郢书燕说 (郢書燕說)
Yǐng shū Yān shuō
Pinyin

Definition

郢书燕说 (郢書燕說)
 - 
Yǐng shū Yān shuō
  1. lit. Ying writes a letter and Yan reads it
  2. fig. to misinterpret the original meaning
  3. to pile up errors
  4. refers to the letter from capital 郢[Yǐng] of 楚[Chǔ] in which the inadvertent words "hold up the candle" are mistaken by the minister of 燕[Yān] as "promote the wise"

Related Words (20)

Yān
  1. 1 Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in modern Hebei and Liaoning
  2. 2 north Hebei
  3. 3 the four Yan kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Yan 前燕 (337-370), Later Yan 後燕|后燕 (384-409), Southern Yan 南燕 (398-410), Northern Yan 北燕 (409-436)
  4. 4 surname Yan
yàn zi
  1. 1 swallow
Sūn Yàn zī
  1. 1 Stefanie Sun (1978-), Singaporean singer-songwriter
Yān jīng
  1. 1 Yanjing, an old name for Beijing
  2. 2 capital of Yan at different periods
yān wěi dié
  1. 1 swallow tail butterfly (family Papilionidae)

Idioms (9)

来鸿去燕
lái hóng qù yàn
  1. 1 lit. the goose comes, the swallow goes (idiom); fig. always on the move
劳燕分飞
láo yàn fēn fēi
  1. 1 the shrike and the swallow fly in different directions (idiom)
  2. 2 (usually of a couple) to part from each other
燕子衔泥垒大窝
yàn zi xián ní lěi dà wō
  1. 1 the swallow's nest is built one beakful of mud at a time (idiom)
  2. 2 many a little makes a mickle
燕雀安知鸿鹄之志
yàn què ān zhī hóng hú zhī zhì
  1. 1 lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?
燕雀焉知鸿鹄之志
yàn què yān zhī hóng gǔ zhī zhì
  1. 1 lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom); fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?