安如泰山 (Ān rú TàiShān)
(1) as secure as Mount Tai
(2) as solid as a rock
Note: for a background of this idiom, in particular the Rebellion of the Seven States, please see this Wikipedia article.
Explanation:
To be as steady [secure] as Mount Tai. This phrase describes full steadiness, without any slight chance of wavering.
Mei Cheng (枚乘), courtesy name Shu (叔), was from Huaiyin (淮陰, lit. South of the Huai River, today in Jiangsu province) in the Western Han period. He was a famous man of letters and served as a bureau director (郎中) in the provincial government of the Prince of Wu, Liu Bi ( 劉濞), during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han.
Wu at that time was among the largest vassal states. The Prince of Wu, Liu Bi, harbored resentments against the central government, had great ambitions for himself, and was in the process of secretly plotting a rebellion. Emperor Jing of Han appointed the talented politician Chao Cuo as an imperial censor, who was in favor of reducing all vassal states’ land grants, thus empowering the central government’s power and reputation, and better unite the vassal states under the emperor’s rule. Liu Bi saw one vassal state after another had its lands reduced in size, and figured that he, too, would suffer the same fate, so that he reached out to Chu, Zhao, Jiaoxi, Jiaodong, and other vassal states to plot a rebellion.
Mei Cheng foresaw the potentially disastrous outcome of rebelling against the central government and wrote 《上書諫吳王》(Shang Shu Jian Wu Wang – lit. A Letter of Remonstrance to Prince Wu) to admonish Liu Bi (Prince Wu) of his plan. He said in the remonstrance letter: “If your highness is willing to listen to this loyal subject’s few words, all the harm can be averted. If you must continue with what you had in mind, [then] that is even more dangerous than stacking eggs, more challenging than heaven itself; on the other hand, if your highness can change your mind as soon as possible, this is as simple as turning over one’s palm, and your power will remain as secure as Mount Tai.”
But Liu Bi did not comprehend the situation and was obsessed with stepping up the rebellious plot. As a result, Mei Cheng left the state of Wu to become an honor guest at the official residence of the Prince of Liangxiao, Liu Wu. In 154 B.C., Liu Bi contacted the princes of Chu, Zhao, Jiaoxi, Jiaodong, and other vassal states to rebel, with the official cause of “清君側、殺晁錯” (lit. kill Chao Cuo to clean the emperor’s side). This is now known as “吳楚七國之亂” (lit. The Rebellion of Wu, Chu Seven Vassal States).
Emperor Jing of Han listened to slanderous talks and executed Chao Cuo, then demonstrated his remorse toward the princes of these vassal states. At this time, Mei Cheng again wrote 《上書重諫吳王》(lit. Another Letter of Remonstrance to The Prince of Wu), persuading Liu Bi to cease his attack. Liu Bi once again determined to press on. Not long after, the Han general Zhou Yafu led an army and defeated the Wu, Chu rebel troops. The prince of Chu, Liu Wu, committed suicide; the prince of Wu, Liu Bi fled to Dongyue and was killed there; the other five princes all ended up committing suicide or were killed. This rebellion only lasted three months before being completely crushed. After the conclusion of the Rebellion of the Seven Vassal States, Mei Cheng became famous for his foresight and wisdom in penning 《上書諫吳王》(A Letter of Remonstrance to the Prince of Wu).
Later on, when Emperor Wu of Han came to the throne, he ordered men to invite Mei Cheng to the capital to serve as an official. Unfortunately he passed away en route.
—– VOCABULARY —–
像 xiàng – to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait [[tượng]]
穩固 wěn gù – stable; steady; firm; to stabilize
固 gù – hard, strong, solid, sure, assuredly, undoubtedly, of course, indeed, admittedly [[cố]]
動搖 dòng yáo – to sway; to waver; to rock; to rattle; to destabilize; to pose a challenge to [[động dao]]
搖 yáo – to shake; to rock; to row; to crank [[diêu: lay động, lắc, rung, xua, vẫy; quấy nhiễu]]
來源 lái yuán – source (of information etc); origin
枚乘 Méi Chéng – Mei Cheng (-c. 140 BC), Han dynasty poet
枚 méi – classifier for coins, rings, badges, pearls, sporting medals, rockets, satellites, etc.; tree trunk; whip; wooden peg, used as a gag for marching soldiers (old) [[mai: thân cây]]
諫 jiàn – to remonstrate; to admonish [[gián: can, ngăn, khuyến cáo người khác sửa chữa lỗi lầm]]
舉 jǔ – to lift; to hold up; to cite; to enumerate; to act; to raise; to choose; to elect; act; move; deed [[cử]]
悅 yuè – pleased [[duyệt: đẹp lòng, vui thích, phấn khởi; làm cho vui thích; yêu thích, ái mộ]]
若 ruò – to seem; like; as; if [[nhược: như là, giống như]]
欲 yù – desire; appetite; passion; lust; greed; to wish for; to desire [[dục]]
危如累卵 nguy như trứng xếp chồng, thế như noãn thạch
累 (traditional should be 纍) léi – rope; to bind together; to twist around [[luy: xâu liền, xếp chồng lên]]
卵 luǎn – egg; ovum; spawn [[noãn]]
易 yì – easy; amiable; to change; to exchange
反掌 fǎn zhǎng – lit. to turn over one’s palm; fig. everything is going very well
枚乘，字叔，西漢淮陰（今屬江蘇）人，是漢代著名的文學家。漢景帝時，他在吳王劉濞府中擔任郎中。
淮陰 Huái yīn – name of a place (south of the river Huai)
屬 zhǔ – to join together; to fix one’s attention on; to concentrate on [[chúc]]
shǔ – to belong to; subordinate to; category; genus (taxonomy); family members; dependents; affiliated with; to be; to prove to be
濞 bì – tiếng nước chảy vọt mạnh [[tị]]
府 fǔ – seat of government; official residence; mansion; presidential palace [[phủ]]
擔任 dān rèn – to hold a governmental office or post; to assume office of; to take charge of; to serve as [[đảm nhiệm]]
郎中 láng zhōng – doctor (Chinese medicine); ancient official title; companions (respectful)
懷 huái – bosom; heart; mind; to think of; to harbor in one’s mind; to conceive (a child) [[hoài]]
怨 yuàn – to blame; to complain [[oán: giận, trách hận, thống hận]]
暗 àn – dark; gloomy; hidden; secret; muddled; obscure; in the dark [[ám]]
圖謀 tú móu – to conspire [[đồ mưu]]
叛亂 pàn luàn – armed rebellion
叛 pàn – to betray; to rebel; to revolt [[bạn]]
任用 rèn yòng – to appoint; to assign
富有 fù yǒu – rich; full of
晁 cháo – [[họ Trào, họ Triều, cũng viết 鼂]]
錯 cuò – mistake; wrong; bad; interlocking; complex; to grind; to polish; to alternate; stagger; to miss; to let slip to evad; to inlay with gold or silver [[thác]]
御史 yù shǐ – imperial censor (formal title of a dynastic official) [[ngự sử]]
削減 xuē jiǎn – to cut down; to reduce; to lower
削 xuē – to pare; to reduce; to remove [[tước]]
減 jiǎn – to lower; to decrease; to reduce; to subtract; to diminish [[giảm]]
領地 lǐng dì – territory
鞏固 gǒng gù – to consolidate; consolidation; to strengthen [[củng cố]]
鞏 gǒng – secure; solid [[củng]]
紛紛 fēn fēn – one after another; in succession; one by one; continuously; diverse; in profusion; numerous and confused; pell-mell
被 bèi – quilt; by; (literary) to cover; to meet with [[bị]]
難免 nán miǎn – hard to avoid; difficult to escape from; will inevitably
免 miǎn – to excuse sb; to exempt; to remove or dismiss from office; to avoid; to avert; to escape; to be prohibited [[miễn]]
聯絡 lián luò – to get in touch with; to contact; to stay in contact (with); liason
聯 lián – to ally; to unite; to join [[liên]]
絡 luò – net-like object; to hold sth in place with a net; to wind; to twist [[lạc]]
膠 jiāo – to glue; glue; gum; rubber [[giao]]
策劃 cè huà – to plot; to scheme; to bring about; to engineer; planning; produce; planer
劃 huà – to delimit; to transfer; to assign; to plan; to draw (a line) [[hoạch: phân chia, quy định; mưu tính, thiết kế, trù liệu; rạch, vạch (bằng dao hoặc vật sắc nhọn)]]
反叛 fǎn pàn – to rebel; to revolt
勸諫 quàn jiàn – to admonish
能夠 néng gòu – to be capable of; to be able to; can
聽取 tīng qǔ – to hear (news); to listen to
取 qǔ – to take; to get; to choose; to fetch [[thủ]]
一切 yī qiè – everything; every; all
避免 bì miǎn – to avert; to prevent; to avoid; to refrain from
避 bì – to avoid; to shun; to flee; to escape; to keep away from; to leave; to hide from [[tị]]
照 zhào – according to; in accordance with; to shine; to illuminate; to reflect; to look at (one’s reflection); to take (a photo); photo; as requested; as before [[chiếu]]
所 suǒ – actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions, etc.; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive [[sở: kết hợp với động từ thành danh từ – cái mà, điều mà]]
疊 dié – to fold; to fold over in layers; to furl; to layer; to pile up; to repeat; to duplicate [[điệp]]
蛋 dàn – egg; oval-shaped thing [[đản]]
艱難 jiān nán – difficult, hard, challenging
艱 jiān – difficult, hard, hardship [[gian: khó khăn; hiểm trở]]
盡快 jǐn kuài – as quickly as possible; as soon as possible; with all speed
改變 gǎi biàn – to change; to alter; to transform [[cải biến]]
翻 fān – to turn over; to flip over; to overturn; to rummage through; to translate; to decode; to double; to climb over or into; to cross [[phiên]]
一下 yī xià – (used after a verb) give it a go; to do (sth for a bit to give it a try); one time; once; in a while; all of a sudden; all at once
執迷 zhí mí – to be obsessive; to persist obstinately
執 zhí – to execute (a plan); to grasp [[chấp]]
悟 wù – to comprehend; to apprehend; to become aware [[ngộ]]
加緊 jiā jǐn – to intensify; to speed up; to step up
緊 jǐn – tight; strict; close at hand; near; urgent; tense; hard up; short of money; to tighten [[khẩn]]
於是 yú shì – thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence
賓客 bīn kè – guests; visitors
賓 bīn – visitor; guest [[tân: khách; lấy lễ đối đãi; phục, nghe theo, quy thuận]]
側 cè – the side; to incline towards; to lean; inclined; lateral; side [[trắc: bên, nghiêng, ở vào, náu mình, bên cạnh]]
讒言 chán yán – slander; slanderous report; calumny; false charge [[sàm ngôn]]
讒 chán – to slander; to defame; to misrepresent; to speak maliciously [[sàm: gièm pha, nói xấu]]
歉意 qiàn yì – apology; regret
歉 qiàn – to apologize; to regret; deficient [[khiểm: ăn không đủ no; mất mùa, thu hoạch kém; thiếu kém; áy náy, trong lòng thấy có lỗi]]
罷 bà – to stop; to cease; to dismiss; to suspend; to quit; to finish [[bãi]]
肯 kěn – to agree; to consent; to be ready (to do sth); willing [[khẳng]]
不久 bù jiǔ – not long (after); before too long; soon; soon after
率領 shuài lǐng – to lead; to command; to head
率 shuài – to lead; to command; rash; hasty; frank; straightforward; generally; usually [[suất]]
軍隊 jūn duì – army; troops [[quân đội]]
戊 wù – penta; fifth of the ten Heavenly Stems; fifth in order [[mậu]]
逃 táo – to escape; to run away; to flee [[đào]]
其餘 qí yú – the rest; the others; remaining; remainder; apart from them
落得 luò de – ending up as; leading to; resulting in; in total
徹底 chè dǐ – thorough; thoroughly; complete [[triệt để]]
徹 chè – thorough; penetrating; to pervade; to pass through [[triệt: thông, suốt, thấu; trừ khử; hủy hoại, phá hủy; lấy, bóc; canh tác, làm; thôi, hết, dứt]]
底 dǐ – background; bottom; base; end (of the month, year, etc.); remnants [[để]]
具有 jù yǒu – to have; to possess
具 jù – to possess; to have; to provide; to furnish; to state; tool; device; utensil; talent; ability [[cụ]]
遠見 yuǎn jiàn – vision [[viễn kiến]]
卓 zhuó – outstanding [[trác: cao siêu, xuất chúng; sừng sững]]
振 zhèn – to shake; to flap; to vibrate; to resonate; to rise up with spirit; to rouse oneself [[chấn]]
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: tới, gần; thì; ngay, liền; tức là]]
徵召 zhēng zhào – to enlist; to draft; to conscript; to appoint to an official position
徵 zhēng – to invite; to recruit; to levy (taxes); to draft (troops); phenomenon; symptom; evidence [[trưng: mong tìm, cầu; thu, lấy; thành, nên; vời, triệu tập]]
可惜 kě xī – it is a pity; what a pity; unfortunately
途中 tú zhōng – en route
途 tú – way, route, road [[đồ: đường, lối; phương diện, phạm vi]]