Xiehouyu are a type ofChinese proverb consisting of a former segment that presents a novel scenario, and a latter provides the rationale thereof. One would often only state the first part, expecting the listener to know the second.Xiehouyu are examples ofanapodota, a class of rhetorical device found across different languages. Compare Englishan apple a day (keeps the doctor away) andspeak of the devil (and he shall appear).
The Chinese wordxiehouyu may be literally translated as 'truncated witticism'.Puns are often involved inxiehouyu. In this case, the second part is derived from the first through one meaning, but then another possible meaning of the second part is taken as the true meaning. Some analagous examples in English might sound like "get hospitalized" to mean "be patient", or "small transactions only" to mean "no big deal". Thus, axiehouyu in one dialect can be unintelligible to a listener speaking another. Valuable linguistic data can sometimes be gleaned from ancientxiehouyu.
Xiehouyu have been coined since ancient times as short, funny and figurative sentences consisting of two parts. The leading part acts like a riddle, and the latter part completes the phrase.
