铜豌豆

銅豌豆

tóngwāndòu

idiom

Meanings

1 a 'copper pea': a hardened veteran of the pleasure quarters
2 a tough old hand who can't be broken
3 a worldly rake

Characters

pea (used in 豌豆)

Examples

他自称是煮不烂的铜豌豆，什么场面没见过。

Tā zì chēng shì zhǔ bù làn de tóngwāndòu, shénme chǎngmiàn méi jiànguò.

He calls himself a copper pea that won't boil soft — there's no scene he hasn't seen.

关汉卿的曲里，铜豌豆就是那种玩世不恭的老江湖。

Guān Hànqīng de qǔ lǐ, tóngwāndòu jiùshì nà zhǒng wánshì bùgōng de lǎo jiānghú.

In Guan Hanqing's plays, a 'copper pea' is that kind of cynical old hand of the world.

Tips

history

Famous from Yuan playwright Guan Hanqing (关汉卿), who called himself 'a copper pea that can't be steamed soft, boiled cooked, pounded flat, fried burst, or cracked' — a boast about surviving the theatre and brothel scene. Literary, still used as a self-deprecating badge for old scenesters.

Stroke Order

铜 tóng

豌 wān

豆 dòu