# 銜環
## Chinese
### Etymology

    From: c. 469 - 520: Wu Jun (吳均) 續齊諧記 (More Tales of the Strange and Unusual) (Wiktionary translation)
    Hóngnóng Yáng Bǎo, xìng cí'ài. Nián jiǔ suì, zhì Huáyīn shān, jiàn yī huángquè wéi chīxiāo suǒ bó, zhú shù xià, shāngbān shèn duō, wǎnzhuǎn fù wéi lóuyǐ suǒ kùn. Bǎo huái zhī yǐ guī, zhì zhū liáng shàng. Yè wén tí shēng shèn qiè, qīnzì zhào shì, wéi wén suǒ niè, nǎi yízhì jīnxiāng zhōng, dàn yǐ huánghuā. Dài shí yú rì, máoyǔ chéng, fēixiáng, cháo qù mù lái, sù jīnxiāng zhōng, rúcǐ jīnián. Hū yǔ qún què jù lái, āi míng rào táng, shù rì nǎi qù. Shì xī, Bǎo sāngèng dúshū, yǒu huángyī tóngzǐ yuē: “Wǒ, Wángmǔ shǐzhě. Xī shǐ Pénglái, wèi chīxiāo suǒ bó, méng jūn zhī rén'ài jiàn jiù, jīn dāng shòu cì Nánhǎi.” Bié yǐ sì yùhuán yǔ zhī, yuē: “Lìngjūn zǐsūn jiébái, qiě cóng dēng sāngōng, shì rúcǐ huán yǐ.” Bǎo zhī xiào dà wén tiānxià, míngwèi rì lóng. Zǐ Zhèn, Zhèn shēng Bǐng, Bǐng shēng Biāo, sì shì míng gōng. Jí Zhèn zàng shí, yǒu dà niǎo jiàng, rén jiē wèi zhēn xiào zhāo yě. [Pinyin]
    Yang Bao of Hongnong (near present day Lingbao) had a compassionate nature. When he was nine years old, he travelled to the northern side of Mount Hua, where he spotted a yellow finch being struck by an owl, causing it to fall from a tree. As it writhed on the ground, ants and other insects started to swarm around it. Bao picked it up and took it home with him. When he got home, he placed it on a cross beam in his house. That night, he heard a shrill cry, so he went to take a look. He discovered that the bird was being bitten by mosquitoes, so he placed the bird in a small box. He fed the bird dried flowers. After ten or more days, the bird's feathers had reached full size, so that it could now fly. It would leave in the morning and come back in the evening, sleeping in the small box. This went on for more than a year, when one day, a flock of finches arrived. The finches flew around the house and cried plaintively. Within a few days, the bird departed with them. That evening, Bao was still reading at midnight, when a small child in yellow clothes arrived, saying, "I am an emissary of the Queen Mother. On the day that I was struck by the owl, I had been dispatched from Mount Penglai. I was saved because of your kindness, and now I would like nothing better than for you to accept a gift from the southern seas." The emissary especially presented Bao with four jade loop pendants, saying, "I command that your offspring shall be pure. Furthermore, they shall all follow in your footsteps, and become one of the Three Excellencies. Thus, I shall repay you for your kindness." Bao's filial piety became known throughout the land, and his prestige grew with each passing day. His son was Zhen. Zhen begat Bing. Bing begat Biao. For four generations, a member of the Yang family served as one of the Three Excellencies. At the time of Zhen's funeral (in 154), a large bird swooped down. Everyone said that the bird had been attracted by the true filial piety of the Yang family.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): xiánhuán
    (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢˊ ㄏㄨㄢˊ
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: xiánhuán
*** Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢˊ ㄏㄨㄢˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: siánhuán
*** Wade–Giles: hsien$^2$-huan$^2$
*** Yale: syán-hwán
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyanhwan
*** Palladius: сяньхуань (sjanʹxuanʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /ɕi̯ɛn³⁵ xu̯än³⁵/

### Verb

銜環
* (literary, figurative) to repay a debt (of kindness etc.)

#### Derived terms

* 結草銜環／结草衔环 (jiécǎo xiánhuán)
* 銜環結草／衔环结草
* 黃雀銜環／黄雀衔环