hưu quan

Ông cụ hưu quan ngồi đọc sách trong vườn nhà.

Definitions

1. Noun:
   • Retired mandarin/official: A government official or mandarin who has retired from service, typically after reaching a certain age or completing a required period of service. This term is often used in historical or formal contexts related to pre-modern Vietnamese or East Asian bureaucratic systems.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Sau bốn mươi năm phục vụ, ông ấy đã trở thành một vị hưu quan. (After forty years of service, he became a retired mandarin.)
  • Các vị hưu quan thường được triều đình ban thưởng khi về quê. (Retired officials were often granted rewards by the court when they returned to their hometowns.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "hưu quan" is considered somewhat archaic and is primarily used in historical narratives, classical literature, or formal writing about feudal systems. It carries a connotation of respect for the individual's past service.
  • Trong xã hội phong kiến, địa vị của một vị hưu quan vẫn còn rất được kính trọng. (In feudal society, the status of a retired mandarin was still highly respected.)

Variants and Related Words

• Về hưu (verb phrase): To retire (from work).
  • Ông ấy đã về hưu vào năm ngoái. (He retired last year.)
• Quan lại (noun): Officials, mandarins (the bureaucratic class).
• Hưu trí (noun/verb): Retirement; to retire. This is the modern, general term for retirement.
  • chế độ hưu trí (retirement policy)

Synonyms

• Quan đã về hưu: Official who has retired. (A more descriptive synonym.)
• Cựu quan: Former official. (This can imply retirement but can also refer to an official who left service for other reasons.)

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Cáo lão hưu quan": A set phrase meaning "to request retirement due to old age." It describes the formal act of an official petitioning to retire.
  • Sau trận ốm nặng, ông quyết định cáo lão hưu quan. (After a serious illness, he decided to request retirement due to old age.)