車水馬龍 (Chē shuǐ mǎ lóng)
(1) endless stream of horses and carriages (idiom)
(2) heavy traffic
Source: “Book of the Later Han – Biography of Mingde, Empress Ma“.
Explanation: This idiom was shortened from the words in Empress Dowager Ma’s imperial edict. It describes a bustling scene where [a great number of] carriages and horses are coming and going.
Story: Eastern Han renown general Ma Yuan‘s youngest daughter had to [help] take care of her family matters since a young age due to her parents’ early deaths. She methodically managed the house affairs in such orderly manner that her relatives and friends all praised her as a capable person.
When she was thirteen, Lady Ma was selected to enter the palace. At first, she served the empress of Emperor Guangwu of Han and was greatly favored by her. After Emperor Guangwu passed away, the Crown Prince Liu Zhuang was enthroned and became Emperor Ming of Han, with Lady Ma being named as a royal consort. Because she never had children, she adopted the son of Consort Jia (賈) and named him Liu Da (劉炟). In the year 60 A.D., because the Empress Dowager was greatly fond of her, she was made the empress of Emperor Ming.
She still lived a very frugal lifestyle even after becoming Empress. She often wore coarse-fabric clothings, her dresses [skirts] were not hemmed. When other royal consorts [concubines] had an audience with her, they thought she was wearing clothes made from particularly fine materials. Only when they came closer did they realize that it was a very ordinary, common fabric, and from then on [they] had even more respect for her. Empress Ma was well-read and fair-minded, and often read works such as “The Annals of Spring and Autumn“, and “Songs of Chu” in earnest. On one occasion, Emperor Ming deliberately showed her the ministers’ memorial and asked her on how to deal with such matters. After reading through the memorial, she put forward a pertinent proposal on the spot. But she did not use this opportunity to interfere with government affairs, and never took the initiative to discuss [other] imperial matters afterwards.
After Emperor Ming’s death, Liu Da ascended the throne and became Emperor Zhang of Han. Empress Ma was honorably elevated to Empress Dowager. Not long after, Emperor Zhang planned to enfeoff the male siblings of the Empress Dowager based on the advice of certain court ministers. In accordance with the late Emperor Guangwu’s rule of not granting nobility to empresses’ families [relatives], Empress Dowager Ma explicitly opposed the proposal, so that this matter was not considered further.
There was a great drought in the next summer. Some court ministers presented a memorial and said the cause of that year’s severe drought was due to [the emperor] not granting nobility to his maternal relatives in the previous year. They once again requested to enfeoff the emperor’s maternal uncle from the Ma side. Empress Dowager Ma still disagreed [with such proposal]; furthermore, she issued an edict specifically addressing this matter, [where] the edict declared: “Everyone who proposes to confer nobility on [the emperor’s] maternal relatives wants to flatter me and to gain benefits from this act. How are the severe drought and granting nobility to people related in any way? We should bear in mind the lessons from the previous ruling dynasty, where favored maternal relatives brought the disastrous collapse of a dynasty. The late emperor did not allow maternal relatives to hold important positions in order to guard against this exact scenario. How can we allow the Ma clan to follow the same path in the future again?”
The edict went on to say: “Men of the Ma family are all very wealthy. As the Empress Dowager, I nevertheless am dressed simply and do not seek delicacies for food. My maids are as thrifty and unadorned as possible. My purpose in doing this is to set myself as an example, so my servants will do as I have done, and my relatives can see and reflect on themselves [of their behavior]. However, they laughed at my thrifty way instead of [doing] self-reflection and exercising self-restraint. A few days ago I passed by the gate of Zhuolong [濯龍, lit. Evil-Cleansing Dragon] Garden near the living quarters of my parents’ house, I saw people coming to my relatives’ mansions to greet and pay their respects, with their [horse-drawn] carriages going to and fro nonstop like flowing water, with horses arriving ceaselessly like a roaming dragon, the scene being a great ostentatious display. Their servants were neatly dressed in green clothes and snowy white collars and sleeves; when we looked back at ourselves, we were far from their [wealth] level. At the time, I tried my best to control myself and did not blame them. [Having seen this,] How then could I agree to grant them a higher rank when they only cared for enjoying life pleasures and worried not about their country’s affairs?”
—– VOCABULARY —–
灌 guàn – to irrigate; to pour; to install (software); to record (music) [[quán: rót vào, tưới; chảy vào, đổ vào; cưỡng ép bắt uống rượu; cây mọc từng bụi thấp]]
起居 qǐ jū – everyday life; regular pattern of life
侖 lún – to arrange [[luân, lôn: điều lí, mạch lạc, thứ tự]]
綠 lǜ – green [[lục: màu xanh]]
領袖 lǐng xiù – leader [[người cầm đầu]]
袖 xiù – sleeve; to tuck inside one’s sleeve [[tụ: tay áo; giấu trong tay áo]]
禦 yù – to defend; to resist [[ngự: chống lại, chống cự; ngăn, che; cấm đoán, cấm chỉ; cường quyền, bạo quyền]]
御 yù – to resist; imperial; to manage; to govern [[ngự: kẻ cầm cương xe; người hầu, bộc dịch; do vua làm ra, thuộc về vua; đánh xe, điều khiển xe ngựa; ngăn, chống; cai trị, cai quản; tiến dâng]]
不及 bù jí – to fall short of; not as good as; too late
矣 yǐ – classical final particle, similar to modern 了[le5] [[hĩ: đặt cuối câu, biểu thị khẳng định; biểu thị cảm thán – thay, vậy thay; đặt cuối câu, biểu thị nghi vấn]]
熱鬧 rè nao – bustling with noise and excitement; lively
場景 chǎng jǐng – scene, scenario, setting
操辦 cāo bàn – to arrange matters
井然 jǐng rán – tidy, methodical
能幹 néng gàn – capable; competent
侍候 shì hòu – to serve; to wait up on [[phục vụ, hầu hạ]]
寵愛 chǒng ài – to dote on sb [[sủng ái]]
一直 yī zhí – straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; from the beginning of … up to …; all along
生育 shēng yù – to bear; to give birth; to grow; to rear; to bring up (children); fertility
育 yù – to have children; to raise or bring up; to educate [[dục: sinh, sinh sản; nuôi, nuôi cho khôn lớn; lớn lên]]
收養 shōu yǎng – to take in and care for (an elderly person, a dog etc.); to adopt (a child); adoption [[nhận nuôi, nhận làm con nuôi]]
賈 gǔ – merchant; to buy [[cổ: nhà buôn, thương nhân; mua vào; bán ra; chuốc lấy]]
取 qǔ – to take; to get; to choose; to fetch [[thủ: lấy, cầm; chọn lấy; chuốc lấy, tìm lấy; dùng; lấy vợ; làm]]
旭 xù – dawn; rising sun [[húc: bóng sáng mặt trời mới mọc]]
儉朴 jiǎn pǔ – plain and unadorned; thrifty and simple
儉 jiǎn – frugal; thrifty; needy [[kiệm: tằn tiện, dè sẻn; khiêm hòa, tiết chế; thiếu thốn; mất mùa, thu hoạch kém]]
朴 pǔ – plain and simple [[phác: chất phác, cũng như “phác” 樸]]
樸 pǔ – plain and simple [[phác: giản dị, thật thà; đẽo, gọt; gỗ chưa đẽo gọt thành đồ dùng; mộc mạc]]
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, đi qua, lách, luồn; mặc, mang, đi; đào, khoét; rách, lủng; thấu suốt, rõ ràng]]
粗 cū – coarse; rough; thick (for cylindrical objects); unfinished; vulgar; rude; crude [[thô: to, lớn; không mịn, thiếu tinh tế, sơ sài; vụng về, thô thiển, sơ suất, quê kệch; to, lớn (tiếng nói); sơ, bước đầu, qua loa]]
裙子 qún zi – skirt
裙 qún – skirt [[quần: váy]]
鑲 xiāng – to inlay; to embed; ridge; border [[tương: vá, nạm, trám]]
嬪 pín – imperial concubine [[tần: vợ vua; tiếng mĩ xưng ngày xưa đối với phụ nữ]]
料子 liào zi – material
近前 jìn qián – to come close; to get near to; front
認真 rèn zhēn – conscientious; earnest; serious; to take seriously; to take to heart
閱讀 yuè dú – to read, reading
閱 yuè – to inspect; to review; to read; to peruse; to go through; to experience [[duyệt: xem xét, kiểm nghiệm, thị sát; từng trải, trải qua, kinh qua; đọc, xem; dung dưỡng; bẩm thụ; tóm, gom lại]]
奏 zòu – to play music; to achieve; to present a memorial to the emperor (old) [[tấu: dâng lên, tiến hiến; tâu; cử nhạc; lập nên, đạt được; tiến hành, vận dụng; đi, chạy; văn thư do đại thần dâng lên vua]]
中肯 zhòng kěn – pertinent; apropos (at the right time; fitting; to the purpose; opportunely)
干預 gān yù – to meddle; to intervene; intervention [[can dự; tham gia vào, dính líu đến]]
此後 cǐ hòu – after this; afterwards; hereafter [[sau đấy, sau đó, sau đây]]
預 yù – to advance; in advance; beforehand; to prepare [[dự: sẵn, trước; cùng với, tham gia]]
打算 dǎ suàn – to plan; to intend; to calculate; plan; intention; calculation [[dự định, tính toán, toan tính, lên kế hoạch]]
爵 jué – ancient bronze wine holder with 3 legs and loop handle; nobility [[tước: chén rót rượu thời xưa (hình giống con “tước” 雀 chim sẻ); mượn chỉ rượu; lượng từ – đơn vị đong rượu; danh vị phong cho quý tộc hoặc công thần; phong tước vị]]
遵照 zūn zhào – in accordance with; to follow (the rules)
遵 zūn – to observe; to obey; to follow; to comply with [[tuân: thuận theo, đi theo; noi theo, y chiếu]]
去世 qù shì – to pass away; to die [[mất, qua đời, tạ thế]]
有關 yǒu guān – to have sth to do with; to relate to; related to; to concern; concerning [[liên quan tới, quan hệ tới]]
明確 míng què – clear-cut; definite; explicit; to clarify; to specify; to make definite [[rõ ràng, dứt khoát, xác định]]
確 què – authenticated; solid; firm; real; true [[xác: thật, đúng; bền, chắc; thật là; chắc chắn, kiên quyết]]
第二 dì èr – second; number two; next; secondary
旱災 hàn zāi – drought
旱 hàn – drought [[hạn: nắng mãi không mưa; khô, cạn; thuộc về đường bộ]]
戚 qī – relative; parent; grief; sorrow; battle-axe [[thích: thân thuộc; cái “thích”, một loại khí giới ngày xưa, tức là “phủ” 斧 cái búa, cũng dùng để múa; buồn rầu, bi ai; thân gần; giận dữ, phẫn nộ]]
緣故 yuán gù – reason; cause
緣 yuán – cause; reason; karma; fate; predestined affinity; margin; hem; edge; along [[duyên: đường viền áo quần; rìa, cạnh; cơ hội; lí do, nguyên cớ; leo; quấn quanh; men theo]]
再次 zài cì – one more time; again; one more; once again [[một lần nữa]]
分封 fēn fēng – to divide and confer (property on one’s descendants)
舅父 jiù fù – mother’s brother; maternal uncle
並且 bìng qiě – and; besides; moreover; furthermore; in addition [[và, vả lại, mà còn]]
專門 zhuān mén – specialist; specialized; customized [[chuyên môn, chuyên nghiên cứu về một thứ]]
凡是 fán shì – each and every; every; all; any [[tất cả, toàn bộ]]
凡 fán – ordinary; commonplace; mundane; temporal; of the material world (as opposed to supernatural or immortal levels); every; all; whatever; altogether; gist; outline [[phàm: nói chung, đại khái, hễ; gồm, tổng cộng, hết thảy; hèn, tầm thường, bình thường; thuộc về trần gian, thế tục; cõi phàm, khác nơi tiên cảnh]]
獻媚 xiàn mèi – to ingratiate oneself with; to pander to
媚 mèi – flatter; charm [[mị: nịnh nọt, lấy lòng; yêu, thân gần; xinh đẹp, dễ thương, kiều diễm, khả ái]]
好處 hǎo chu – benefit; advantage; gain; profit
記住 jì zhu – to remember; to bear in mind; to learn by heart
招 zhāo – to recruit; to provoke; to beckon; to incur; to infect; contagious; a move (chess); a maneuver; device; trick; to confess [[chiêu: vẫy tay gọi; tuyển mộ, thông cáo để tuyển chọn người, đấu thầu; rước lấy, chuốc lấy, vời lấy, dẫn tới; truyền nhiễm (tiếng địa phương, bắc TQ); nhận tội, khai, xưng; tiến dụng; tìm kiếm, cầu tìm; kén rể; bài hiệu, cờ hiệu (để lôi cuốn khách hàng); cái đích bắn tên]]
傾覆 qīng fù – to capsize; to collapse; to overturn; to overthrow; to undermine
傾 qīng – to overturn; to collapse; to lean; to tend; to incline; to pour out [[khuynh: nghiêng về một bên, xu hướng; nghiêng đổ, sụp đổ; dốc ra; bội phục, ngưỡng mộ; làm cho nghiêng ngửa, áp đảo, thắng hơn; cạnh tranh, tranh giành]]
覆 fù – to cover; to overflow; to overturn; to capsize [[phúc: lật lại; nghiêng đổ; hủy diệt, tiêu diệt; trở lại, hồi, hoàn; xét kĩ, thẩm sát; ẩn tàng, mai phục; phản, làm trái lại]]
就是 jiù shì – (emphasizes that sth is precisely or exactly as stated); precisely; exactly; even; if; just like; in the same way as
者 zhě – (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) …; (after a noun) person involved in …; -er; -ist [[giả: xưng thay người hoặc sự vật; chỉ thị hình dung từ – cái này, điều này; dùng giữa câu, biểu thị đình đốn, phân biệt chỗ cách nhau; biểu thị ngữ khí kết thúc, thường có chữ “dã” 也 đi sau; dùng ở cuối câu, để so sánh – như là, dường như]]
甘 gān – sweet; willing [[cam: ngọt; tốt, lành, ngon ngọt; thức ăn ngon; chịu nhận; bằng lòng, tự nguyện]]
簡樸 jiǎn pǔ – simple and unadorned; plain
盡量 jìn liàng – as much as possible; to the greatest extent
儉 jiǎn – frugal; thrifty; needy [[kiệm: tằn tiện, dè sẻn; khiêm hòa, tiết chế; thiếu thốn; mất mùa, thu hoạch kém]]
下邊 xià bian – under; the underside; below
反省 fǎn xǐng – to reflect upon oneself; to examine one’s conscience; to question oneself; to search one’s soul
省 xǐng – to inspect; to examine; to be aware; to pay a visit (to one’s parents or elders) [[tỉnh: xem xét, kiểm điểm; thăm hầu; hiểu, lĩnh ngộ; khảo giáo; dè sẻn, tiết kiệm; giảm bớt; khỏi phải, không cần; một cơ cấu hành chánh thời xưa; tỉnh, đơn vị khu vực hành chánh trong nước, ở trên huyện; cung cấm]]
躬 gōng – body; oneself; personally; to bow [[cung: thân thể, thân mình; tự mình làm, đích thân, thân hành; cúi, khom mình]]
反而 fǎn ér – instead; on the contrary; contrary (to expectations)
儉省 jiǎn shěng – thrifty; sparing; economical
娘家 niáng jia – married woman’s parents’ home
住地 zhù dì – living area; residential area
濯 zhuó – to wash; to cleanse of evil [[trạc: rửa, giặt; “Trạc trạc” 濯濯: (1) Sáng tỏ. (2) Trong trẻo, mới mẻ. (3) Béo, mập mạp. (4) Trơ trụi, núi trọc không có cây.]]
拜 bài – to pay respect; worship; visit; salute [[bái: vái, lạy; thăm hỏi, gặp mặt (tiếng khách sáo); cầu chúc; trao chức, phong quan; bẻ cong]]
駛 shǐ – to gallop; speedily; to proceed to; to pilot (ship, plane etc); to sail [[sử: xe, ngựa chạy nhanh; đi nhanh, trôi mau; lái (xe, thuyền, máy bay, …)]]
招搖 zhāo yáo – to act ostentatiously; to brag; to show off
招 zhāo – to recruit; to provoke; to beckon; to incur; to infect; contagious; a move (chess); a maneuver; device; trick; to confess [[chiêu: vẫy tay gọi; tuyển mộ, thông cáo để tuyển chọn người, đấu thầu; rước lấy, chuốc lấy, vời lấy, dẫn tới; nhận tội, khai, xưng; tiến dụng; tìm kiếm, cầu tìm; kén rể]]
搖 yáo – to shake; to rock; to row; to crank [[diêu: lay động, lắc, rung, xua, vẫy; quấy nhiễu; cũng đọc là “dao”]]
傭人 yōng rén – servant
傭 yōng – to hire; to employ; servant; hired laborer; domestic help [[dong: làm thuê; thuê người làm công; tiền trả công, tiền thuê; dung tục, bình thường]]
領 lǐng – neck; collar; to lead; to receive; classifier for clothes, mats, screens, etc [[lĩnh: cổ; cổ áo; đại cương, yếu điểm; lượng từ – (số) áo, bao, bị, chiếc, cái; đốc suất hết thảy; nhận lấy; lí hội, hiểu biết]]
袖 xiù – sleeve; to tuck inside one’s sleeve [[tụ: tay áo; giấu trong tay áo]]
竭力 jié lì – to do one’s utmost
竭 jié – to exhaust [[kiệt: vác, đội; hết, cùng tận; khô cạn; mất, mất đi; bại hoại, hủy diệt; tất cả, hoàn toàn]]
責備 zé bèi – to blame; to criticize; condemnation; reproach
享樂 xiǎng lè – to enjoy life; pleasures of life
享 xiǎng – to enjoy; to benefit; to have the use of [[hưởng: dâng lên, tiến cống; cúng tế; thết đãi; hưởng thụ]]