一鳴驚人

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See also: 一鸣惊人

Chinese

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one; single; a
one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)
 
to cry (of birds)
trad. (一鳴驚人) 驚人
simp. (一鸣惊人) 惊人

Etymology

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From Han Feizi, Chapter 21 (《韓非子·喻老》):

司馬:「南方?」:「羽翼沖天驚人不穀知之。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
司马:「南方?」:「羽翼冲天惊人不谷知之。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Han Feizi, circa 2nd century BCE, translated based on W. K. Liao's version
Chǔ Zhuāng wáng lì zhèng sān nián, wú lìng fā, wú zhèng wèi yě. Yòusīmǎ yù zuò ér yǔ wáng yǐn yuē: “Yǒu niǎo zhǐ nánfāng zhī fù, sān nián bù chì bù fēi bù míng, hēirán wú shēng, cǐ wèi hé míng?” Wáng yuē: “Sān nián bù chì, jiāng yǐ zhǎng yǔyì. Bù fēi bù míng, jiāng yǐ guān mín zé. Suī wú fēi, fēi bì chōngtiān; suī wú míng, míngjīngrén. Zǐ shì zhī, bùgǔ zhīzhī yǐ.” [Pinyin]
King Zhuang, for three years after he took the reins of government, issued no decree and formulated no policy. Therefore, one day the Right Commissioner of the Army, when attending on the Throne, made before the King an intimation, saying: "There is a bird which has perched or a hill-top in the south. For three years it has neither fluttered nor flown nor sung but kept silent without making any sound. What is the name of that bird?" In reply the King said: "For three years it has not fluttered in order thereby to grow its wings and feathers, and has neither flown nor sung in order thereby to look at the conditions of the people. Though it has not flown, yet once it starts flying, it will soar high up into the sky. Though it has not sung, yet once it starts singing, it will surprise everybody. Leave it as it has been. I, the King, understand what you mean."

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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一鳴驚人

  1. to amaze the world with a single brilliant feat; to become famous overnight; to set the world on fire; a bolt from the blue

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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