Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2016 November 9
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November 9
[edit]襄王有意神女无心
[edit]Can someone explain this Chinese idiom to me? I understand what it means but I want to know about the history and background behind it.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 17:08, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
- An English translation would be helpful here. StuRat (talk) 19:34, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
- King Xiang wants it, but the goddess does not. Or: The fairy is willing, but King Xiang does not dream. It has to do with a woman's unrequited love. —Stephen (talk) 01:34, 10 November 2016 (UTC)
- Again, I know the meaning metaphorically. I'm of Chinese descent. I wanted to know the history and background of the literal saying since most Chinese idioms are rooted in history. Who is King Xiang and who is the Goddess being referred?--KAVEBEAR (talk) 03:39, 10 November 2016 (UTC)
- King Xiang wants it, but the goddess does not. Or: The fairy is willing, but King Xiang does not dream. It has to do with a woman's unrequited love. —Stephen (talk) 01:34, 10 November 2016 (UTC)
- Curious that these two translations are opposites in who is and isn't willing. —Tamfang (talk) 20:20, 10 November 2016 (UTC)
襄王有意神女无心 appears to be a variant of 神女有心，襄王无梦
It would appear that the 神女 (goddess, fairy) in question is "巫山神女", the Wushan goddess. (See: Wushan)
(Sort of) according to those (quite possibly unreliable) sources, Ms Wūshān Shénnǚ appeared in dreams to both 楚懷王 and 周襄王 , asking for marriage, but they both declined. The latter appears to be the source of 襄 in the set phrase. --Shirt58 (talk) 08:28, 13 November 2016 (UTC)
- Oh thanks! Was this rooted in contemporary or later legends?--KAVEBEAR (talk) 09:11, 13 November 2016 (UTC)
- Switching into a language I actually understand: mi scusi, ma non lo so. Kia ora, KAVEBEAR. Pete "NZ passports are in English and Māori but Australian passports are in English and French. Why aren't they in English, a randomly selected community language and a randomly selected living indigenous language? In my opinion, ..." AU aka --Shirt58 (talk) 09:51, 15 November 2016 (UTC)