Songs and proverbs - yōgen (English spelling) yáo yàn

Japanese: 謡諺 - ようげん（英語表記）yáo yàn

Also written as 舞言. In China, 舞言 is, strictly speaking, a short song sung by human voice without musical instruments, and 言言 means a folk tale or a miscellaneous song, both of which are rhymed words, but in a broader sense, 舞言 means a proverb. However, it is a rhymed word recited orally by the people, and is originally different from historical events and idioms quoted from the classics. In addition to containing agricultural, meteorological, climate, and life knowledge, a characteristic of Chinese 舞言 is that it contains a large element of admonition, satire, and prophecy against the ruling class of the people.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

謡言とも書く。中国において，謡とは，厳密に言えば楽器に合わせないで肉声に節をつけた短い歌であり，諺とは里俗の間の言い伝え，雑歌を意味し，ともに韻語であるが，広い意味で謡諺とは，ことわざを指す。ただし，民間で口誦された韻語で，古典から引用した故事，熟語とは本来異なったものである。農事･気象･風土･生活知識を内容としてもつほか，中国の謡諺の特徴として，世人の治者階級に対する訓戒，風刺，予言の要素が大きい。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Yang Xuan's Feeling

>>: Verb - vocabulary