quẻ du hồn

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • The "Wandering Soul" hexagram: A specific divination result (a hexagram or "quẻ") in Vietnamese folk belief and fortune-telling, particularly associated with the Kinh Dịch (I Ching) or similar systems. It symbolizes a state of displacement, loneliness, and uncertainty, as if one's soul is adrift and wandering far from home or stability.
    • A metaphor for a precarious situation: It commonly refers to a period of life marked by hardship, being lost, facing obstacles in a distant land, or experiencing a lack of roots and direction.
Usage Examples
  • Noun:
    • Thầy bói gieo được quẻ du hồn, bảo tôi sắp có chuyến đi xa đầy sóng gió. (The fortune-teller cast the "Wandering Soul" hexagram, telling me I am about to have a long journey full of turbulence.)
    • Cuộc đời anh ấy lúc này đúng như quẻ du hồn, lang thang khắp nơi tìm kế sinh nhai. (His life at this moment is exactly like the "Wandering Soul" hexagram, wandering everywhere to find a livelihood.)
    • Nghe nói quẻ du hồn ứng vào việc lưu lạc tha hương. (It is said the "Wandering Soul" hexagram pertains to being stranded in a foreign land.)
Advanced Usage
  • The concept is deeply rooted in the East Asian philosophical idea that certain hexagrams reflect specific spiritual and existential states. "Du hồn" (wandering soul) is not a standard I Ching hexagram name but a culturally interpreted omen within Vietnamese spiritual practice.
  • It is famously used in literary analysis to describe the plight of the protagonist Lục Vân Tiên in the 19th-century epic poem by Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, symbolizing his period of blindness, betrayal, and wandering.
Variants and Related Words
  • Quẻ (n): hexagram, divination result.
    • Ông ấy xem quẻ để đoán vận mệnh. (He reads hexagrams to predict fate.)
  • Du hồn (phrase): wandering soul (the core concept within the term).
  • Bói toán (n): fortune-telling.
    • Bói toán đôi khi dùng các quẻ dịch. (Fortune-telling sometimes uses I Ching hexagrams.)
Synonyms
  • Omen of exile: A sign predicting banishment or displacement.
  • Hexagram of displacement: A divination symbol indicating loss of home or position.
  • Portent of wandering: A foreboding of a rootless, difficult journey.
Related Idioms and Cultural References
  • Số phận như quẻ du hồn: A destiny like the Wandering Soul hexagram; used to describe a life of constant movement and misfortune.
    • Cả đời ông cụ số phận như quẻ du hồn. (The old man's entire life has been a destiny like the Wandering Soul hexagram.)
  • The term is intrinsically linked to the story of Lục Vân Tiên, where this hexagram foreshadows the character's tragic period of wandering and suffering away from home.