S5E08 | It Don’t Mean a Thing
Saying: “One hair from nine cattle”
Pinyin: Jiǔ Niú Yī Máo
Chinese: 九牛一毛
For this latest CSP episode, we welcome China's great historian, Sima Qian to the stage where he plays in a starring role in this tragic story behind the well-known Chinese Saying Jiǔ Niú Yī Máo 九牛一毛. One hair from nine oxen. Most Chinese speakers know of this one but not the story behind it. When faced with a tough choice after displeasing Han Emperor Wu, the future Grand Historian, after careful consideration accepted his sad fate and went on to finish the epic history of China from mythical times to the present day in the Han, begun by his father, Sima Tan. Enjoy!
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Jiǔ Niú Yī Máo | 九牛一毛 | One hair from nine oxen, meaning insignificant, meaningless, of no consequence |
| Jiǔ | 九 | nine |
| Niú | 牛 | oxen |
| Yī Máo | 一毛 | one hair |
| Bào Rén Shàoqīng Shū | 报任少卿书 | The work from which this Chinese Idiom comes from |
| Sīmǎ Qiān | 司马迁 | The Grand Historian, son of Sima Tan, |
| Shǐ Jì | 史记 | The Records of the Grand Historian |
| Hàn Dynasty | 汉朝 | Dynasty that ran 202 BC to 220 AD |
| Hàn Wǔdì | 汉武帝 | Long reigning Han Emperor, also known as Han Emperor Wu |
| Lǐ Líng | 李陵 | d. 74 BC, Han general who later defected to the Xiongnu |
| Xiōngnú | 匈奴 | a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. |
| Lǐ Guǎnglì | 李广利 | d. 88 BC, on of Emperor Wu's favorite generals |
| Tiānshān | 天山 | The Heavenly Mountain range of Xinjiang, north of the Tarim Basin |
| Xīnjiāng | 新疆 | China's largest province, located in the northwest of the country. |
