Ten thousand years
Ten thousand years | ||
---|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin wànsuì | | |
Bopomofo | ㄨㄢˋ ㄙㄨㄟˋ | |
Gwoyeu Romatzyh | wannsuey | |
Wade–Giles | wan4-sui4 | |
Wu | ||
Romanization | vae去 soe去 | |
Hakka | ||
Romanization | van4 soi4 | |
Yue: Cantonese | ||
Yale Romanization | maahn seui | |
Jyutping | maan6 seoi3 | |
Southern Min | ||
Hokkien POJ | bān soè |
muôn tuổi
muôn năm
𨷈𢆥[1]
Transcriptions | |
---|---|
Revised Romanization | manse |
Transcriptions | |
---|---|
Revised Hepburn | banzai |
In various
China
In
Although the
Traditionally, empresses consort and empresses dowager were addressed with "thousand years" (千歲) rather than "ten thousand years", which was reserved for the emperor exclusively. However, Empress Dowager Cixi, the de facto supreme ruler of China from 1861 to 1908, was addressed with "ten thousand years". Several photographs of her[3] show a banner on her litter reading "The Incumbent Holy Mother, the Empress Dowager of the Great Qing, [will live and reign for] ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years" (大清國當今聖母皇太后萬歲萬歲萬萬歲). The Emperor was addressed by the title "Lord of Ten Thousand Years" (simplified Chinese: 万岁爷; traditional Chinese: 萬歲爺; pinyin: Wànsuìyé).[4][5]
Usage
Classically, the phrase wansui is repeated multiple times following a person's name or title. For example, in ancient China, the Emperor would be addressed with (Chinese: 吾皇萬歲,萬歲,萬萬歲; pinyin: Wú huáng wànsuì, wànsuì, wànwànsuì; lit. '[May] my Emperor [live and reign for] ten thousand years', 'ten thousand years', 'ten thousand of ten thousand years'). The foregoing phrase is best known to modern Chinese through televised films, but is not historically accurate; in the Ming dynasty, the only occasion during which 萬歲 is used is the great court, which was held once to thrice a year.[6] Approaching the end of the ceremony, the attending officials will be asked to shout 萬歲 three times.
The significance of "ten thousand" in this context is that "ten thousand" in Chinese and many other East Asian languages represents the largest discrete unit in the counting system, in a manner analogous to "thousand" in English.[citation needed] Thus 100,000 in Chinese is expressed as 10 ten-thousands; similarly, whereas a million is "a thousand thousands" in Western languages, the Chinese word for it is bǎiwàn (simplified Chinese: 百万; traditional Chinese: 百萬), which literally means "hundred ten-thousands". Because of this, Chinese people often use wàn in a manner analogous to "thousand" – whereas an English speaker might exclaim "there are thousands of ants on the ground", the Chinese speaker would substitute it with "ten thousand" in the description. So in the context of wànsuì, a literally incorrect but culturally appropriate translation might be, "may you live for thousands of years". The number simply denotes innumerability, in a manner etymologically similar to the Greek myriad (although the current usage of that word differs).
During the Qing, at the entrances of mosques in China, a tablet was placed upon which the characters for Huangdi, wansui, wansui, wanwansui (皇帝萬歲,萬歲,萬萬歲) were inscribed, which means, "The Emperor, may he live forever". Westerners traveling in China noted the presence of these tablets at mosques in Yunnan and Ningbo.[7][8]
Modern use
During the
In August 1945, after Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek announced the defeat of Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the people exclaimed "Jiǎng... Zhōngguó... Wànsuì... Wànwànsuì!" (蔣...中國...萬歲...萬萬歲!), which means, "Chiang ... China ... live ten thousand years ... live ten thousand ten thousand years".[10]
One of the most conspicuous uses of the phrase is at the Tiananmen gate in Beijing, where large placards are affixed to the gatehouse reading "中华人民共和国万岁"; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó wànsuì; lit. '[may the] People's Republic of China [last for] ten thousand years') and "世界人民大团结万岁"; pinyin: Shìjiè rénmín dàtuánjié wànsuì; lit. '[may] the Great Unity of the world's people [last for] ten thousand years').
During the
Within the
In
Japan
The Chinese term was introduced to Japan as banzai (Kana: ばんざい; Kanji: 万歳) as early as the 8th century, and was used to express respect for the Emperor in much the same manner as the Chinese term.
Even earlier, however, according to the Nihongi, during the reign of Empress Kōgyoku, A.D. 642, 8th Month, 1st Day:
The Emperor made a progress to the river source of Minabuchi. Here, (s)he knelt down and prayed, worshipping towards the four quarters and looking up to the Heaven. Straightway there was thunder and a great rain, which eventually fell for 5 days, and plentifully bedewed the Empire. Hereupon the peasantry throughout the Empire cried with one voice: "Banzai" and said "an Emperor of exceeding virtue".
Banzei was later revived as banzai (Kana: ばんざい) after the Meiji Restoration. Banzai as a formal ritual was established in the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution in 1889 when university students shouted banzai in front of the Emperor's carriage.[12]
Around the same time, banzai also came to be used in contexts unrelated to the Emperor. The supporters of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, for example, began to shout "Jiyū banzai" (Kanji: 自由万歳; Kana: じゆうばんざい, or, roughly, "Long Live Freedom") in 1883.
During World War II, banzai or its full form Tennōheika Banzai! (天皇陛下万歳, (Tennouheika Banzai) "Long Live His Majesty the Emperor") served as a battle cry of sorts for Japanese soldiers.[13] Ideally, kamikaze pilots would shout "banzai!" as they rammed their planes into enemy ships; although Japanese popular culture has portrayed this romanticized scene, it is unknown if any pilot actually did so. Its confirmed use by ground troops, however, was heard in numerous battles during the Pacific Campaign, when Japanese infantry units attacked Allied positions. As a result, the term "banzai charge" (or alternatively "banzai attack") gained common currency among English-speaking soldiers and remains the most widely understood context of the term in the West to this day.
Modern use
Traditionally, "banzai" (roughly translated as "hurrah", literally translated as "ten thousand years") was an expression of enthusiasm, and crowds shouting the word three times, arms stretched out above their heads, could be considered the traditional Japanese form of applause.
Korea
The same term is pronounced manse (
: 千歲, "one thousand years") in deference to the Chinese emperor's ten thousand years.In the 20th century, various protests against Japanese occupation used the term in their names, including a pro-independence newspaper established in 1906, the March 1st Movement of 1919, and the June 10th Movement of 1926.
In North Korea, manse was used to wish long life for Kim Jong Il, and for the political principles of his father, Kim Il Sung. It is now used to wish Kim Jong Un with a long life. Akin to the "banzai charge" used by Japanese servicemen during the Pacific War, the Korean People's Army used Widaehan Suryŏng Kim Ilsŏng Janggun Manse! (위대한 수령 김일성장군 만세; 偉大한 首領 金日成將軍 萬歲; "Long live the Great Leader, General Kim Il-sung") as a charge mantra during the Korean War.
It is also used as a casual proclamation, commonly used as the English equivalent of "Victory."
Vietnam
In Vietnamese, "vạn tuế" is the phrase cognate to the Chinese wàn suì and is the
Muôn is the
Tuổi is the Old Sino-Vietnamese reading of the chữ Hán 歲 (Sino-Vietnamese reading: tuế).[16] It is derived from the pronunciation of this character in Middle Chinese.[17]
Năm is a native Vietnamese word that inherited from the
There are many ways to write the words muôn tuổi, muôn năm in chữ Nôm, for example:
See also
- In saecula saeculorum
- .
- Polychronion Orthodox Chant with similar meaning, sung to the Orthodox Authorities
- The king is dead, long live the king!, a traditional European saying, used to wish for long life of the monarch, said when a new king ascends to the throne
- Hindustan Zindabad, used by Indians to express victory or patriotism
- Sto lat, a similar Polish phrase and song meaning "one hundred years"
- Mabuhay, a traditional Philippine cheer meaning "May you live long!"
- Oorah
- Vive, viva, and vivat
References
- ^ a b c Viện Ngôn ngữ học (2003). Từ điển tiếng Việt. Nhà xuất bản Đà Nẵng, Trung tâm Từ điển học. p. 1097.
- ISBN 0-231-12826-6
- ^ 瑞丽女性网-生活-揭密慈禧太后奢侈生活. rayli.com.cn (in Simplified Chinese). 2007-01-26. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ Current literature, Volume 51. Current Literature Pub. Co. 1911. p. 624. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
- ^ Edward Jewitt Wheeler, Frank Crane (1911). Current opinion, Volume 51. The Current Literature Publishing Co. p. 624. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
- ^ Robles, Pablo. "In the Forbidden City, being the emperor didn't equate to a life of limitless power or pleasure". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ The Chinese repository, Volumes 11-15. Printed for the proprietors. 1842. p. 33. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ISBN 0-7007-1026-4. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ "Our Determined Lone Army Makes Final Stand". Lihpao Daily 29 October 1937
- ^ "CHINA: Wan Wan Sui!". TIME. Aug 27, 1945. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ISBN 978-962-937-147-0.
- ^ Makihara, Norio. “The Birth of Banzai.” Japan Forum 23, no. 2 (June 2011): 237–61. doi:10.1080/09555803.2011.599272.
- ISBN 0-521-22352-0
- ^ teacher, Namiko Abe Namiko Abe is a Japanese language; translator; years, as well as a Japanese calligraphy expert She has been a freelance writer for nearly 20. "How to Master Important Japanese Gestures". ThoughtCo.
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has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Lý, Lạc Nghị; Waters, Jim (1997). Tìm về cội nguồn chữ Hán. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản Thế Giới. p. 1027.
- ^ Lý, Lạc Nghị; Waters, Jim (1997). Tìm về cội nguồn chữ Hán. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản Thế Giới. p. 1124.
- ^ Nguyễn, Khuê (2009). Chữ Nôm: cơ sở và nâng cao. Nhà xuất bản Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. p. 50.
- ^ This term is unrelated to Chinese 年 (Sino-Vietnamese reading: niên) that it is often mistakenly believed to be derived from.
- ^ Vũ, Văn Kính (2005). Đại tự điển chữ Nôm. Nhà xuất bản Văn nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. pp. 850, 1317.
- ^ Vũ, Văn Kính (2005). Đại tự điển chữ Nôm. Nhà xuất bản Văn nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. pp. 850, 868, 869.