如火如荼
Chinese edit
| as (if); such as | fire; angry; fierce fire; angry; fierce; fiery; thriving |
as (if); such as | Sonchus oleraceus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (如火如荼) | 如 | 火 | 如 | 荼 | |
| simp. #(如火如荼) | 如 | 火 | 如 | 荼 | |
Etymology edit
From a statement in Guoyu describing how spectacular the Wu army was:
- 萬人以為方陣，皆白裳、白旂、素甲、白羽之矰，望之如荼。左軍亦如之，皆赤裳、赤旟、丹甲、朱羽之矰，望之如火。右軍亦如之，皆玄裳、玄旗、黑甲、烏羽之矰，望之如墨。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Guoyu, circa 4th century BCE
- Wàn rén yǐ wèi fāngzhèn, jiē bái shang, bái qí, sù jiǎ, bái yǔ zhī zēng, wàng zhī rú tú. Zuǒ jūn yì rú zhī, jiē chì shang, chì yú, dān jiǎ, zhū yǔ zhī zēng, wàng zhī rú huǒ. Yòu jūn yì rú zhī, jiē xuán shang, xuán qí, hēi jiǎ, wū yǔ zhī zēng, wàng zhī rú mò. [Pinyin]
- Ten thousand warriors form a phalanx [in the middle], with white clothes, white banners, white armours, and white arrows, and they looked like white flowers. The army on the left also wore like this, with red clothes, red banners, red armours, and red arrows, and they looked like fire. The army on the left also wore like this, with black clothes, black banners, black armours, and black arrows, and they looked like ink.
万人以为方阵，皆白裳、白旗、素甲、白羽之矰，望之如荼。左军亦如之，皆赤裳、赤𭤰、丹甲、朱羽之矰，望之如火。右军亦如之，皆玄裳、玄旗、黑甲、乌羽之矰，望之如墨。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation edit
Idiom edit
如火如荼