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一言九鼎 is an ancient Chinese proverb used in modern times to talk of profound or powerful words.
The literal meaning is “one word [worth] nine [sacred] tripods.” The tripod is a highly-prized three-legged (sometimes four-legged) metal pot or kettle of ancient China. They are often made of bronze, and the Emperor would have large ones gilded in gold. See the image to the right for an example.
This “strong” character means “to strengthen” or robust. This brings images of a muscle-bound hulk of a weight lifter or bodybuilder to an Asian person who sees this character.
Note that in Korean and Japanese, this character is normally part of compound words, and is not seen alone too often.
Note that the this character was simplified in Japan after WWII (also simplified in mainland China but not for calligraphy). If you want the modern Japanese/simplified version, please click on the Kanji shown to the right.
These four characters together relay the meaning that can be expressed in English as “When three people say there's a tiger running in the street, you believe it.”
Of course, there is an ancient story behind this idiom...
三人成虎 is actually a proverb that resulted from a conversation that occurred around 300 B.C.
The conversation was between the king of the Wei kingdom and one of the king's ministers named Pang Cong.
It was near the end of one of many wars, this time with the Zhao kingdom. Pang Cong was to be sent by the king to the Zhao kingdom with the king's son, who was to be held hostage. It was common at the time for a king to make his son a hostage to secure stable peace between warring kingdoms.
Before minister Pang Cong departed, he asked his king, “If one person told you a tiger was running in the street, would you believe it?.”
“No,” the king said.
The minister continued, “What if two people told you?”
The king replied, “Well, I would have my doubts but I might believe it.”
The minister continued, “So, what if three people told you that a tiger is running in the streets?”
The king replied, “Yes, I would believe it. It must be true if three people say it.”
The minister then reminded the king, “Your son and I are now traveling far away to live in the distant Zhao kingdom - much farther from your palace than the street. Rumors may fly about me in my absence, so I hope your majesty will weight such rumors appropriately.”
The king replied, “I have every trust in you, do not worry”
While the minister was gone, the king's enemies gossiped about minister Pang Cong on many occasions. At first, the king thought nothing of these comments and rumors. But slowly, as the rumors mounted, the king began to suspect ill of his minister.
Sometime later, when peace was well-established, the minister and prince were freed and returned to the kingdom of Wei. The king received his son BUT DID NOT EVEN SUMMON MINISTER PANG CONG TO THE PALACE!
Hopefully, this story will help you see how dangerous words can be when used to promote rumors or create ill will. And perhaps will inspire you not to believe everything you hear.
There is also a secondary suggestion in this idiom that gossip is as ferocious as a tiger. Some Chinese people who don't know the ancient story above may believe that this scroll means that rumors are as vicious as three tigers.
Note: This proverb appears in my Korean dictionary but is not well-known in Korea.
These search terms might be related to Weight:
Control of Power
Determination to Achieve / Will-Power
Girl Power / Woman Power
Great Power
Juggernaut / Absolute Power
Kill / Massacre / Mass Killing
Perseverance / Will-Power
Power / Strength
Power of Oneself / Self-Sufficient
Power of Understanding and Wisdom
Psychic Power
Self-Discipline / Will-Power
The Spirit of the Dragon Horse and Power of a Tiger
Will-Power / Self-Control
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your weight search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
錢 钱 see styles |
qián qian2 ch`ien chien chin ちん |
More info & calligraphy: Chien(out-dated kanji) (1) hundredth of a yen; (2) coin made of non-precious materials; (3) (obsolete) one-thousandth of a kan (as a unit of currency); (4) (archaism) one-thousandth of a kan (as a unit of mass); (surname) Chin coin |
一言九鼎 see styles |
yī yán jiǔ dǐng yi1 yan2 jiu3 ding3 i yen chiu ting |
More info & calligraphy: Words Have Enormous Weight: One Word Worth Nine Caldrons |
両 see styles |
liǎng liang3 liang ryou / ryo りょう |
Japanese variant of 兩|两[liang3] (pref,adj-no) (1) both (hands, parents, sides, etc.); (counter) (2) (See 輛・りょう) counter for carriages (e.g. in a train); counter for vehicles; (3) (See 匁・もんめ・1) ryō; tael; traditional unit of weight (for gold, silver and drugs), 4-5 monme, 15-19 g; (4) ryō; pre-Meiji unit of currency, orig. the value of one ryō of gold; (5) (See 反・たん・1) ryō; traditional measure of fabric, 2 tan; (6) (archaism) (See 斤・1) ryō; tael; unit of weight under the ritsuryō system, 1-16 kin, 42-43 g; (counter) (7) (archaism) (See 領・りょう・2) counter for suits of clothing, sets of armor, etc.; (place-name) Ryō |
兩 两 see styles |
liǎng liang3 liang ryō |
two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) Two, a couple, both; an ounce, or tael. |
匁 see styles |
xx xx5 xx monme もんめ |
(Japanese kokuji) momme (Japanese unit of weight equal to 3.75 grams) monme (unit of weight, 3.75 g) |
喱 see styles |
lí li2 li |
grain (unit of weight, approx. 0.065 grams); Taiwan pr. [li3] |
掉 see styles |
diào diao4 tiao jō |
to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to show off; to shed (hair); (used after certain verbs to express completion, fulfillment, removal etc) To shake, change, arrange; to fall. |
斤 see styles |
jīn jin1 chin kin きん |
catty; (PRC) weight equal to 500 g; (Tw) weight equal to 600 g; (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g (1) kin; catty; traditional unit of weight, 600g; (2) (obsolete) (See 英斤・えいきん) pound (unit of weight); (n,ctr) (3) loaf (of bread); (personal name) Kinji An adze; to chop; a catty, 1 and 1; 3 lb.: penetrating, minute. |
權 权 see styles |
quán quan2 ch`üan chüan gon ごん |
authority; power; right; (literary) to weigh; expedient; temporary (surname) Gon The weight (on a steelyard), weight, authority, power; to balance, adjudge; bias, expediency, partial, provisional, temporary, positional; in Buddhist scriptures it is used like 方便 expediency, or temporary; it is the adversative of 實 q.v. |
氕 see styles |
piē pie1 p`ieh pieh |
protium 1H; light hydrogen, the most common isotope of hydrogen, having no neutron, so atomic weight 1 |
氘 see styles |
dāo dao1 tao |
deuterium 2H; heavy hydrogen, isotope of hydrogen having 1 neutron in its nucleus, so atomic weight 2 |
爰 see styles |
yuán yuan2 yüan koko ここ |
therefore; consequently; thus; hence; thereupon; it follows that; where?; to change (into); ancient unit of weight and money (1) (kana only) here (place physically close to the speaker, place pointed by the speaker while explaining); this place; (2) these last (followed by a duration noun and a past sentence: time period before the present time of the speaker); (3) these next ... (followed by a duration noun and a non past sentence: time period after the present time of the speaker); the next ... |
瑱 see styles |
zhèn zhen4 chen |
jade weight |
瘦 see styles |
shòu shou4 shou |
thin; to lose weight; (of clothing) tight; (of meat) lean; (of land) unproductive |
砣 see styles |
tuó tuo2 t`o to |
steelyard weight; stone roller; to polish jade with an emery wheel |
硾 see styles |
zhuì zhui4 chui |
iodide; to weight |
碼 码 see styles |
mǎ ma3 ma yaado / yado ヤード |
weight; number; code; to pile; to stack; classifier for length or distance (yard), happenings etc (kana only) yard (unit of distance) |
秤 see styles |
chèng cheng4 ch`eng cheng hakari はかり |
steelyard; Roman balance; CL:臺|台[tai2] scales; weighing machine; (surname, female given name) Hakari a scale for measuring weight |
蟣 虮 see styles |
jǐ ji3 chi ke |
nymph of louse likṣā, a nit; young louse, the egg of a louse; a minute measure of weight. |
衡 see styles |
héng heng2 heng mamoru まもる |
to weigh; weight; measure (1) (kana only) yoke; (2) (kana only) constraints; oppression; (given name) Mamoru A cross-bar, crosswise; a balance; to weigh, balance, compare adjust, adjudge, judgment. |
鈞 钧 see styles |
jun jun1 chün kin きん |
30 catties; great; your (honorific) (hist) ancient Chinese unit of weight equivalent to 30 catties (15 kg); (male given name) Hitoshi |
銖 铢 see styles |
zhū zhu1 chu shu |
twenty-fourth part of a tael (2 or 3 grams) A weight equal to the twenty-fourth part of a tael; a small ancient coin; a scruple; trifles. |
鋝 锊 see styles |
lüè lu:e4 lu:e |
(ancient unit of weight) |
錘 锤 see styles |
chuí chui2 ch`ui chui sui すい |
hammer; to hammer into shape; weight (e.g. of a steelyard or balance); to strike with a hammer (suf,ctr) (1) counter for spindles; (2) (See 分銅) weight (for scales) |
錙 锱 see styles |
zī zi1 tzu |
ancient weight; one-eighth of a tael |
鍰 锾 see styles |
huán huan2 huan karami からみ |
ancient unit of weight; money (rare) (See スラグ) slag |
鎮 镇 see styles |
zhèn zhen4 chen chin; shizu(ok) ちん; しず(ok) |
to press down; to calm; to subdue; to suppress; to guard; garrison; small town; to cool or chill (food or drinks) (1) (archaism) {Buddh} a weight; (2) (ちん only) temple supervisor; (3) (ちん only) town (of China); (personal name) Yasushi |
鎰 镒 see styles |
yì yi4 i |
ancient unit of weight equal to 20 or 24 liang 兩|两[liang3] |
鐶 镮 see styles |
huán huan2 huan kan かん |
(ancient weight); metal ring (1) ring; link; (2) open spirals of heavy metal wire twisted into a kettle and used to lift it (tea ceremony); (given name) Tamaki A metal ring; a ring. |
こく see styles |
gogu ゴグ |
richness; lushness; body (esp. of food, wine, etc.); weight; substance; (personal name) Gog |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Words Have Enormous Weight: One Word Worth Nine Caldrons | 一言九鼎 | yī yán jiǔ dǐng yi1 yan2 jiu3 ding3 yi yan jiu ding yiyanjiuding | i yen chiu ting iyenchiuting |
|
Saffron | 藏紅花 藏红花 | zàng hóng huā zang4 hong2 hua1 zang hong hua zanghonghua | tsang hung hua tsanghunghua |
|
Strong Robust | 壯 壮 | sou / so | zhuàng / zhuang4 / zhuang | chuang |
Tiger Rumor | 三人成虎 | sān rén chéng hǔ san1 ren2 cheng2 hu3 san ren cheng hu sanrenchenghu | san jen ch`eng hu sanjenchenghu san jen cheng hu |
|
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Weight Kanji, Weight Characters, Weight in Mandarin Chinese, Weight Characters, Weight in Chinese Writing, Weight in Japanese Writing, Weight in Asian Writing, Weight Ideograms, Chinese Weight symbols, Weight Hieroglyphics, Weight Glyphs, Weight in Chinese Letters, Weight Hanzi, Weight in Japanese Kanji, Weight Pictograms, Weight in the Chinese Written-Language, or Weight in the Japanese Written-Language.
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