死灰復燃 (Ash may flame up!)

死灰復燃 (Ash may flame up!)

In the Western Han Dynasty (B.C. 203-24 A.D.) in China, there lived a senior official named Han An Guo who later embroiled himself in a lawsuit and sent to prison.

When Han was in jail, he was constantly affronted by a warder named Tian Jia. One night, Tian insulted Han as usual, but this time, Han could not tolerate anymore, so he said to Tian: "Guess what? Ash may flame up. You`d better watch out!"

"Oh, really? But, you know what? Even the fire `comes` back, I am going to pee on it to make it gone again, haha!" Tian kept humiliating Han.

"Tian Jia, someday, you`ll have to pay the price! You`ll be sorry for what you`ve done to me!" said Han.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you flaming idiot! Haha!" said Tian.

Some time passed, Han was released from jail and got back to his previous position. Having learned about that, Tian was frightened to death and attempted to escape from the country.

Han declared that if Tian did not come back and make an apology to him, he would then kill his whole family. So soon after, Tian appeared and apologized to Han.

"I`m sorry. It`s my fault. Please forgive me!" Tian said to Han.

"I would forgive you if you are now peeing... on the fire, wouldn`t you?"

Translation

死灰復燃（사회부연）

死（사）：dying

灰（회）：ash

復（부）：retrieve

燃（연）：flame