What do 之乎者也 these four words/characters mean?
之乎者也 ( Zhi hu zhe ye) are four common characters of classical Chinese and they are also an idiom. These four words all are classical particles. Figuratively speaking, the usage of this idiom are meant to mock some people like to bite words and chew characters (idiom 咬文嚼字 yǎo wén jiáo zì ) or are punctilious about minutiae of wording. The idiom also can refer to those semi-incomprehensible talks, thus, it also means “double Dutch” or “all Greek to me”.
罗大佑 – 之乎者也
Luo da you – Zhi hu zhe ye
罗大佑 – 之乎者也
Luo da you / Lo Ta-yu – Zhi hu zhe ye
知**之**为知**之**, 在**乎**不在**乎**. 此人何其**者**? 孔老夫子**也**.
zhi1 zhi1 wei2 zhi1 zhi1, zai4 hu1 bu2 zai4 hu1. ci3 ren2 he2 qi2 zhe3? kong3 lao3 fu1 zi3 ye3
Knowing it is regarded as knew it. Care about those things that (common people) did not care about. Who is this person? This person is the venerable Master Confucius.
( 之,乎,者 and 也 are arranged in order in this line to echo the title of the song.)
知之为不知, 在在不在乎. 此人何其者? 寒山子是也.
zhi1 zhi1 wei2 bu4 zhi1, zai4 zai4 bu2 zai4 hu1. ci3 ren2 he2 qi2 zhe3? han2 shan1 zi3 shi4 ye3.
Knowing it, (but he regarded it as) not knowing it. Everything, (he) all did not care about them. Who is this person? This person is Monk Han Shan.
(寒山 literally means cold mountains. 寒山子, 691~793 was a monk of Tang Dynasty. 子 is a noun suffix.)
不知为知之, 不在乎在乎. 此人何其者? 齐人是也.
bu4 zhi1 wei2 zhi1 zhi1, bu4 zai4 hu1 zai4 hu1. ci3 ren2 he2 qi2 zhe3? qi2 ren2 shi4 ye3.
Not knowing it, but he pretended he knew it. He cared about those things that people did not care. Who is this person? It is the Qi person.
( 齐人 Qi ren was an ignorant and stupid person who lived in the state of Qi. There is an idiom about him called 齐人之福 ( Qi ren zhi fu – The good fortune of the Qi person).
很久以前,我们的祖先,都曾经这么说
hen2 jiu3 yi3 qian2, wo3 men1 de5 zu3 xian1, duo1 ceng2 jing1 zhe4 me5 shuo1.
Long time ago, our ancestors all once said something like this.
很久以前, 我们的祖先都曾经这么说
hen2 jiu3 yi3 qian2, wo3 men1 de5 zu3 xian1, duo1 ceng2 jing1 zhe4 me5 shuo1.
Long time ago, our ancestors all once said something like this.
现在听听,我们的青年他们在讲什么?
xian4 zai4 ting1 ting1 wo3 men2 de3 qing1 nian2, ta1 men2 zai4 jiang3 shen2 me5?
Now, listen to our youth; what are they talking about?
但是要看看,到底你要他们怎么做
dan4 shi4 yao4 kan4 kan4, dao4 di3 ni3 yao4 ta1 men1 zen3 me5 zuo4?
However, you have to take a look: What on earth do you want them to do?
剪刀等待之, 清汤挂面乎, 尊师重道者, 莫过如此也.
jian3 dao1 deng3 dai4 zhi1, qing1 tang1 gua4 mian4 hu1, zun1 shi1 zhong4 dao4 zhe3, mo4 guo4 ru2 ci3 ye3.
Scissors are waiting it (之 is a classical pronoun, and here, it refers to students’ hair); (hair is like) a bowl of clear soup with noodles hanging down on the face. Revere teachers and respect the way, there is nothing more than this.
(This ironically means in order to obey the rule of school and listen to what the teacher says, in the past, the students needed to cut their hair pretty short and ugly.)
风花雪月之, 哗啦啦啦乎, 所谓民歌者, 是否如此也?
feng1 hua1 xue3 yue4 zhi1, hua1 la1 la1 la1 hu1, suo3 wei4 min2 ge1 zhe3, shi4 fou3fou ru ci ye?
Wind, flower, snow and moon; crashing sound and crashing sound; those so called folk songs, whether or not they all are like this?
(風花雪月 is an idiom; literally it means wind, flower, snow and moon, and the four subjects usually are trite poetry subjects. Thus, metaphorically speaking, these four words are used to refer to effete language without substance.)
music
之之之之之
zhi1 zhi1 zhi zhi zhi
乎乎乎乎乎
hu1 hu1 hu1 hu1 hu1
者者者者者
zhe3 zhe3 zhe3 zhe3 zhe3
也也也也也
ye3 ye3 ye3 ye3 ye3
很久以前,我们的祖先,都曾经这么说
hen2 jiu3 yi3 qian2, wo3 men1 de5 zu3 xian1, duo1 ceng2 jing1 zhe4 me5 shuo1.
Long time ago, our ancestors all once said something like this.
很久以前, 我们的祖先都曾经这么说
hen2 jiu3 yi3 qian2, wo3 men1 de5 zu3 xian1, duo1 ceng2 jing1 zhe4 me5 shuo1.
Long time ago, our ancestors all once said something like this.
现在听听,我们的青年他们在唱什么?
xian4 zai4 ting1 ting1 wo3 men2 de3 qing1 nian2, ta1 men2 zai4 chang4 shen2 me5?
Now, listen to our youth; what are they singing about?
但是要想想,到底你要他们怎么做
dan4 shi4 yao4 xiang3 xiang3, dao4 di3 ni3 yao4 ta1 men1 zen3 me5 zuo4?
However, you have to think: What on earth do you want them to do?
眼睛睁一只, 嘴巴呼一呼. 耳朵遮一遮, 皆大欢喜也.
yan3 jing1 zheng1 yi4 zhi1, zui3 ba1 hu1 yi4 hu1, er3 duo1 zhe1 yi4 zhe1, jie1 da4 huan1 xi3 ye3.
(Only) open one eye; mouth randomly shouts; cover up ears; everyone all will be happy.
大家都知之, 大家都在乎, 袖手旁观者, 你我是也.
da4 jia1 du1 zhi1 zhi1, da4 jia1 du1 zai4 hu1, xiu4 shou3 pang2 guan1 zhe3, ni3 wo3 shi4 ye3.
Everyone all knows it; everyone all cares. Those who watch with folded arms are — you and me.
(袖手旁观 is an idiom which means to watch with folded arms or to look on without lifting a finger.)
(大家都知之, 大家都在乎 and 袖手旁观者, 你我是也 contrast with each other. Everyone knows and everyone cares, however, in reality, everyone is an onlooker and doesn’t do anything about it. So, does anyone care? Nah.)
Translated by Shu
For other Luo da you’s classic and everlasting songs see: Chinese song list.