土崩瓦解

Chinese

		to collapse and be ruined beyond repair	to disintegrate; to collapse; to crumble to disintegrate; to collapse; to crumble; to fall apart
trad. (土崩瓦解)		土崩	瓦解
simp. #(土崩瓦解)		土崩	瓦解
Literally: “like an earthfall or disintegration of a tile”.

Etymology

Attested in《秦紀後》by Ban Gu, which was later added to the end of the Records of the Grand Historian, Vol. VI:

秦之積衰，天下土崩瓦解，雖有周旦之材，無所復陳其巧，而以責一日之孤，誤哉！ [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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秦之积衰，天下土崩瓦解，虽有周旦之材，无所复陈其巧，而以责一日之孤，误哉！ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: 74 CE, 班固 (Ban Gu),《秦紀後》

Qín zhī jī shuāi, tiānxià tǔbēngwǎjiě, suī yǒu ZhōuDàn zhī cái, wú suǒ fù chén qí qiǎo, ér yǐ zé yī rì zhī gū, wù zāi! [Pinyin]

With Qin's accumulated downward trend, the state was falling apart. Even talents like the Duke of Zhou (the founding statesman of the Zhou dynasty) could not possibly turn the situation around. What a mistake it was [for Jia Yi (the author of the Faults of Qin) and Sima Qian (the author of the Records of the Grand Historian)] to blame this on the new emperor [which is to say Ziying]!

Alternatively, from Guiguzi:

君臣相惑，土崩瓦解而相伐射。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

From: (Can we date this quote?), 《鬼谷子·抵巇》

Jūn chén xiāng huò, tǔbēngwǎjiě ér xiāng fá shè. [Pinyin]

The ruler and the subjects suspect one another; [the state] undergoes chaos and turmoil; civilians are forced into a civil war.

This book is attributed to an eponymous author, its real dates of creation unknown, yet the chapter where the word is attested still possibly dates back to sometime before Christian Era. If so, this would be earlier.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tǔbēngwǎjiě

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄨˇ ㄅㄥ ㄨㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄝˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tou² bang¹ ngaa⁵ gaai²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tǔbēngwǎjiě [Phonetic: tǔbēngwájiě]
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄨˇ ㄅㄥ ㄨㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄝˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tǔbengwǎjiě
    • Wade–Giles: tʻu³-pêng¹-wa³-chieh³
    • Yale: tǔ-bēng-wǎ-jyě
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tuubengwoajiee
    • Palladius: тубэнвацзе (tubɛnvacze)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ pɤŋ⁵⁵ wä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tou² bang¹ ngaa⁵ gaai²
    • Yale: tóu bāng ngáh gáai
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tou² bang¹ ngaa⁵ gaai²
    • Guangdong Romanization: tou² beng¹ nga⁵ gai²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰou̯³⁵ pɐŋ⁵⁵ ŋaː¹³ kaːi̯³⁵/

Idiom

土崩瓦解

1. to completely fall to pieces; to collapse

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (土崩瓦解):

• → Japanese: 土(ど)崩(ほう)瓦(が)解(かい) (dohōgakai)
• → Korean: 토붕와해(土崩瓦解) (tobung'wahae)
• → Vietnamese: thổ băng ngoã giải (土崩瓦解)