Tricky words: Riding a horse to see flowers

Riding a horse to see flowers is translated from the Chinese idiom "Tẩu mã quan hoa" (走馬觀花). "Tẩu mã" means to ride a horse, Vietnamese people translate it as riding a horse (to go). "Quan hoa" means to see, to admire flowers. This idiom comes from the poem "Dang khoa hau" (登科後: After passing the exam) by Meng Jiao (751 - 814) - a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty. Meng Jiao failed the exam twice, and it was not until the twelfth year of Zhenyuan (796) that he passed the doctorate exam, at that time he was 46 years old.

The last two sentences of the poem "After the Examination " are the earliest origin of the idiom "Riding a horse to see flowers": " Spring wind makes me happy, I ride a horse and see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day" (春風得意馬蹄疾, 一日看盡長安花), meaning "Happyly riding a horse and galloping in the spring wind; seeing all the flowers in Chang'an in one day". These two sentences describe Meng Jiao's happy and proud mood when he heard that he passed the exam, he went out with the crowd to see the spring scenery in the capital Chang'an. Please note, "Truong An" is the context related to this idiom, not "royal garden" as explained by the Anthology of Vietnamese Literature : "Riding a horse to see flowers: refers to the honor of a person who passed the imperial examination to ride a horse to see flowers in the royal garden" (Social Sciences Publishing House (1997), volume 13, part 1, p. 306).

However, the last two verses of the poem Dang Khoa Hau only briefly mentioned riding a horse to see flowers. It was not until the poem Tam Bao An (三報恩) by Bi Wei of the Ming Dynasty that the concise expression of this idiom was shown: " Tràng trung khan van, tau ma quan hoa " (Reading literature at school, riding a horse to see flowers). In addition, it is also necessary to mention the sentence: " Dã bất qua tau ma quan hoa " in chapter 23 of Nhi nu anh hung truyen by Van Khang of the Qing Dynasty. Nhi nu anh hung truyen is considered the earliest social novel in the history of Chinese novels, combining chivalry and romance.

Nowadays, "Riding a horse to see flowers" or "Walking a horse to see flowers" are both idioms used to refer to doing things roughly and not going into detail (things that should be done more carefully and thoroughly). These two idioms are considered synonymous with two other Chinese idioms:

- Phù quang luốc ảnh (浮光掠影): the light on the water surface is like a shadow that passes by, disappearing immediately, leaving no impression. This idiom refers to everything in the world as ephemeral and difficult to grasp; or refers to a sketchy article lacking practical knowledge. Phù quang luốc ảnh originates from the poem Lâm cao Đài (临高台) by Trư Lượng, in volume 32 of the Toàn Đường thi (全唐诗) collection of the Tang Dynasty.

- Jingting diem thuy (蜻蜓点水) is when a dragonfly touches the water surface lightly, referring to a superficial, fleeting action. This idiom is also used to describe a gentle kiss. Jingting diem thuy comes from Du Fu's poem Qujiang (曲江): "Butterflies hidden deep in the flowers appear, dragonflies fly slowly, occasionally touching the water."

Source link