塗炭

塗炭

1. (literary) mire and charcoal ashes; (figurative) filthy place

   • 立於惡人之朝，與惡人言，如以朝衣朝冠坐於塗炭。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     立于恶人之朝，与恶人言，如以朝衣朝冠坐于涂炭。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Lì yú èrén zhī cháo, yǔ èrén yán, rú yǐ cháoyī cháo guān zuò yú tútàn. [Pinyin]

     To stand in a bad prince's court, or to speak with a bad man, would have been to him the same as to sit with his court robes and court cap amid mire and ashes.

2. (literary, figurative) harrowing situation; extreme distress; great affliction

   • 有夏昏德，民墜塗炭。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     有夏昏德，民坠涂炭。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Forged Old Text of the Book of Documents, circa 3^rd – 4^th century CE

     Yǒuxià hūndé, mín zhuì tútàn. [Pinyin]

     The sovereign of Xia had his virtue all-obscured, and the people were (as if they had fallen) amid mire and (burning) charcoal.

塗炭

1. (literary) to be in a harrowing situation; to be in great distress
2. (literary) to ravage or devastate such that one is in great distress

• → Vietnamese: lầm than (calque)

塗炭

1. (Southern Min) coal
2. (Teochew) coal briquette