沐猴而冠

Chinese

	macaque	and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	to head; hat; crown to head; hat; crown; crest; cap
trad. (沐猴而冠)	沐猴	而	冠
simp. ^#(沐猴而冠)	沐猴	而	冠
Literally: “a monkey wearing a hat”.

Etymology

From Shiji:

說者曰：“人言楚人沐猴而冠耳，果然。”項王聞之，烹說者。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]

说者曰：“人言楚人沐猴而冠耳，果然。”项王闻之，烹说者。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Shuō zhě yuē: “Rén yán Chǔ rén mùhóu ér guàn ěr, guǒrán.” Xiàngwáng wén zhī, pēng shuō zhě. [Pinyin]

"People say that the men of Chu are nothing more than apes with caps on," observed a wit, "It now turns out to be true." When Xiang Yu heard this, he had the man immensed in boiling water.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): mùhóu'érguàn

(Zhuyin): ㄇㄨˋ ㄏㄡˊ ㄦˊ ㄍㄨㄢˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): muk⁶ hau⁴ ji⁴ gun³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: mùhóu'érguàn
  - Zhuyin: ㄇㄨˋ ㄏㄡˊ ㄦˊ ㄍㄨㄢˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: mùhóu-érguàn
  - Wade–Giles: mu⁴-hou²-êrh²-kuan⁴
  - Yale: mù-hóu-ér-gwàn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: muhhourerlguann
  - Palladius: мухоуэргуань (muxouerguanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mu⁵¹ xoʊ̯³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ku̯än⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: muk⁶ hau⁴ ji⁴ gun³
  - Yale: muhk hàuh yìh gun
  - Cantonese Pinyin: muk⁹ hau⁴ ji⁴ gun³
  - Guangdong Romanization: mug⁶ heo⁴ yi⁴ gun³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mʊk̚² hɐu̯²¹ jiː²¹ kuːn³³/

Idiom

沐猴而冠

worthless person in imposing attire

Synonyms

沐猴冠冕 (mùhóuguànmiǎn)

Derived terms

→ Japanese: 沐(もっ)猴(こう)にして冠(かん)す (mokkō ni shite kansu)