秘不發喪

Chinese

		secret	not; no	to announce a death; to send out an obituary; to hold a funeral to announce a death; to send out an obituary; to hold a funeral; to arrange a funeral
trad. (秘不發喪/祕不發喪)		秘/祕	不	發喪
simp. (秘不发丧)		秘	不	发丧

Etymology

From Shiji:

始皇崩於沙丘平臺。丞相斯爲上崩在外，恐諸公子及天下有變，乃祕之，不發喪。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]

始皇崩于沙丘平台。丞相斯为上崩在外，恐诸公子及天下有变，乃秘之，不发丧。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

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

Shǐhuáng bēng yú Shāqiū Píngtái. Chéngxiàng Sī wéi shàng bēng zàiwài, kǒng zhū gōngzǐ jí tiānxià yǒu biàn, nǎi mì zhī, bù fāsāng. [Pinyin]

The First Emperor passed away at Pingtai in Shaqiu Prefecture [now Dapingtai Township, Guangzong County, Hebei Province]. As he died away from the capital, the chancellor Li Si hushed the matter up, fearing that the princes and others in the land start trouble, chose not to announce the death.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): mìbùfāsāng

(Zhuyin): ㄇㄧˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄈㄚㄙㄤ
Cantonese (Jyutping): bei³ bat¹ faat³ song¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: mìbùfāsāng
  - Zhuyin: ㄇㄧˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄈㄚㄙㄤ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: mìbùfasang
  - Wade–Giles: mi⁴-pu⁴-fa¹-sang¹
  - Yale: mì-bù-fā-sāng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mihbufasang
  - Palladius: мибуфасан (mibufasan)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ fä⁵⁵ sɑŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: bei³ bat¹ faat³ song¹
  - Yale: bei bāt faat sōng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bei³ bat⁷ faat⁸ song¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: béi³ bed¹ fad³ song¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pei̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ faːt̚³ sɔːŋ⁵⁵/

Idiom

秘不發喪

to not announce someone's (usually the emperor's) death
- 高祖病甚，顧大臣曰：“善防重威。”高祖崩，祕不發喪，大臣乃共誅之，及其子弘璋、弘璨、弘璲尸於市。市人蹴而詬之，吏不能禁，支裂蹈踐，斯須而盡。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
  高祖病甚，顾大臣曰：“善防重威。”高祖崩，秘不发丧，大臣乃共诛之，及其子弘璋、弘璨、弘璲尸于市。市人蹴而诟之，吏不能禁，支裂蹈践，斯须而尽。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
  From: 1053,《新五代史·杜重威傳》, chiefly written by Ouyang Xiu, translation based on the work by Richard L. Davis
  Gāozǔ bìng shèn, gù dàchén yuē: “Shàn fáng Chóngwēi.” Gāozǔ bēng, mìbùfāsāng, dàchén nǎi gòng zhū zhī, jí qí zǐ Hóngzhāng, Hóngcàn, Hóngsuì shī yú shì. Shì rén cù ér gòu zhī, lì bùnéng jìn, zhīliè dǎojiàn, sīxū ér jìn. [Pinyin]
  His illness turning grave, Gaozu exclaimed as he looked to senior courtiers, “Be careful to guard against Chongwei.” Once the emperor expired, secrecy was imposed on official mourning, as senior officials allied to execute him, along with his three sons. Their corpses were laid out at the marketplace, passers-by kicked and cursed them beyond the authorities' ability to control, frenziedly ripping limbs and trampling the remains, shortly afterwards leaving not a trace.