지성이면 감천이다
Korean
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Originally a reformulation according to Korean syntax of the Classical Chinese chengyu 至誠感天／至诚感天 (“utmost sincerity moves heaven”), probably ultimately from a line in Mencius (7:12):
The proverb is now associated with an etymological folktale about a lame beggar named Jiseong and a blind beggar named Gamcheon. Jiseong would point out the way for his friend, and Gamcheon would carry his friend on his back. One day, the two discovered a huge nugget of gold. They asked a peddler to split the nugget in half so that they could share it, but the gold appeared as a snake in the peddler's eyes. The two then asked a hunter to split the nugget; the gold appeared as a plain stone to the hunter, so he agreed to split it for them. Jiseong and Gamcheon took half the nugget each.
Some time later, they visited a Buddhist temple, where a monk advised them to offer the gold to the Buddha and to pray to him for a hundred days. When they had done so, both Jiseong and Gamcheon were cured of their disabilities.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [t͡ɕisʰʌ̹ŋimjʌ̹n ka̠(ː)mt͡ɕʰʌ̹nida̠]
- Phonetic hangul: [지성이면 감(ː)처니다]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | jiseong'imyeon gamcheonida |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | jiseong'imyeon gamcheon'ida |
| McCune–Reischauer? | chisŏngimyŏn kamch'ŏnida |
| Yale Romanization? | cisengimyen kāmchen.ita |