夜郎自大

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Chinese

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Yelang self-important; arrogant; conceited
simp. and trad.
(夜郎自大)
夜郎 自大

Etymology

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Based on a passage in Records of the Grand Historian:

使:「?」夜郎以為廣大 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
使:「?」夜郎以为广大 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
Diānwáng yǔ Hàn shǐzhě yán yuē: “Hàn yǔ wǒ shú dà?” Jí Yèlánghóu yì rán. Yǐ dào bù tōng, gù gè zì yǐwéi yī zhōu zhǔ, bù zhī Hàn guǎngdà. [Pinyin]
The King of Dian, while talking to the Han envoys, asked: "The Han (state) and mine, which is larger?" The Yelang lord did so too. As the roads (between their principalities and China) were not open, so each, deeming himself the ruler of a principality, did not know how large and vast the Han (empire) was.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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夜郎自大

  1. to be ignorant and arrogant; to be self-deluded