洛陽紙貴
Chinese
| Luoyang, an ancient capital | paper | expensive | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (洛陽紙貴) | 洛陽 | 紙 | 貴 | |
| simp. (洛阳纸贵) | 洛阳 | 纸 | 贵 | |
| Literally: “to push up the paper price in Luoyang”. | ||||
Etymology
From the incident that the Western Jin poet Zuo Si's work Rhapsodies on the Three Capitals was extremely popular that people were making copies of it, causing a shortage in paper and pushing up its price in Luoyang.
- 於是豪貴之家競相傳寫，洛陽為之紙貴。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: 648 CE, Fang Xuanling (lead editor), Book of Jin
- Yúshì háoguì zhī jiā jìngxiāng chuánxiě, Luòyáng wèi zhī zhǐ guì. [Pinyin]
- After that the noblemen were eagerly making copies of the work, causing paper to become expensive in Luoyang.
于是豪贵之家竞相传写，洛阳为之纸贵。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): luòyángzhǐguì
- (Zhuyin): ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄧㄤˊ ㄓˇ ㄍㄨㄟˋ
- Cantonese (Jyutping): lok6 joeng4 zi2 gwai3
- Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): log8 iang5 zua2 gui3
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: luòyángzhǐguì
- Zhuyin: ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄧㄤˊ ㄓˇ ㄍㄨㄟˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: luòyángjhǐhguèi
- Wade–Giles: lo4-yang2-chih3-kuei4
- Yale: lwò-yáng-jř-gwèi
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: luohyangjyyguey
- Palladius: лоянчжигуй (lojančžiguj)
- Sinological IPA (key): /lu̯ɔ⁵¹ jɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ ku̯eɪ̯⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: lok6 joeng4 zi2 gwai3
- Yale: lohk yèuhng jí gwai
- Cantonese Pinyin: lok9 joeng4 dzi2 gwai3
- Guangdong Romanization: log6 yêng4 ji2 guei3
- Sinological IPA (key): /lɔːk̚² jœːŋ²¹ t͡siː³⁵ kʷɐi̯³³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Southern Min
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: log8 iang5 zua2 gui3
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lo̍k iâng tsuá kùi
- Sinological IPA (key): /lok̚⁴⁻² iaŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ t͡sua⁵²⁻³⁵ kui²¹³/
- (Teochew)
Idiom
洛陽紙貴
- (of a literary work, e.g. a new book) to be all the rage for a time; to be immensely popular