千里送鵝毛

Chinese

		one thousand li; any great distance; fine horse one thousand li; any great distance; fine horse; fine steed; fast horse	to deliver; to carry; to give (as a present) to deliver; to carry; to give (as a present); to present (with); to see off; to send	goose feather; something as light as a goose feather
trad. (千里送鵝毛)		千里	送	鵝毛
simp. (千里送鹅毛)		千里	送	鹅毛

Etymology

Short for 千里送鵝毛，物輕情意重／千里送鹅毛，物轻情意重 or short for 千里送鵝毛，禮輕情意重／千里送鹅毛，礼轻情意重.

According to the Ming scholar Xu Wei, there was a legend that the Dali Kingdom has once sent an ambassador to Tang dynasty with many tributes including a swan. But on the way, the swan flew away and only a feather was left. Finally, the ambassador gave the feather to the Tang emperor and wrote a poem to explain the incident.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qiānlǐ sòng émáo

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄢㄌㄧˇ ㄙㄨㄥˋ ㄜˊ ㄇㄠˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): cin¹ lei⁵ sung³ ngo⁴ mou⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qiānlǐ sòng émáo
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢㄌㄧˇ ㄙㄨㄥˋ ㄜˊ ㄇㄠˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cianlǐ sòng émáo
  - Wade–Giles: chʻien¹-li³ sung⁴ o²-mao²
  - Yale: chyān-lǐ sùng é-máu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chianlii sonq ermau
  - Palladius: цяньли сун эмао (cjanʹli sun emao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ sʊŋ⁵¹ ˀɤ³⁵ mɑʊ̯³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: cin¹ lei⁵ sung³ ngo⁴ mou⁴
  - Yale: chīn léih sung ngòh mòuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsin¹ lei⁵ sung³ ngo⁴ mou⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: qin¹ léi⁵ sung³ ngo⁴ mou⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ lei̯¹³ sʊŋ³³ ŋɔː²¹ mou̯²¹/

Idiom

千里送鵝毛

a trifling present with a weighty thought behind it

References

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