和尚打傘——無法無天

和尚打傘——無法無天

See also: 和尚打伞——无法无天

Chinese

		preceptor; high priest; head monk preceptor; high priest; head monk; Buddhist monks in general	to use or to open an umbrella		no respect for law and order; unruly
trad. (和尚打傘——無法無天)		和尚	打傘	——	無法無天
simp. (和尚打伞——无法无天)		和尚	打伞	——	无法无天

Etymology

Literally: (like a) monk holding up an umbrella ― no (respect for) law[notes 1] and order[notes 2]. A Chinese pun for lawless and hairless.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): héshàng dǎ sǎn, wúfǎwútiān

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ ㄕㄤˋ ㄉㄚˇ ㄙㄢˇ, ㄨˊ ㄈㄚˇ ㄨˊ ㄊㄧㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): wo⁴ soeng^6-2 daa² saan³, mou⁴ faat³ mou⁴ tin¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: héshàng dǎ sǎn, wúfǎwútiān [Phonetic: héshàngdásǎn,wúfǎwútiān]
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ ㄕㄤˋ ㄉㄚˇ ㄙㄢˇ, ㄨˊ ㄈㄚˇ ㄨˊ ㄊㄧㄢ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hershanq daa saan, wufaawutian
    • IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ ta̠²¹⁴⁻³⁵ sa̠n²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ u³⁵ fa̠²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ u³⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: wo⁴ soeng^6-2 daa² saan³, mou⁴ faat³ mou⁴ tin¹
    • Yale: wòh séung dá saan, mòuh faat mòuh tīn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: wo⁴ soeng^6-2 daa² saan³, mou⁴ faat⁸ mou⁴ tin¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: wo⁴ sêng² da² san³, mou⁴ fad³ mou⁴ tin¹
    • IPA ^(key): /wɔː²¹ sœːŋ²²⁻³⁵ taː³⁵ saːn³³ mou̯²¹ faːt̚³ mou̯²¹ tʰiːn⁵⁵/

Idiom

和尚打傘——無法無天

1. (xiehouyu) no respect for law and order; unruly

Notes

1. Buddhist monks are bald. In other words, they have no hair. The Mandarin pronunciation for "hair" is fǎ (髮 as in 頭髮), which is homophonous with the word for "law" (法 as in 法紀). Therefore, wúfǎ is a play on words; it can mean either 無髮 ("no hair") or 無法 ("no law"). The Cantonese pronunciation for 無髮 and 無法 are also the same.
2. An umbrella blocks the sky. The Mandarin word for "sky" (tiān, 天) is also used in the compound for "heavenly justice" (tiānlǐ, 天理). Therefore, wútiān (無天, "no sky") reminds one of the phrase wú tiānlǐ (無天理, "no justice").