| 吴市吹箫 |
Wú shì chuī xiāo |
to beg while playing the xiao 箫 (mouth organ) / cf Wu Zixu 伍子胥, destitute refugee from Chu 楚, busked in Wu town c. 520 BC, then became a powerful politician |
| 吴 |
Wú |
surname Wu / area comprising southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang and Shanghai / name of states in southern China at different historical periods |
| 市 |
shì |
market / city / CL:个 |
| 吹 |
chuī |
to blow / to play a wind instrument / to blast / to puff / to boast / to brag / to end in failure / to fall through |
| 吹箫 |
chuī xiāo |
to play the xiao 箫 (mouth organ) / to beg while playing pipes; cf politician Wu Zixu 伍子胥, c. 520 BC destitute refugee in Wu town, 吴市吹箫 / to busk / virtuoso piper wins a beauty, cf 玉人吹箫 / (slang) fellatio / blowjob |
| 箫 |
xiāo |
xiao, a Chinese musical instrument of ancient times, similar to panpipes |