Giấc mơ Tần

Definition
  1. Noun Phrase:
    • The Qin Dream: A specific, classical literary allusion referring to a short-lived, illusory dream of pleasure, glory, or success. It symbolizes the fleeting and ultimately unreal nature of worldly joys and ambitions.
    • A pipe dream / an empty fantasy: In modern usage, it describes an unrealistic, vain hope or an extravagant daydream that is impossible to achieve.
Usage Examples
  • Noun Phrase:
    • Anh ta cứ ôm giấc mơ Tần về việc trở thành triệu phú chỉ sau một đêm. (He keeps harboring the Qin dream of becoming a millionaire overnight.)
    • Những kế hoạch đó không khác gì một giấc mơ Tần. (Those plans are nothing but a pipe dream.)
    • Đừng sống với giấc mơ Tần nữa, hãy đối mặt với thực tế. (Stop living in a fool's paradise; face reality.)
Advanced Usage
  • The phrase is a direct reference to a famous Chinese story from the Tang dynasty tale "The World Inside a Pillow" by Shen Jiji. In the story, a scholar named Lu Sheng dreams an entire lifetime of glory and success during the brief moment his host is cooking a meal, only to wake up and find it was all an illusion. The host's surname was "Lü" (呂), which is homophonous with "Qin" (秦) in some contexts, leading to the variant "Giấc mơ Tần" in Vietnamese literary tradition.
Variants and Related Words
  • Giấc mộng đẹp (n): a beautiful dream (often used sarcastically for an unrealistic hope).
  • Ảo tưởng (n): illusion, delusion.
  • Mộng tưởng hão huyền (n): vain fantasy, empty reverie.
Synonyms
  • Pipe dream: An unrealistic hope or fantasy.
  • Fool's paradise: A state of happiness based on false beliefs or hopes.
  • Castle in the air / Pie in the sky: An unrealistic or impractical idea or dream.
Related Idioms
  • Giấc mộng Nam Kha: The Southern Bough Dream. Another classical literary allusion with a nearly identical meaning, from a Tang story about a man dreaming of a whole lifetime as a governor of a kingdom in an anthill.
  • Hoàng Lương nhất mộng: The Millet Dream. The original Chinese name for the story, also meaning an illusory, short-lived dream of glory.