Meaning of the Idiom
tang lang bu chan
A praying mantis catches a cricket, unaware of the oriole behind
Once，the King of State of Wu wanted to invade the State of Chu.
The King of Wu warned his ministers:
“If anyone should dare to dissuade me from invading Chu again, I will put him to death.”
One young hanger-on of his wanted to dissuade him but didn’t dare. He carried a slingshot, and three consecutive days paced up and down in the Kings back garden. The dew wetted his clothes all through.
One day, the King of Wu called him:
“The dew has wetted your clothes to such a state. Why should you bear such hardship?”
The young man replied:
“There is a cicada on a tree in this garden. The cicada is high above, chirping leisurely and taking in the dew freely, not knowing that a mantis is right behind it. The mantis, pressing its body close in a concealed place, is intent on catching the cicada, not knowing that a siskin is hiding right behind it. The siskin is stretching out its neck to peck at the mantis, not knowing that a man carrying a slingshot is under it. These three small creatures make every effort only to get the benefit before them but ignore entirely the disaster behind.
Having heard the young mans words, the King of Wu suddenly saw the light and said:
“What you said is right!”
Consequently, the King of Wu dropped his plan to invade the State of Chu.
螳螂捕蝉
táng láng bǔ chán，指人目光短浅，没有远见，只顾追求眼前的利益。
出自《说苑·正谏》。
例句
他一心想占小贩的便宜，却不知道后面一个小偷正在盯着他，真是所谓螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后啊！
做人如果太过短视近利，瞻前不顾后，就会像螳螂捕蝉一样，招来其他的祸患。
周瑜又惊又怒，没想到自己算计半天，却是螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后，辛苦了一场，却让诸葛亮用计夺了荆州。
Reading The Paragraphs!
Meaning of Words
| 词语 | 华文解释 | 英文解释 |
|---|---|---|
| 趁虚而入 | 意思是趁力量虚弱时侵入。 例句：当免疫力下降时，很多疾病就会趁虚而入，让人开始生病。 | swoop in |
| 不堪设想 | 指对即将要发生的事不敢想象，指预料事情会发展到很坏的地步。 例句：要不是这位司机及时把车停住，那个乱穿马路的小孩的结果真是不堪设想。 | be unbearable to contemplate |
| 固执 | 本指坚持不懈，后多指坚持成见。 例句：即使大家都来劝说，那位固执的老人还是不愿意搬离年久失修的农舍。 | stubborn |
| 侍奉 | 意思是指对长辈伺候奉养、服侍；或虔诚地致力于信仰。 例句：阿加莎修女致力于帮助贫穷的儿童，以这种方式来侍奉上帝！ | attend upon; wait upon |
| 毫不在意 | 意思是丝毫不在乎或不介意。 例句：对于别人的负面评价他显得毫不在意，只专注于自己的研究。 | not to mind |
| 祸患 | 意思是灾祸；祸害。 例句：这个违禁品留着终是祸患，不如找专业机构处理掉更好。 | evil; disaster; calamity |
| 恍然大悟 | 意思是对某一事物突然明白、突然醒悟。 例句：合唱结束后，学生们突然拉出一条横幅，舞台下的老师才恍然大悟，横幅上写着：老师辛苦了。 | see light suddenly |
Daily Language 