Cung bích
Definition
- Noun:
- The palace walls: The literal meaning refers to the high walls surrounding a palace or an imperial compound.
- A metaphor for profound and inaccessible knowledge or virtue: Originating from a classical Chinese allusion in the Analects of Confucius, it describes the profound and majestic teachings of a great master (like Confucius), which are as vast and impressive as a palace complex. An outsider who cannot find the gate will only see the outer wall and remain unable to appreciate the splendors within.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Đạo lý của tiên sinh thâm thúy tựa cung bích. (The master's philosophy is as profound as the palace walls.)
- Học vấn của ông ấy cao như cung bích, khó lòng mà với tới. (His scholarship is as lofty as palace walls, difficult to reach.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is primarily used in literary, philosophical, or highly formal contexts to express deep respect for someone's immense, profound, and perhaps esoteric knowledge or moral character. It is not used in everyday conversation.
Variants and Related Words
- Cung tường: A direct synonym, also meaning "palace walls," from which the term cung bích is derived.
Synonyms
- Fortress of knowledge: A similar metaphor for deep, well-guarded knowledge.
- Profundity: Great depth of insight or knowledge.
Related Idioms
- The term itself originates from an idiomatic allusion in Confucian discourse, as recorded in the . The full allusion describes a disciple (Zigong) comparing his own understanding to a wall shoulder-high, which allows others to see the household's treasures, while Confucius's teachings are like a wall several fathoms high, whose interior splendors cannot be seen without finding the proper gate.