Chinese[edit]
Sima Zhao
's; him/her/it; this
heart; mind
passer-by
everyone knows; as known by all
trad. (司馬昭之心——路人皆知)
司馬昭
之
心
——
路人
皆知
simp. (司马昭之心——路人皆知)
司马昭
之
心
——
路人
皆知
alternative forms
司馬昭之心，路人皆知／司马昭之心，路人皆知
Literally: “Sima Zhao's heart ― every passer-by knows”.
Etymology[edit]
From Cao Mao (fifth emperor of Cao Wei)'s statement of ousting Sima Zhao the night before getting assassinated by a servant of Sima on June 2, 260 C.E.. This text was later quoted by the historian Pei Songzhi in his annotated version of the Records of the Three Kingdoms:
自曹芳事後，魏人省徹宿衛，無復鎧甲，諸門戎兵老弱而已。曹髦見威權日去，不勝其忿。乃召侍中王沈、尚書王經、常侍王業，謂曰：「司馬昭之心，路人所知也。吾不能坐受廢辱，今日當與卿自出討之。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]自曹芳事后，魏人省彻宿卫，无复铠甲，诸门戎兵老弱而已。曹髦见威权日去，不胜其忿。乃召侍中王沈、尚书王经、常侍王业，谓曰：「司马昭之心，路人所知也。吾不能坐受废辱，今日当与卿自出讨之。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: c. 3rd century, Xi Zuochi, The Annals of Han and JinZì Cáo Fāng shì hòu, Wèi rén shěngchè sùwèi, wú fù kǎijiǎ, zhū mén róngbīng lǎoruò éryǐ. CáoMáo jiàn wēiquán rì qù, bùshēng qí fèn. Nǎi zhào shìzhōng Wáng Shěn, shàngshū Wáng Jīng, chángshì Wáng Yè, wèi yuē: “Sīmǎ Zhāo zhī xīn, lùrén suǒ zhī yě. Wú bùnéng zuò shòu fèi rǔ, jīnrì dāng yǔ qīng zì chū tǎo zhī.” [Pinyin]Since the dethronement of Cao Fang, royal guards had been abolished in the State of Wei. Strong defense no longer existed; only old and weak soldiers remained. Raging against his authority fading away, Cao Mao called Wang Chen, Wang Jing and Wang Ye and told them, “Even passers-by know the ambition of Sima Zhao. I can't bear the humiliation of being dethroned anymore. I think it's high time for us to bring him down now.”
Pronunciation[edit]
Mandarin
(Pinyin): Sīmǎ Zhāo zhī xīn, lùrén jiē zhī
(Zhuyin): ㄙ ㄇㄚˇ ㄓㄠ ㄓ ㄒㄧㄣ , ㄌㄨˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄐㄧㄝ ㄓ
Cantonese (Jyutping): si1 maa5 ciu1 zi1 sam1, lou6 jan4 gaai1 zi1
Mandarin
(Standard Chinese)+
Hanyu Pinyin: Sīmǎ Zhāo zhī xīn, lùrén jiē zhī
Zhuyin: ㄙ ㄇㄚˇ ㄓㄠ ㄓ ㄒㄧㄣ , ㄌㄨˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄐㄧㄝ ㄓ
Tongyong Pinyin: Sihmǎ Jhao jhih sin, lùrén jie jhih
Wade–Giles: Ssŭ1-ma3 Chao1 chih1 hsin1, lu4-jên2 chieh1 chih1
Yale: Sz̄-mǎ Jāu jr̄ syīn-, lù-rén jyē jr̄
Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Symaa Jau jy shin, luhren jie jy
Palladius: Сыма Чжао чжи синь, лужэнь цзе чжи (Syma Čžao čži sinʹ, lužɛnʹ cze čži)
Sinological IPA (key): /sz̩⁵⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ lu⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
Cantonese
(Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Jyutping: si1 maa5 ciu1 zi1 sam1, lou6 jan4 gaai1 zi1
Yale: sī máh chīu jī sām, louh yàhn gāai jī
Cantonese Pinyin: si1 maa5 tsiu1 dzi1 sam1, lou6 jan4 gaai1 dzi1
Guangdong Romanization: xi1 ma5 qiu1 ji1 sem1, lou6 yen4 gai1 ji1
Sinological IPA (key): /siː⁵⁵ maː¹³ t͡sʰiːu̯⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ lou̯²² jɐn²¹ kaːi̯⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵/
Idiom[edit]
English Wikipedia has an article on:Coup of Cao MaoWikipedia
司馬昭之心——路人皆知
one's evil ambitions are apparent to everyone