jade and silk; peace offerings
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
jade and silk (used as ceremonial diplomatic gifts between states in ancient China); symbol of peace and friendship
formalOriginally refers to precious gifts exchanged between states during diplomatic meetings in ancient China. Metaphorically represents peaceful relations as opposed to warfare (干戈). Commonly used in the idiom 化干戈为玉帛.
Huà化
gān干
gē戈
wéi为
yù玉
bó帛
，
shì是
liǎng两
guó国
rén人
mín民
gòng共
tóng同
de的
yuàn愿
wàng望
。
Turning swords into ploughshares is the common wish of the people of both countries.
Gǔ古
dài代
zhū诸
hóu侯
huì会
méng盟
，
cháng常
yǐ以
yù玉
bó帛
zuò作
wéi为
xìn信
wù物
。
In ancient times, when feudal lords held alliances, they often used jade and silk as tokens of trust.
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Tā他
men们
jué决
dìng定
bìng摒
qì弃
qián前
xián嫌
，
lǐ礼
shàng尚
wǎng往
lái来
，
chóng重
xiàn献
yù玉
bó帛
。
They decided to put aside past grievances, engage in mutual courtesy, and restore peaceful diplomatic relations.