衣錦還鄉

See also: 衣锦还乡

Chinese

	to wear brocade clothing; wealth and rank; glory	to return to one's hometown; to return home; to retire from public life
trad. (衣錦還鄉)	衣錦	還鄉
simp. (衣锦还乡)	衣锦	还乡
Literally: “to return to one's hometown in silken robes”.

Etymology

First attested in the Book of Liang:

高祖餞於新亭，謂曰：「卿衣錦還鄉，朕無西顧之憂矣。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

高祖饯于新亭，谓曰：「卿衣锦还乡，朕无西顾之忧矣。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: c. 634, Yao Silian, Book of Liang

Gāozǔ jiàn yú Xīntíng, wèi yuē: “Qīng yījǐnháixiāng, zhèn wú xī gù zhī yōu yǐ.” [Pinyin]

(please add an English translation of this quotation)

The idiom is possibly derived from an analogy made by Xiang Yu, as recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han:

項王見秦宮皆以燒殘破，又心懷思欲東歸，曰：「富貴不歸故鄉，如衣錦夜行，誰知之者？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

项王见秦宫皆以烧残破，又心怀思欲东归，曰：「富贵不归故乡，如衣锦夜行，谁知之者？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Xiàng wáng jiàn Qín gōng jiē yǐ shāo cánpò, yòu xīnhuái sī yù dōng guī, yuē: “Fùguì bù guī gùxiāng, rú yījǐn yèxíng, shéi zhī zhī zhě?” [Pinyin]

Seeing the palace of Qin was burnt to the ground, Xiang Yu wondered if he should go eastward to his hometown, saying: "To not return home when one has made his fortune is like walking in the night with silken robes, who will notice?"

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yījǐnhuánxiāng, yìjǐnhuánxiāng

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ, ㄧˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): i-gím-hoân-hiong

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yījǐnhuánxiāng
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yijǐnhuánsiang
  - Wade–Giles: i¹-chin³-huan²-hsiang¹
  - Yale: yī-jǐn-hwán-syāng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ijiinhwanshiang
  - Palladius: ицзиньхуаньсян (iczinʹxuanʹsjan)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯än³⁵ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Taiwan, dated variant in Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yìjǐnhuánxiāng
  - Zhuyin: ㄧˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yìjǐnhuánsiang
  - Wade–Giles: i⁴-chin³-huan²-hsiang¹
  - Yale: yì-jǐn-hwán-syāng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yihjiinhwanshiang
  - Palladius: ицзиньхуаньсян (iczinʹxuanʹsjan)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵¹ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯än³⁵ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
  - Yale: yi gám wàahn hēung, yī gám wàahn hēung
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: yi³ gem² wan⁴ hêng¹, yi¹ gem² wan⁴ hêng¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː³³ kɐm³⁵ waːn²¹ hœːŋ⁵⁵/, /jiː⁵⁵ kɐm³⁵ waːn²¹ hœːŋ⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: i-gím-hoân-hiong
  - Tâi-lô: i-gím-huân-hiong
  - Phofsit Daibuun: i'gymhoanhiofng
  - IPA (Taipei): /i⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ huan²⁴⁻¹¹ hiɔŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /i⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ huan²³⁻³³ hiɔŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /i⁴⁴⁻²² ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ huan²⁴⁻²² hiɔŋ⁴⁴/

Idiom

衣錦還鄉

to return home a success; to return home in glory

Synonyms

衣錦故鄉／衣锦故乡
衣錦過鄉／衣锦过乡
衣錦榮歸／衣锦荣归 (yījǐnróngguī)

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