衣錦還鄉

See also: 衣锦还乡

Chinese

	to wear brocade clothing; wealth and rank; glory	to return to one's hometown; to return home; to retire from public life
trad. (衣錦還鄉)	衣錦	還鄉
simp. (衣锦还乡)	衣锦	还乡
Literally: “to return to one's hometown in silken robes”.

Etymology

From the Records of the Grand Historian:

項王見秦宮皆以燒殘破，又心懷思欲東歸，曰：「富貴不歸故鄉、如衣錦夜行、誰知之者？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

项王见秦宫皆以烧残破，又心怀思欲东归，曰：“富贵不归故乡、如衣锦夜行、谁知之者？” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Xiàng wáng jiàn Qín gōng jiē yǐ shāo cánpò, yòu xīnhuái sī yù dōng guī, yuē: “Fùguì bù guī gùxiāng, rú yījǐn yèxíng, shéi zhī zhī zhě?” [Pinyin]

Seeing the palace of Qin was burnt to the ground, Xiang Yu wondered if he should go eastward to his hometown, saying: "To not return home when one has made his fortune is like walking in the night with silken robes, who will notice?"

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yījǐnhuánxiāng, yìjǐnhuánxiāng
(Zhuyin): ㄧㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ, ㄧˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
Min Nan (POJ): i-gím-hoân-hiong

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yījǐnhuánxiāng
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yijǐnhuánsiang
  - Wade–Giles: i¹-chin³-huan²-hsiang¹
  - Yale: yī-jǐn-hwán-syāng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ijiinhwanshiang
  - Palladius: ицзиньхуаньсян (iczinʹxuanʹsjan)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ xwän³⁵ ɕjɑŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Taiwan, dated variant in Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yìjǐnhuánxiāng
  - Zhuyin: ㄧˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄤ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yìjǐnhuánsiang
  - Wade–Giles: i⁴-chin³-huan²-hsiang¹
  - Yale: yì-jǐn-hwán-syāng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yihjiinhwanshiang
  - Palladius: ицзиньхуаньсян (iczinʹxuanʹsjan)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵¹ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ xwän³⁵ ɕjɑŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
  - Yale: yi gám wàahn hēung, yī gám wàahn hēung
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ji³ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹, ji¹ gam² waan⁴ hoeng¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: yi³ gem² wan⁴ hêng¹, yi¹ gem² wan⁴ hêng¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː³³ kɐm³⁵ waːn²¹ hœːŋ⁵⁵/, /jiː⁵⁵ kɐm³⁵ waːn²¹ hœːŋ⁵⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: i-gím-hoân-hiong
  - Tâi-lô: i-gím-huân-hiong
  - Phofsit Daibuun: i'gymhoanhiofng
  - IPA (Taipei): /i⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ huan²⁴⁻¹¹ hiɔŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /i⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ huan²³⁻³³ hiɔŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /i⁴⁴⁻²² ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ huan²⁴⁻²² hiɔŋ⁴⁴/

Idiom

衣錦還鄉

to return home a success; to return home in glory

Synonyms

衣錦故鄉／衣锦故乡
衣錦過鄉／衣锦过乡
衣錦榮歸／衣锦荣归 (yījǐnróngguī)