shǒugōng

守宫

Word · NounTraditional守宮

old name for gecko; house lizard

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

1 sense · 3 examples
1.

noun

old name for the gecko or house lizard

archaic

An archaic term now largely replaced by 壁虎 in modern usage. Historically famous for the "守宫砂" (shǒu gōng shā) legend, where a special red mark made from powdered gecko was believed to test female chastity.

Gǔ古
rén人
chēng称
bì壁
hǔ虎
wéi为
shǒu守
gōng宫
 。

Ancient people called geckos "shougong."

Qiáng墙
shàng上
pā趴
zhe着
yī一
zhī只
shǒu守
gōng宫
 ,
zhèng正
zài在
bǔ捕
shí食
wén蚊
chóng虫
 。

A gecko was crouching on the wall, catching mosquitoes.

Show 1 more example
Shǒu守
gōng宫
shā砂
de的
chuán传
shuō说
yuán源
yú于
Zhōng中
guó国
gǔ古
dài代
de的
zhēn贞
jié洁
guān观
niàn念
 。

The legend of the "chastity mark" originated from ancient Chinese concepts of female virtue.