bian chang mo ji（although the whip is long, it does not reach the horse’s belly）
Being attacked by the state of Chu, the king of Song sent Yue Yingqi to ask the state of Jin for help.
The king of Jin wanted to send troops to rescue Song. But Bozong, a senior minister of the state of Jin, said,” No, the ancient said, ‘Although the whip is very long, it cannot touch the belly of the horse. The State of Chu is protected by God now, and no one can defeat them.“
Minister Pang Gong accepted the appointment of the king of the state of Wei and accompanied the prince to Han Dan to be the hostage.
Before departure, he said to the king, “If someone told you that there was a tiger at the market, would Your Majesty believe it?” The king said, “No, I would not.” Then Pang Gong asked again, “What if a second person told your Majesty the same thing?” The king said no again. Pang Gong asked once more, “what if a third person told Your Majesty this again?” The king said,” Since everybody said so, it seemed it was true.“
Pang Gong said. “There wasn’t any tiger at the market at all. But just because three people said so, it became quite believable. It shows how formidable a gossip is. Han Dan is much farther away from here than the market is and there would be much more than three people who would speak ill of me. I beg Your Majesty to consider carefully before you believe what they might say about me.”
When Pang Gong returned from Han Dan, the king of the state of Wei did not want to see him any more.
fu jing qing zui（to bring a birch and ask for a flogging）
In the period of the Warring States, the Sate of Zhao was weak and oppressed by the State of Qin, the strongest power among all states.
At the time there was a man in the State of Zhao named Lin Xiangru, who was wise and courageous. He fought hard for the dignity of his state when he participated in the negotiation with Qin as a diplomatic envoy. The king of Zhao gave him a position of authority due to his excellent contributions, which annoyed the general Lian Po, who thought defiantly: “I have fought in so many battles to defend the state. Compared with my feats, Lin Xiangru’s work of simply a few words amounts to nothing at all. Why should he take a position higher than me?” The more he thought about it, the more he got irritated. He said in public that he would disgrace Lin Xiangru in person.
Lin Xiangru heard about something which Lian Po said, who then avoided meeting Lian Po on purpose. However, the men of Lian Po became more aggressive and audacious. When people asked Lin Xiangru whether he was afraid of Lian Po, he answered with a smile: “How am I supposed to fear General Lian Po when I am not afraid of the king of Qin? It is because of the unity among the officials of Zhao that Qin can find no opportunity to attack our state. If I get into conflict with General Lian Po, it would allow opportunity for the Qin to wage their attack, and our state would be in great danger. I shouldn’t sacrifice the future of my country for personal dignity.”
Later, what Lin Xiangru said was heard by Lian Po, who was greatly ashamed of himself. He took off his upper garments and went to Lin Xiangru’s house with a rod, where he knelt down in front of Lin Xiangru, gave Lin the rod and begged a good lash as a punishment. Seeing this, Lin Xiangru threw away the rod immediately and raised Lian Po from his knees. From then on the two became intimate friends and contributed to their country with their individual strengths, one in battles, the other in foreign affairs, and Qin was terrified by the strengthening of Zhao even more.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the famous painter Sun Zhiwei painted a portrait named “Nine Yao Diagram” for the Shouning Temple in Chengdu, and after he drew the sketch, he asked his disciples to color it for him because he had something to do.
The disciple noticed that the bottle in the hand of the servant boy of the Bodhisattva of Mercury was empty, so he added a pink lotus flower. When Sun Zhiwei found out, they immediately pointed out that they were self-defeating, because the bottle was used to suppress the demon’s ambush water.
wan bi gui zhao（to return the jade intact to the State of Zhao）
In the Warring States Period (481 – 386BC), the King of the State of Zhao got an extraordinarily fabulous jade from someone. the ruthless ruler of the state of Qin ,who reigned a far more powerful country, also wanted the rare treasure badly, promising to exchange it with 15 cities.
It posed a thorny issue for the King of the State of Zhao since he knew the personality of the King of the State of Qin very well. The great chance were that he would obtain the jade without giving out 15 cities. However, given the strong military power of the state of Qin, the King of the State of Zhao just couldn’t turn him down. the King of the State of Zhao and his officials weren’t able to figure out a proper solution to deal with the tricky issue even after several discussions. At that critical point, one official strongly recommended one of his bold and talented retainers named Lin Xiang ru ,as an envoy to the State of Qin. the King of the State of Zhao interviewed Lin in person some days later. In the face of the king, Lin pledged that he would bring the jade back to the state of Zhao intact. the King of the State of Zhao nodded with broad smiling on his face.
Later, Lin arrived in the state of Qin, presenting the shining jade to the King of the State of Qin. Putting the treasure in his palm, the King of the State of Qin was totally involved in appreciating it, almost forgot the surroundings. After through that ,he passed the jade to his officials and imperial concubines for seeing, without showing any attempt to give 15 cities as he previously pledged to do. Waiting for a long time, Lin was pretty angry and feeling humiliated, thinking about how to handle this tough situation. Suddenly, one idea jumped into his mind. He stepped forward , saying: “my respectful king, there are some tiny flaws within the jade, let me show you.” the King of the State of Qin handed the jade to Lin without hesitation.
As soon as he got the jade, Lin run to one of the pillars in the palace, shouting to the King of the State of Qin: “Oh, my king, you are just enjoying yourself in appreciating the jade, not even bothered to mention the contract you pledged before, Which obviously demonstrating your insincerity. Thus, I made my mind to take back the jade. I ‘ll pumped myself rashly to the pillar along with the jade in the case you urged me to give you the jade.” Being scared of the ruin of the jade, the King of the State of Qin apologized to Lin instantly and asked his subsidiary to bring a piece of map, showing the 15 cities that he planned to present to the state of Zhao, plus, he added that he would set up a very formal and grand ceremony to pay his tribute to Lin’s coming.
Lin saw through the King of the State of Qin’s plot at once. In that night, he instructed one of his soldiers ,in shabby clothes, to send the jade back to the state of Zhao as quickly as possible. Several days later, Lin told the King of the State of Qin during the banquet: “I ‘ve already sent the jade to the state of Zhao after sensing your insincerity. Nevertheless, don’t be nervous my king, I’m not trying to break the contract as you might perceived so. As we all admit that, the state of Qin is incompact to the state of Zhao. Once you hand over the cities, we are not dare to refuse to give you the jade. Well, I knew clearly that what I did are due to offend you. So, please boil me to death for the wrong doing I committed.”
Small wonder, the King of the State of Qin flied into rage the instant he heard the statement, but he had no alternative but to let Lin go. If he killed Lin, not only did he won’t obtain the jade, but also would devastate the relationship between the state of Zhao and the state of Qin. Therefore, Lin returned to his hometown also intact.
After ward, “to return the jade intact to the State of Zhao” is used to refer giving back something intact to its owner.
jiang lang cai jin（The well of inspiration has dried up.）
Jiang Yan lived during the Liang dynasty of the Northern and Southern Dynasties Period, in the area now known as Henan province.
Although he came from a poor family, he as extremely hard working, and so became a high-level civil official.
Jiang Yan was very talented in the area of literature. Both his poems and his essays were outstanding, and he was known by nearly all the scholars of his time.
Jiang Yan once had a dream that a man came to him and said, “My name is Guo Pu. One of my pens has been here with your for several years. Please give it back to me now.”
”In his pocket, Jiang Yan found a multi-colored pen, which he returned to Guo Po.
As Jiang Yan grew older, the poems and essays that he wrote were not as good as those he had written when he was younger.
Everyone said that when Jiang Yan gave away his multi-colored pen, he used up the last of his talent.
During the Song Dynasty, there was a very studious man named Jia Huangzhong, who had studied with his father since he was five years old.
Jia Huangzhong was a clean and upright official, and when he was the governor of Xuanzhou. One year, there was a famine in Xuanzhou, and many people starved to death. Jia Huangzhong used his own rice to cook and saved thousands of people.
However, Jia Huangzhong was too serious and cautious in his work, so that when he encountered a crisis, he could not make a decision immediately.
The emperor of the Song Dynasty admonished him: “It is a little prudent to do things carefully, but if you go too far, you will lose your original intention.”
During the Warring States Period (475-221BC), there was a man called Yue Yangzi in State Yue. One day he saw a piece of gold on the road and picked it up. He took it home and gave it to his wife. But his wife was not happy. The virtuous woman said, “I hear that a man of morality doesn’t drink a thief’s water and a man of probity refuses to accept alms. What do you think of the action of picking up another’s lost valuable and possessing it for one’s own?”
Yue Yangzi, feeling ashamed, sent the gold back to where he found it.
The next year, Yue Yangzi felt that he should go out and visit scholars to enrich his knowledge. So he set off.
A year later, he came back home suddenly.
“Why have you returned?” asked his wife in surprise, “You’ve only spent one year studying with scholars.” “I come back because I missed you very much.”
Without saying anything, his wife took a pair of scissors and went to the loom at which she had worked. Pointing at the half done brocade, she proclaimed : “This brocade is woven from the finest silk. I wove one strand after another to produce the brocade. Now if I cut it, all my previous work will be wasted. It’s the same with your studies. You can acquire knowledge only through diligence. Now, you’ve stopped halfway. Isn’t it the same as cutting the brocade on the loom?”
Yue Yangzi was moved by what she said. He again left home to visit scholars. Several years later he became a learned man.
tian yi wu feng（be completely natural without defects as the divine garments）
Once upon a time, there is a poet named Guo Han, he is humorous and used to joke. One summer night, when the moon was very bright he suddenly saw a fairy descending slowly from the sky.
He observed the fairy closely, and found that the dress she was wearing was seamless. He was puzzled and asked why. The fairy answered, “The clothes of the immortals are all without seams.”
This idiom is used metaphorically to indicate the flawless handling of things. it can also be used to indicate a perfectly written poem or other literary article.
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