi nüè – (1) lit. helping tyrant Zhou 商紂王|商纣王[Shang1 Zhou4 wang2] in his oppression (idiom); (2) fig. to take the side of the evildoer; (3) giving succor to the enemy
虐 nüè – oppressive, tyrannical (Hán Việt: ngược – tàn ác, tàn nhẫn; tàn hại)
姬 Jī – family name of the Zhou Dynasty 周代[Zhou1 dai4] (1046-256 BC)
昌 chāng – prosperous, flourishing (Hán Việt: xương)
即 jí – namely, that is, ie, prompt, at once (Hán Việt: tức)
囚禁 qiú jìn – to imprison; captivity
囚 qiú – prisoner (Hán Việt – tù)
禁 jìn – to prohibit, to forbid (Hán Việt: cấm)
得以 dé yǐ – able to; so that sb can; enabling; in order to; finally in a position to; with sth in view
出獄 chū yù – to be released from prison
獄 yù – prison (Hán Việt – ngục)
岐山 Qí shān – Qishan County in Baoji 寶雞|宝鸡[Bao3 ji1], Shaanxi
陝西 Shǎn xī
下決心 xià jué xīn – to determine, to resolve
推翻 tuī fān – to overthrow
推 tuī – to push, to cut, to refuse, to reject (Hán Việt: thôi)
翻 fān – to turn over, to flip over, to translate, to decode (Hán Việt: phiên)
統治 tǒng zhì – to rule (a country), to govern, rule, regime
首先 shǒu xiān – first (of all); in the first place
聘 pìn – to engage (a teacher etc.); to hire; to betroth; to get married (of woman); betrothal gift (Hán Việt: sính)
薑尚 – jiāng shàng
薑 jiāng – ginger (Hán Việt: Khương)
積極 jī jí – active; energetic; vigorous; positive (outlook); proactive
積 jī – to amass; to accumulate; to store (Hán Việt: tích)
練 liàn – to practice, to train, to drill, to perfect (one’s skill), exercise (Hán Việt: luyện)
備 bèi – to prepare; get ready; to provide or equip (Hán Việt: bị)
又 yòu – (once) again; also; both… and…; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway (Hán Việt: hựu)
兼 jiān – double, twice, simultaneous, holding two or more (official) posts at the same time (Hán Việt: kiêm)
並 bìng – and; furthermore; also; together with; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge (Hán Việt: tịnh)
鄰近 lín jìn – neighboring; adjacent; near; vicinity (Hán Việt: lân cận)
勢力 shì li – power; (ability to) influence (Hán Việt: thế lực)
勢 shì – power; influence; potential; momentum (Hán Việt: thế)
逐漸 zhú jiàn – gradually
逐 zhú – to pursue; to chase; individually; one by one (Hán Việt: trục)
漸 jiàn – gradual; gradually (Hán Việt: tiệm)
起來 qǐ lai – to stand up; to get up;
qi lai – (after a verb) indicating the beginning and continuation of an action or a state
接著 jiē zhe – to continue; to go on to do something; to follow; to carry on; then; after that; subsequently
將 jiāng – will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago (Hán Việt: tương)
遷 qiān – to move, to shift, to change (a position or location etc), to promote (Hán Việt: thiên)
至 zhì – to arrive; most; to; until (Hán Việt: chí)
豐 fēng – abundant; plentiful; fertile; plump; great (Hán Việt: phong)
邑 yì – city; village (Hán Việt: ấp)
戶 hù – household; door; family (Hán Việt: hộ)
可是 kě shì – but, however, (used for emphasis) indeed
逝世 shì shì – to pass away, to die
逝 shì – (of time) to pass; to die (Hán Việt: thệ)
繼續 jì xù – to continue, to proceed with, to go on with
續 xù – to continue, to replenish (Hán Việt: tục)
擔任 dān rèn – to hold a governmental office or post; to assume office of; to take charge of; to serve as (Hán Việt: đảm nhiệm)
旦 dàn – dawn, morning, daybreak, day (Hán Việt: đán)
異 yì – different, other, unusual, strange, surprising (Hán Việt: dị)
奭 shì – majestic manner; red; angry (Hán Việt: thích)
召 zhào – to call together; to summon; to convene; temple or monastery (used in place names in Inner Mongolia) [[triệu]]
其他 qí tā – other; (sth or sb) else; the rest
擁護 yōng hù – to endorse, to support [[ủng hộ]]
擁 yōng – to hold; to embrace; to wrap around; to gather around (sb); to throng; to swarm; to support [[ủng]]
於是 yú shì – there upon, as a result, consequently, thus, hence
正式 zhèng shì – formal, official [[chính thức]]
宣布 xuān bù – to declare, to announce, to proclaim [[tuyên bố]]
伐 fá – to cut down; to fell; to dispatch an expedition against; to attack; to boast [[phạt]]
孟津 Mèng jīn – Mengjin county in Luoyang 洛陽|洛阳, Henan
孟 mèng – first month of a season; eldest amongst brothers [[mạnh]]
津 jīn – saliva, sweat, a ferry crossing, a ford (river crossing) [[tân]]
渡口 dù kǒu – ferry crossing [[độ khẩu]]
挺進 tǐng jìn – progress; to advance
挺 tǐng – straight; erect; to stick out (a part of the body); to (physically) straighten up; to support; to withstand; outstanding; (coll.) quite; very [[đĩnh]]
直 zhí – straight; to straighten; fair and reasonable; frank; straightforward [[trực]]
逼 bī – to force (sb to do sth); to compel; to press for; to extort; to press on towards; to press up to; to close in on [[bức]]
淇 qí – name of a river [[sông Kì, ở tỉnh Hà Nam]]
因為 yīn wèi – because; owing to; on account of
已 yǐ – already; to stop; then; afterwards [[dĩ]]
也 yě – also; too
送命 sòng mìng – to lose one’s life; to get killed
逃 táo – to escape; to run away; to flee [[đào]]
降 xiáng – to surrender; to capitulate; to subdue; to tame [[hàng]]
起義 qǐ yì – uprising; insurrection; revolt [[khởi nghĩa]]
快 kuài – rapid, quick, speed, soon [[khoái]]
攻克 gōng kè – to capture; to take, to overcome; to solve
滅亡 miè wáng – to be destroyed; to become extinct; to perish; to die out [[diệt vong]]
怎樣 zěn yàng – how, what kind [[tại sao, thế nào, làm sao]]
處置 chǔ zhì – to handle, to take care of, to punish [[xử trí]]
置 zhì – to install, to place, to put, to buy [[trí]]
遺留 yí liú – to leave behind, to hand down
下來 xià lai – (1) to come down
(2) (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
(3) (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
(4) to be harvested (of crops)
(5) to be over (of a period of time)
(6) to go among the masses (said of leaders)
貴族 guì zú – lord, nobility, nobleman, aristocrat
族 zú – race, nationality, ethnicity, clan [[tộc]]
官宦 guān huàn – functionary, official
宦 huàn – imperial official; court eunuch [[hoạn]]
局 jú – office; situation; classifier for games: match, set, round etc. [[cục]]
麵 miàn – flour; noodles; (of food) soft (not crunchy); spineless [[miến]] Note: could be mistaken for 局面 – aspect, phase, situation [[cục diện]]
穩定 wěn dìng – steady, stable, stability, to stabilize, to pacify [[ổn định]]
穩 wěn – settled, steady, stable [[ổn]]
裏 lǐ – see 裡 – lining, interior, inside, internal
心裡有譜 xīn lǐ yǒu pǔ – to have a plan in mind
譜 pǔ – chart, list, table, register, score (music), spectrum (physics), to set to music [[phổ]]
因此 yīn cǐ – thus, consequently, as a result
擔憂 dān yōu – to worry, to be concerned
擔 dān – to undertake; to carry; to shoulder; to take responsibility [[đam, đảm]]
憂 yōu – to worry; to concern oneself with; worried; anxiety; sorrow; (literary) to observe mourning [[ưu]]
為此 wèi cǐ – for this reason; with regards to this; in this respect; in order to do this; to this end
曾 céng – once; already; ever (in the past); former; previously; (past tense marker used before verb or clause) [[tằng: đã từng]]
等 děng – to wait for; to await; et cetera; and so on; class; rank; grade; equal to; same as; after; as soon as; once [[đẳng]]
編撰 biān zhuàn – to compile, to edit [[biên soạn]]
撰 zhuàn – to compose; to compile [[soạn]]
苑 yuàn – park [[uyển: vườn hoa]]
段 duàn – paragraph; section; segment; stage (of a process); classifier for stories, periods of time, lengths of thread etc. [[đoạn]]
記載 jì zǎi – to write down, to record, written account [[ký tải]]
克 kè – to be able to, to subdue, to restrain, to overcome [[khắc]]
殷 yīn – dynasty name at the end the Shang dynasty, after their move to Yinxu 殷墟 in modern Henan province [[Ân]]
曰 yuē – to speak, to say
將 qiāng – to desire, to invite, to request [[thương: xin, mời, thỉnh cầu]]
奈 nài – how can one help [[nại: thế nào, làm sao]]
眾 zhòng – many, numerous, crowd, multitude [[chúng]]
聞 wén – to hear, news, well-known, famous, reputation, fame, to smell, to sniff at [[văn]]
兼 jiān – double, twice, simultaneous
憎 zēng – to detest [[tăng: ghét, không thích]]
惡 è – evil, fierce, vicious, ugly, coarse, to harm [[ác]]
餘 yú – extra, surplus, remaining [[dư]]
胥 xū – all, assist, to store [[tư: đặt cuối câu, biểu thị ngữ khí]]
鹹 xián – salted, salty, stingy, miserly [[hàm]]
厥 jué – to faint, to lose consciousness, his/her/its/their [[quyết]]
靡 mǐ – extravagant; go with fashion; not [[mĩ]]
該 gāi – should, ought to, probably, must be, to deserve, to owe, to be sb’s turn to do sth, that, the above-mentioned
烏鴉 wū yā – crow, raven [[ô nha]]
鴉 yā – crow [[nha]]
恨 hèn – to hate, to regret [[hận]]
奪 duó – to seize, to take away forcibly, to wrest control of, to compete or strive for, to force one’s way through, to leave out, to lose [[đoạt]]
仆 pū – to fall forward, to fall prostrate [[phó]]
僕 pú – servant [[bộc]]
從 cóng – from, through, via, to follow, to obey [[tòng]]
吏 lì – minor government official or functionary (old) [[lại]]
所謂 suǒ wèi – so-called; what is called
低下 dī xià – low status, lowly, to lower (one’s head)
奴隸 nú lì – slave [[nô lệ]]
隸 lì – attached to; scribe [[lệ: tội nhân; chỉ người đê tiện]]
類 lèi – kind; type; class; category; similar; like; to resemble [[loại]]
胥吏 xū lì – low-level government official (in former times)
伏 fú – to lean over; to fall (go down); to hide (in ambush); to conceal oneself; to lie low; hottest days of summer; to submit; to concede defeat; to overcome; to subdue [[phục]]
勝 shèng – victory; success; to beat [[thắng]]
編撰 biān zhuàn
類似 lèi sì – similar; analogous
似 sì – to seem; to appear; to resemble; similar [[tự]]
惶惶 huáng huáng – alarmed; anxious
惶 huáng – frightened [[hoàng]]
若 ruò – to seem; like; as; if [[nhược]]
未定 wèi dìng – undecided; indeterminate; still in doubt [[vị định]]
奈何 nài hé – to do something to sb; to deal with; to cope; how?; to no avail [[nài sao, thế nào]]
及其 jí qí – and; as well as
與 yǔ – and; to give; together with [[dữ]]
相仿 xiāng fǎng – similar
仿 fǎng – to imitate; to copy; seemingly [[phỏng]]
詞 cí – word, statement, speech, lyrics [[từ]]
含意 hán yì – meaning [[hàm ý]]
屬 shǔ – category; genus (taxonomy); family members; to belong to; subordinate to; to be; to prove to be; to constitute [[thuộc (một âm khác là ‘chúc’)]]
等級 děng jí – grade, rank, status [[đẳng cấp]]
而是 ér shì – rather [[(trong câu 不…而是…, có nghĩa: không phải … mà là …)]]
以外 yǐ wài – apart from; other than; except for; external; outside of; on the other side; beyond
更加 gèng jiā – more (than sth else); even more
低下 dī xià – low status; lowly; to lower (one’s head)
刑 xíng – punishment; penalty; sentence; torture; corporal punishment [[hình]]
徒 tú – disciple; apprentice; believer; on foot; bare or empty; to no avail; only; prison sentence [[đồ]]
例如 lì rú – for example; for instance; such as
箕子 Jī zǐ – Jizi, legendary sage from end of Shang dynasty (c. 1100 BC), said to have opposed the tyrant Zhòu 紂|纣 then ruled ancient Korea for Zhōu 周
箕 Jī – winnow basket [[ki: cái nia, cái sàng, ta quen đọc là ‘cơ’]]
囚禁 qiú jìn – to imprison; captivity
裝 zhuāng – adornment; to adorn; dress; clothing; to play a role; to pretend; to install; to fix [[trang]]
瘋 fēng – insane; mad; wild [[phong]]
甘 gān – sweet; willing [[cam: ngọt; tốt, lành, ngon ngọt; chịu nhận; bằng lòng, tự nguyện]]
韜 tāo – bow case or scabbard; to hide; military strategy [[thao]]
逸 yì – to escape; leisurely; outstanding [[dật]]
逸文: could be 逸聞, 軼聞 yì wén – anecdote, apocryphal story
上述 shàng shù – aforementioned, above-mentioned [[thượng thuật]]
基本 jī běn – basic, fundamental, main, elementary
基 jī – base, foundation, basic [[căn]]
由於 yóu yú – due to; as a result of; thanks to; owing to; since; because
習俗 xí sú – custom, tradition, local tradition, convention [[tập tục]]
祥 xiáng – auspicious, propitious [[tường]]
遭遇 zāo yù – to meet with; to encounter; (bitter) experience [[tao ngộ]]
幸 xìng – fortunate, lucky; trusted, intimate [[hạnh]]
瞻 zhān – to gaze, to view [[chiêm: ngửa mặt lên mà nhìn]]
爰 yuán – therefore, consequently, thus, hence, thereupon, it follows that, where? [[viên]]
止 zhǐ – to stop, to prohibit, until, only [[chỉ]]
厭惡 yàn wù – to loathe, to hate, disgusted with sth
厭 yàn – to loathe [[yếm]]
所謂 suǒ wèi – so-called; what is called [[cái gọi là]]
祥 xiáng – auspicious, propitious [[tường]]
覺得 jué de – to think; to feel
討厭 tǎo yàn – to dislike; to loathe; disagreeable; troublesome; annoying
討 tǎo – to invite; to provoke; to demand or ask for; to send armed forces to suppress; to denounce or condemn; to marry (a woman); to discuss or study [[thảo]]
推 tuī – to nominate; to elect; to push forward [[thôi]]
深愛 shēn ài – to love dearly
某人 mǒu rén – someone; a certain person; some people
親屬 qīn shǔ – kin, kindred, relatives
做 zuò – to do, to make, to produce, to write, to compose [[tố]]
奉贈 fèng zèng – (honorific) to present; to give as a present [[phụng tặng]]
奉 fèng – to offer (tribute); to present respectfully (to superior, ancestor, deity, etc.); to esteem; to revere; to believe in (a religion); to wait upon; to accept orders (from superior) [[phụng]]
丈 zhàng – measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3m); to measure; husband; polite appellation for an older male
周敦頤 Zhōu Dūn yí – Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073), Song dynasty neo-Confucian scholar
敦 Dūn – kindhearted; place name [[đôn]]
頤 yí – cheek; lower cheek; chin; jaw; to nourish [[di]]
濂溪 lián qī – name of a river in Hunan [[Liêm Khê]]
移 yí – to move, to shift, to change, to alter, to remove [[di]]
蟹 xiè – crab [[giải]]
簡 jiǎn – simple; uncomplicated; letter; to choose; to select; bamboo strips used for writing (old) [[giản]]
益 yì – benefit; profit; advantage; beneficial; to increase; to add; all the more [[ích]]
視 shì – to look at; to regard; to inspect [[thị]]
雀 què – small bird, sparrow [[tước: chim sẻ]]