玉帛 (yù bó) — gems and silk (used as state gifts in ancient China); (figurative) peace, friendship (as in 化干戈为玉帛)

Definition

Literary word for the jade and silk ancient Chinese states exchanged as diplomatic gifts — a byword for peace and alliance (as in 化干戈为玉帛, 'turn swords into plowshares').

noun
gems and silk (used as state gifts in ancient China)(figurative) peacefriendship (as in 化干戈为玉帛)

Examples

  • 玉帛，。
    Liǎng guó hù zèng yù bó, yǐ shì yǒu hǎo.
    The two states exchanged gems and silk as a sign of friendship.
  • ，玉帛。
    Jīng guò tán pàn, shuāng fāng zhōng yú huà gān gē wéi yù bó.
    After negotiations, the two sides finally turned swords into plowshares.
  • 玉帛。
    Gǔ dài zhū hóu yǐ yù bó zuò wéi jié méng de xìn wù.
    In ancient times, feudal lords used gems and silk as tokens of alliance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

玉yùjade
帛bósilk

玉 and 帛, jade and silk offered together.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

玉 was drawn as a ritual jade piece, or as jade pieces strung together, and was made distinct from 王 by adding a dot.

Open 玉 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
巾巾jīncloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái帛bó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

帛 puts 巾, a piece of cloth, beside 白, which gives the sound.

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