苏武

蘇武
Sū Wǔ
proper noun

Meanings

  1. 1 Su Wu (140–60 BC), Han envoy held by the Xiongnu for nineteen years who never gave up his loyalty to the Han

Examples

HSK 3
Sū Wǔ zài Běihǎi biān fàng le shíjiǔ nián yáng.
Su Wu herded sheep by the Northern Sea for nineteen years.
HSK 6
Sū Wǔ huídào Cháng'ān de shíhou, tóufa húzi quándōu bái le.
When Su Wu returned to Chang'an, his hair and beard had all turned white.

Tips

culture
The 匈奴 told him he could go home when his rams gave milk. He survived on snow and felt, herded the rams by the Northern Sea, today's Lake Baikal, and held on to the Han envoy's staff, 节, until all its tassels had fallen off. The folk song 《苏武牧羊》 tells the story.
history
He was freed in 81 BC after a Han envoy claimed that the emperor had shot a wild goose carrying a letter from Su Wu, a tale that made the wild goose a symbol of letters from far away.

Stroke Order

苏 sū
武 wǔ