傾國傾城

Chinese

	to make a nation collapse; to be destroyed; to collapse	to make a city or state collapse
trad. (傾國傾城)	傾國	傾城
simp. (倾国倾城)	倾国	倾城
alternative forms	傾城傾國／倾城倾国
Literally: “capable of causing the downfall of a city or state”.

Etymology

From the story of Consort Li, a concubine to the Emperor Wu of Han:

孝武李夫人，本以倡進。初，夫人兄延年性知音，善歌舞，武帝愛之。每為新聲變曲，聞者莫不感動。
延年侍上起舞，歌曰：「北方有佳人，絕世而獨立，一顧傾人城，再顧傾人國。寧不知傾城與傾國，佳人難再得！」
上歎息曰：「善！世豈有此人乎？」
平陽主因言延年有女弟，上乃召見之，實妙麗善舞。由是得幸，生一男，是為昌邑哀王。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

孝武李夫人，本以倡进。初，夫人兄延年性知音，善歌舞，武帝爱之。每为新声变曲，闻者莫不感动。
延年侍上起舞，歌曰：“北方有佳人，绝世而独立，一顾倾人城，再顾倾人国。宁不知倾城与倾国，佳人难再得！”
上叹息曰：“善！世岂有此人乎？”
平阳主因言延年有女弟，上乃召见之，实妙丽善舞。由是得幸，生一男，是为昌邑哀王。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

Xiàowǔ Lǐ fūrén, běn yǐ chàng jìn. Chū, fūrén xiōng Yánnián xìng zhī yīn, shàn gēwǔ, Wǔ dì ài zhī. Měi wéi xīn shēng biàn qǔ, wén zhě mò bù gǎndòng.
Yánnián shì shàng qǐwǔ, gē yuē: “Běifāng yǒu jiārén, juéshì ér dúlì, yī gù qīng rén chéng, zài gù qīng rén guó. Nìng bùzhī qīngchéng yǔ qīngguó, jiārén nán zài dé!”
Shàng tànxī yuē: “Shàn! Shì qǐ yǒu cǐ rén hū?”
Píngyáng zhǔ yīn yán Yánnián yǒu nǚdì, shàng nǎi zhàojiàn zhī, shí miàolì shàn wǔ. Yóu shì dé xìng, shēng yī nán, shì wéi Chāngyì Āiwáng. [Pinyin]

Consort Li, concubine to the Emperor Wu of Han, was originally a dancing performer. Her brother Yannian was a gifted musician and dancer, beloved by the emperor. Every time he composed something new, it never failed to move those listening to it.
One day, Yannian did a dance and sang, “There is a beauty in the north, who stands out among the generations. One look will topple the men of the city. A second look will topple the men of the country. I would rather not know about toppled cities and toppled countries, because a beauty of this caliber may not come around again!”
His majesty sighed and said, “Wow! Can there really be such a person in this world?”
Whereupon Pingyang mentioned that Yannian had a sister. His majesty summoned her, and she was indeed a sight to behold, and a good dancer. As a result, she received the emperor's favor, and bore him a son; this was Prince Ai of Changyi. (Wiktionary translation)

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qīngguóqīngchéng
(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄑㄧㄥㄔㄥˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): king¹ gwok³ king¹ sing⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qīngguóqīngchéng
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄑㄧㄥㄔㄥˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cingguócingchéng
  - Wade–Giles: chʻing¹-kuo²-chʻing¹-chʻêng²
  - Yale: chīng-gwó-chīng-chéng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chinggwochingcherng
  - Palladius: цингоцинчэн (cingocinčɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ kwɔ³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: king¹ gwok³ king¹ sing⁴
  - Yale: kīng gwok kīng sìhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: king¹ gwok⁸ king¹ sing⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: king¹ guog³ king¹ xing⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰɪŋ⁵⁵ kʷɔːk̚³ kʰɪŋ⁵⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

Idiom

傾國傾城

(figuratively, of a woman) to be devastatingly beautiful; to be drop-dead gorgeous

Descendants

→ Vietnamese: nghiêng nước nghiêng thành (calque)