S7E10 | She’s a Woman!
Saying: “A hero among women”
Pinyin: Jīn Guó Yīng Xióng
Chinese: 巾帼英雄
I hope everyone is enjoying these Chinese Sayings Podcast episodes that I began posting to this podcast feed. We end Season 7 with an old one from the Book of Jin 晋书 that contains two venerable co-stars from the Three Kingdoms era. This time we look at the amusing story behind the 巾帼英雄 Jīn Guó Yīng Xióng. The CSP will be back one more time with a bonus episode featuring Emma, the G.M. of the Teacup 成语研究中心. You won't want to miss that.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chéngyǔ | 成语 | A Chinese Saying or idiom |
| Jīnguó | 巾帼 | A headscarf |
| Jīn Guó Yīng Xióng | 巾帼英雄 | A silk scarf hero |
| Jīn | 巾 | A turban, headscarf or a cloth of some sort |
| yīngxióng | 英雄 | a hero or heroine |
| Book of Jìn | 晋书 | One of the official Chinese historical texts covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty |
| Eastern Han | 东汉 | The second half of the Han Dynasty after the capital was moved to Luoyang. It lasted from 23 to 220 AD |
| Eastern Jìn | 东晋 | The second half of the Jin Dynasty after the capital was moved to Jiankang. It lasted from 266-420 |
| Liú Sòng | 刘宋 | 420-479, the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It succeeded the Eastern Jin dynasty and preceded the Southern Qi dynasty |
| Zhūgě Liàng | 诸葛亮 | 181-234, Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is recognised as the most accomplished strategist of his era, and has been compared to Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War |
| Sīmǎ Yì | 司马懿 | 179-251 AD, Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China |
| Shǔ Kingdom | 蜀国 | A dynastic state of China and one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. The state was based in the area around present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, and north Guangxi, an area historically referred to as "Shu" based on the name of the past ancient kingdom of Shu, which also occupied this approximate geographical area. |
| Sīmǎ Yán | 司马炎 | 236-290, grandson of Sima Yi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, last emperor of the state of Cao Wei, to abdicate to him. He reigned from 266 to 290, and after conquering the state of Eastern Wu in 280, was the emperor of a reunified China. |
| Cao Cao | 曹操 | Chinese statesman, warlord and literary figure. Former grand chancellor of the Eastern Han who amassed immense power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao laid the foundations for what became the state of Cao Wei |
| Wèi State | 魏国 | Also known as Cao Wei or Former Wei. It was a dynastic state of China and one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. With its capital initially located at Xuchang, and thereafter Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220 was based upon the foundations laid by his father, Cao Cao |
| Wèinán | 渭南 | A prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. It lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about 60 km (37 mi) east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shanxi and Henan to the east. |
| Shǎnxī | 陕西 | Province in northwest China in between Gansu and Shānxī |
| Xí Zhòngxún | 习仲勋 | 1913-2002, CCP revolutionary and political official in the PRC.He founded Communist guerrilla bases in northwestern China during the 1930s and was a central figure in the introduction of economic liberalization in southern China in the 1980s. His second son is Xi Jinping. |
| Qín | 秦国 | Ancient Zhou Dynasty state. Traditionally dated to 897 BC. Following extensive "Legalist" reform in the fourth century BC beginning with Shang Yang and Duke Xiao, Qin emerged as one of the dominant powers of the Seven Warring States and unified the seven states of China in 221 BC under King Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huang). It established the Qin dynasty, which was short-lived but greatly influenced later Chinese history. |
| Yíng Zhèng | 嬴政 | 259–210 BC, founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor (始皇帝) of the Qin dynasty from 221 to 210 BC. His self-invented title "emperor" (皇帝 huángdì) would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia. |
| Wǔ Zétiān | 武则天 | 624-705, the de facto ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empress consort of the Tang dynasty (as wife of the Emperor Gaozong) and then, after his death, empress dowager (ruling through her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong). Unprecedented in Chinese history, she subsequently founded and ruled as empress regnant of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 690 to 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China widely regarded as legitimate. |
| Lady Fùhǎo | 妇好 | Died c. 1200 BC, was one of the many wives of King Wu Ding of the Shang dynasty and also served as a military general and high priestess. Her tomb was discovered in 1976 |
| Mùlán | 花木兰 | a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. |
| Qiū Jǐn | 秋瑾 | 1875-1907, Chinese revolutionary, feminist, and writer. Qiu was executed after a failed uprising against the Qing dynasty and is considered a national heroine in China and a martyr of republicanism and feminism. |
| Chéngyǔ Yánjiū Zhōngxīn | 成语研究中心 | The Teacup Chengyu Research Center located in Beijing and headed up by Emma |
| Jiāzhōu Luòshānjī | 加州洛杉矶 | Los Angeles, California |
