S7E03 | We Swore Blood Brothers Against the Wind
Saying: “The Peach Garden Sworn Brotherhood”
Pinyin: Táo Yuán Jié Yì
Chinese: 桃园结义
Who doesn't know this one? If you never read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" perhaps you might not know this one. In all the thousands of years of Chinese culture and history, this gem from Luo Guanzhong's novel is very high on the list. Here's a quick retelling of the tale about that day Liu Bei met Zhang Fei and Guan Yu and their sworn brotherhood in Zhang Fei's peach garden. The Táoyuán Jiéyì 桃园结义. This chengyu can only be used when describing the most sincere and honorable of oaths taken to achieve some common cause.
Any Romance of the Three Kingdoms lovers should go groove on John Zhu's Three Kingdoms Podcast http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chéngyǔ | 成语 | A Chinese Saying or idiom |
| Luó Guànzhōng | 罗贯中 | 1330-1400 (or 1280-1360) Ming-era writer known for his epic novel "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" |
| Táo Yuán Jíe Yì | 桃园结义 | The Peach Orchard Pact of Brotherhood |
| Táo Yuán | 桃源 | A peach orchard |
| Jié | 结 | a knot |
| Yì | 义 | righteous, justice, morality |
| Jiéyì | 结义 | to become sworn brothers |
| Hàn Dynasty | 汉朝 | The Han Dynasty 202 BC to 220 AD |
| Jùlù | 巨鹿 | A county of Xingtai City in the south of Hebei province |
| Eastern Hàn | 东汉 | That part of the Han Dynasty that lasted 25 to 220 AD when the capital was located in Luoyang and later Xuchang |
| Yōuzhōu | 幽州 | One of the twelve ancient provinces, located where Liaoning and northernmost Hebei is today |
| Zhuó County | 涿县 | A once ancient prefecture located just north of Beijing |
| Bǎodìng, Hebei | 河北保定 | is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of Beijing. |
| Liú Bèi | 刘备 | 161-223, a warlord of the Eastern Han who went on to found the State of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms |
| Zhāng Fēi | 张飞 | Died in 221 AD, a military general serving under Liu Bei |
| Guān Yǔ | 关羽 | Died in 220 AD, a military general serving under Liu Bei |
| Hédōng | 河东 | A tiown in southern Zhuolu Couynty in northwest Hebei, 57 miles west of Beijing |
| Jiānghú | 江湖 | a term that generally refers to the milieu, environment, or sub-community in which many Chinese wuxia stories are set, where feuding martial arts clans; a secret and possibly criminal underworld; a general sense of the "mythic world" where fantastical stories happen; or some combination thereof. |
| Sānguó Zhì | 三国志 | The Records of The Three Kingdoms, |
