雲騰致雨
yún téng zhì yŭ
"Mounting clouds bring rain."
I'm starting to notice a potential pattern among the topics addressed by the 千字文. So far (which isn't very far- today's four characters make for a total of 36 out of 1000 unique characters), readers have been treated to statements about time and nature, both terrestrial and celestial. Some of these read like simple facts: 天地玄黃, for example. (Though, as previously noted, the "yellow" earth is specific to the part of China where the Thousand Character Classic was probably compiled.) Others, like 律呂調陽, relate to philosophy, which still influences daily life in China. Given the number of characters presented in the book, I imagine the variety of topics will expand, but even at this point the armature upon which the book's value as a primer hangs is visible. Not only are you learning characters, you're learning facts about, and concepts of, the world.
Today's characters fall into this pattern. Paar translates 騰 as "ascend," but among Kroll's definitions I also found "pile up" and "accumulate." On a visual level these work much better, because one can watch clouds amass overhead and bring rain, whereas the creation of clouds (via "ascension" in the water cycle) is less immediate. 致 is used as a sort of catch-all for "cause" or "bring about," as seen in Paar's transliteration, "clouds ascend, cause rain."
More first-millennium education soon. Later, folks!
微臣
史大偉
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