mã đương
Definition
- Proper Noun:
- Ma Dang: The name of a mountain that is shaped like a horse. This place is historically significant in Chinese literature and legend as the site where the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Bo encountered a favorable wind that carried his boat over three thousand li (a Chinese unit of distance) in a single night, allowing him to reach the Tengwang Pavilion and compose his famous rhapsody, "Preface to the Tengwang Pavilion," which made him renowned.
Usage Examples
- Proper Noun:
- Truyền thuyết kể rằng Vương Bột đã đi ngang qua núi Mã Đương. (Legend says that Wang Bo passed by Ma Dang mountain.)
- Gió thuận từ Mã Đương đã giúp nhà thơ đến Đằng Vương các kịp lúc. (The favorable wind from Ma Dang helped the poet reach Tengwang Pavilion in time.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "Mã Đương" is almost exclusively used in literary or historical contexts to refer to this specific legend and its connection to the poet Wang Bo's serendipitous journey and subsequent literary fame.
Variants and Related Words
- Gió Mã Đương (n): Ma Dang wind; used metaphorically to describe an extremely favorable opportunity or a piece of tremendous luck that enables swift success.
- Nhờ có cơn "gió Mã Đương" ấy, dự án của họ hoàn thành sớm. (Thanks to that "Ma Dang wind," their project finished early.)
Synonyms
- Favorable wind: A wind that aids in travel, often used metaphorically.
- Serendipity: The occurrence of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way, similar to the fortunate event in the legend.
Related Idioms
- Thuận buồm xuôi gió: Literally "smooth sails and favorable winds"; meaning to proceed without any difficulty, akin to the journey aided by the Ma Dang wind.
- Công việc của anh ấy lúc nào cũng thuận buồm xuôi gió. (His work always proceeds smoothly.)