y051313 Posted December 5, 2007 at 01:19 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 at 01:19 AM Hi, Anyone can help me explain this phrase in English? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muyongshi Posted December 5, 2007 at 02:22 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 at 02:22 AM From here 道教掌故 - 紫气东来" 紫 气 东 来 " , 道 教 掌 故 之 一 。 典 出 《 关 令 尹 内 传 》 。 後 来 , 道 教 的 许 多 传 记 书 也 都 有 类 似 的 记 述 。 据 说 , 道 家 创 始 人 老 子 ( 道 教 尊 称 为 太 上 老 君 ) , 面 对 衰 微 的 世 道 , 准 备 离 开 周 朝 去 隐 居 。 《 犹 龙 传 》 说 : 老 子 想 前 往 西 边 的 流 沙 国 , 以 便 教 化 异 邦 民 族 。 于 是 , 有 一 道 紫 气 从 东 向 西 移 动 , 一 直 到 达 函 谷 关 。 周 昭 王 的 大 夫 尹 喜 善 于 观 察 天 上 列 星 运 行 的 预 兆 , 知 道 有 圣 人 将 要 度 过 函 谷 关 , 便 辞 去 朝 官 职 务 , 到 函 谷 关 去 当 关 令 。 他 举 行 了 斋 戒 仪 式 , 在 道 路 两 旁 烧 香 , 沿 途 打 扫 得 干 干 净 净 , 专 门 等 候 圣 人 的 到 来 。 不 久 , 老 子 骑 着 青 牛 缓 缓 步 入 函 谷 关 。 关 令 尹 喜 拜 老 子 为 师 , 请 求 老 子 写 下 了 流 传 千 古 的 《 道 德 经 》 。 在 中 国 民 间 , 紫 气 东 来 成 为 吉 祥 的 象 征 , 许 多 文 学 作 品 以 之 为 题 进 行 情 节 演 绎 。 如 《 封 神 演 义 》 第 七 十 七 回 《 老 子 一 气 化 三 清 》 即 是 例 证 。 该 作 品 根 据 诸 多 道 教 文 献 , 对 紫 气 东 来 故 事 进 行 艺 术 性 发 挥 , 读 来 颇 具 情 趣 。 以 往 每 逢 过 年 , 人 们 总 爱 贴 上 " 紫 气 东 来 " 的 春 联 , 这 说 明 老 子 过 函 谷 关 的 事 是 传 颂 久 远 的 。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalaowai Posted December 5, 2007 at 02:41 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 at 02:41 AM Wow Muyongshi, you beat me to the punch by a few minutes. I found the exact same web page. From what I can gather, it's a phrase related to Daoism Anecdotes. I also found a BBS posting that made me laugh "purple air from the east". haha found here: http://bbs.putclub.com/index.php?showtopic=49498 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muyongshi Posted December 5, 2007 at 02:46 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 at 02:46 AM Yeah it's a phrase used for auspiciousness as a symbol of good coming. When the "creator" (by the way this is a really quick incomplete but mostly accurate minus many details summarization) was going to pass a certain point a purple wind blew from the east and this one guy was super smart, realized a holy man was coming and when to the "pass" and burned incense waiting for Mr. Holy to arrive. When he did smart guy asked for him to write down the "holy bible of taoism" (excuse my 夸张ing everything). Now it is frequently written on the 春联 that is put on doors at spring festival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y051313 Posted December 5, 2007 at 04:05 AM Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 at 04:05 AM Interesting story, I hope my friend can understand this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macro2Jam Posted December 18, 2007 at 03:39 AM Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 at 03:39 AM Generally, it means "Good luck is coming from the east." "紫气" means something good. It could be a great number of fortune, someone who can help you a lot or something which changes bad things to good. So this phrase has different translations in different situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixne Posted January 28, 2008 at 07:41 AM Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 at 07:41 AM Usually "紫气东来" is just in describe the CHINESE EMPEROR. in that day . the emperor this the son of the god. so when he moves the cloud is become purple. in <刘邦传> is also the sentence like :"夜观天象,紫气东来" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zozzen Posted January 29, 2008 at 04:40 PM Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 at 04:40 PM i doubt if "氣" is equal to "cloud". The concept "氣" was mentioned in many pre-qin and qin documents but i'm still not really sure what exactly it is. It seems to be a secretive or spiritual force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABCinChina Posted February 4, 2009 at 10:06 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 at 10:06 AM I think I came across this phrase on my recent trip to a Dao Temple in Chengdu. When the guide told me, I though the phrase sounded mighty familiar, and then this thread came to me. (The sign in from right to left and in traditional Chinese) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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