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Category: Chinese Idioms
Chengyu 成语 (chéng yǔ) are idioms, usually made up of four Chinese characters. An idiom is a group of words that have a meaning not obviously made through the individual words.
During the Spring and Autumn Period (chūn qiū ,770-476 BC), there was a man in the State of Qin whose name was Sun Yang (sūn yáng ). Sun Yang was very expert in looking at horses and judging their worth. People called him Bo Le (Bo Le was fabled to be in charge of heavenly steeds as a celestial), and he was often asked to appraise and select horses.
Bo Le wrote a book entitled The Art of Looking at Horses and Judging Their Worth, based on his experiences and knowledge accumulated over the years. The book was also illustrated with the pictures of various horses. Bo Le had a son who thought it was very easy to appraise horses according to the book. So he took it with him to look for fine horses. He found the characteristics of a toad fit very well the characteristics described in the book. So he happily took the toad back home, Bo Le did not know whether he should laugh or cry. “That is just what we call looking for a steed with the aid of its picture.”
Later, people have used the set phrase “look for a steed with the aid of its picture” to refer to handling affairs mechanically in the outmoded ways without being flexible. Sometimes it is also used to refer to trying to locate something by following up a clue.
按图索骥
àn tú suǒ jì，按图索骥是由寓言故事演化而来，指按照图像寻找好马，比喻按线索寻找，也比喻办事机械、死板。
During the Warring States Period (475-221BC), the King of the State of Qi was very fond of listening to Yu ensembles. He often got together 300 Yu players to form a grand music. The king treated his musician very well.
A man named Nanguo heard about that and he managed to become a member of the band, even though he was not good at playing the instrument at all. Whenever the band played for the king, Nanguo just stood in the line and pretended to play. Nobody realized he was making no sound at all. As a result, he enjoyed his treatment just as the other musician did.
When the king died, his son became the new king who also liked the music played on the Yu. However, he preferred solos so that he ordered the musicians to play the Yu one by one. Therefore, Nanguo had to run out of the palace.
The idiom “Be there just to make up the number” is used to mock someone who passes for a specialist. You can also hear people saying it about themselves to show their modesty.
Meaning of judge a book by its cover, choose the wrong thing。
A man from the state of Chu wanted to sell a precious pearl in the state of Zheng.
He made a casket for the pearl out of the wood from a magnolia tree, which he fumigated with spices. He studded the casket with pearls and jade, ornamented it with red gems and decorated it with kingfisher feathers.
A man of the state of Zheng bought the casket and gave him back the pearl.
Too luxuriant decoration usually supersedes what really counts.
This man from Chu certainly knew how to sell a casket but he was no good at selling his pearl. And the man of Zheng didn’t know which is really valuable.
Pulling up seedlings to help them grow do harm to a thing by being over-enthusiastic about it.
To Pull up the Seedlings to Help Them Grow
Once upon a time, an old farmer planted a plot of rice. Everyday he went to the field to watch the seedlings grow.
He saw the young shoots break through the soil and grow taller each day. But still, he thought they were growing too slowly. He got impatient with the young plants. “How could the plants grow faster?” He tossed in bed during the night and could not sleep. Suddenly he hit upon an idea. He had an idea not wait for daybreak. He jumped out of the bed and dashed to the field. By the moonlight, he began working on the rice seedlings. One by one, he pulled up the young plants by half an inch. When he finished pulling, it was already morning. Straightening his back, he said to himself, “What a wonderful idea! Look, how much taller the plants have grown one night!”
With great satisfaction, he went back home. He told his son what he had done in a triumphant tone. His son was shocked. Now the sun had risen. The young man was heart-broken to see all the pulled-up young plants dying.
People now use ” Ya Miao Zhu Zhang” to describe the behavior of those who are too eager to get something done only to make it worse. The idiom is a bit like the English proverb “Haste makes waste” ——to spoil things by excessive enthusiasm.
Meaning of people of high aspirations who lose no time to prepare themselves for a great future.
In the past, there was a farmer in the State of Song. There stood a big tree in the field he cultivated. One day, while working in the field, he suddenly saw a hare running by in front of him. The bare bumped against the big tree, broke its neck and died under the tree.
Without any effort, the farmer happily enjoyed a meal of bare meat. He was very pleased and thought how nice it would be if every day were like this.
Thereupon, he no longer cultivated his land, but watched by that tree and waited for the chance to pick up another hare which knocked itself dead against the tree.
He waited and waited and watched. His field lay waste, but he never got a second hare. The people in the village laughed at him for taking the accidental for the inevitable.
make an overall judgement of something on the basis of one-sided viewpoint;
draw a conclusion [make a decision] on the basis of partial understanding;
draw a conclusion from incomplete data;
take a part for the whole
The Blind Men and the Elephant
Once upon a time there were six blind men who lived in a village in India. Every day they went to the road nearby and stood there begging. They had often heard of elephants, but they had never seen one, for being blind, how could they?
One morning, an elephant was led down the road where they stood. When they heard that an elephant was passing by, they asked the driver to stop the beast so that they could have a “look”. Of course they could not look at him with their eyes, but they thought they might learn what kind of animal he was by touching and feeling him. For, you see, they trust their own sense of touch very much.
The first blind man happened to place his hand on the elephant’s side. “Well, well, ” he said. “This beast is exactly like a wall.” The second grasped one of the elephant’s tusks and felt it. “You’re quite mistaken,” he said. “He’s round and smooth and sharp. He’s more like a spear than anything else.” The third happened to take hold of the elephant’s trunk. “You’re both completely wrong,” he said. “This elephant is like a snake, as anybody can see.” The fourth opened both his arms the closed them around one of the elephant’s legs. “Oh, how blind you are!” he cried. “It’s very clear that he’s round and tall like a tree.” The fifth was a very tall man, and he caught one of the elephant’s ears. “Even the blindest person must see that this elephant isn’t like any of the things you name.” he said. “He’s exactly like a huge fan.” The sixth man went forward to feel the elephant. He was old and slow and it took him quite some time to find the elephant at all. At last he got hold of the beast’s tail. “Oh, how silly you all are!” cried he. “The elephant isn’t like a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree; neither is he like a fan. Any man with eyes in his head can see that he’s exactly like a rope.”
Then the driver and the elephant moved on, and the six men sat by the roadside all day, quarrelling about the elephant. They could not agree with one another, because each believed that he knew just what the beast looked like. It is not only blind men who make such stupid mistakes. People who can see sometimes act just as foolishly.
It is not too late to mend the fold even after some sheep have been lost.
Meaning of it is never too late to mend.
Once upon a time, there was a shepherd who kept several sheep.
One morning, the shepherd discovered that one of his sheep was missing. It turned out that, during the night, a wolf had stolen his sheep through a hole in the sheep pen.
His neighbor suggested to him:” You should fix the pen and cover the hole right away.”
But the shepherd said:” The sheep is already lost, so I don’t need to repair it.” And so he rejected the neighbor’s suggestion.
The next morning, he discovered that another sheep was missing. Once again, the wolf stole the sheep through the hole in the fence.
The shepherd regretted not taking the neighbor’s advice. So he plugged the hole to secure the sheep pen.
From then on, no more sheep was stolen by the wolf.
Rising Up upon Hearing the Crow of a Rooster to Practise Sword Playing.
Meaning of people of high aspirations who lose no time to prepare themselves for a great future.
Zu Ti of the Jin Dynasty（265-420）was a big-hearted and farsighted person, however, he was very naughty and did not like to study when he was a small kid. When he became a young man, he felt acutely that his knowledge was inadequate and that he could not serve his country well if he did not study hard. So he put all his energies into his study. He read extensively, seriously studied history from which he absorbed rich knowledge, and made good progress in his studies.
Later, both Zu Ti and Liu Kun, his best friend, were appointed chief clerks responsible for document administration in the Sizhou Prefecture. he and Liu Kun cherished a deep affection for each other. Once, Zu Ti heard a cock crow in the wasteland in his dream at midnight. He kicked Liu Kun a wake and saying to him:” People say it is inauspicious to hear a cock crow in the wasteland. I don’s think so. What about getting up and practicing sword playing the moment we hear the cock crow form now on?” Liu Kun agreed readily. So every day when the cock crow, they got up and practiced sword playing, the cold steel of the swords glinting and flashing. Day by day, they never stopped. Through long periods of hard study and training, they finally became versatile persons versed in both civil and military affairs. They could write good essays, and were capable of leading troops in fighting victoriously.
This story appears in “The Life of Zu Ti” in The History of the Jin Dynasty. From this story people have coined the set phrase” rising up upon hearing the crow of a rooster to practice sword playing” to signify that someone is exerting himself to do something worthwhile. It is also used to signify that a person of noble aspirations exerts himself in time.
Constant grinding can turn an iron rod into a needle.
Constant dropping wears away a stone.
If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron rod into a needle — perseverance spells success.
Little strokes fell great oaks.
With time and patience the leaf of the mulberry becomes satin.
Li Bai was a great poet in the Tang Dynasty of China. It is said that in his childhood, he was very fond of playing and afraid of difficulties, and made slowly progress. One day, on his way home after school, he walked by a creek and saw an old woman grinding a iron rod. Being curious, he went to the old woman and asked:” Old grandma! why are you grinding this iron?” The old woman replied:“To make a needle.” At this moment, Li Bai felt more curious and asked again: “How can you grind such a thick iron rod into a needle?” “Yes, I can. Certainly I can.” the old woman said, “If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron rod into a needle.” Heard the old woman’s words, Li Bai was enlightened.
Since then, Li Bai studied hard and made rapid progress. Eventually he became a famous poet.
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