Chinese allegories Lesson 2

Chinese allegories
歇后语
Two-part allegorical saying (of which the first part, always stated, is descriptive, while the second part, often unstated, carries the message)

qí lǘ kàn chàng běn – zǒu zhe qiáo
骑驴看唱本 – 走着瞧
Reading a play while riding a donkey – wait and see

qiān lǐ sòng é máo – lǐ qīng qíng yì zhòng
千里送鹅毛 -- 礼轻情意重
Goose feather sent from 500 kilometers away – a small gift sent from afar conveys deep feeling

xiù cai yù dào bīng – yǒu lǐ jiǎng bù qīng
秀才遇到兵 -- 有理讲不清
A man with a pen encounters a man with a gun – you can't reach an agreement between the two kinds of people

ròu bāo zi dǎ gǒu – yǒu qù wú huí
肉包子打狗 – 有去无回
Throw a meat-stuffed bun at a dog – something gone, never to return

lǎo shǔ zuān jìn fēng xiāng lǐ – liǎng tóu shòu qì
老鼠钻进风箱里 -- 两头受气
A rat sneaks into a bellows – get blame from both sides; be caught between the hammer and the anvil

gǒu yǎo lǚ dòng bīn – bù shí hǎo rén xīn
狗咬吕洞宾 – 不识好人心
Snarl and snap at Lu Dongbin (one of the eight immortals in Chinese mythology) – mistake a good man for a bad one

dà shuǐ chōng le lóng wáng miào – zì jiā rén bú rèn zì jiā rén
大水冲了龙王庙 – 自家人不认自家人
The flood inundates the temple of the Dragon King – People on the same side fight each other by mistake

tiě dǎ de gōng jī – yì máo bù bá
铁打的公鸡 -- 一毛不拔
Iron cock – stingy person

Chinese allegories Lesson 1

 xiǎo cōng bàn dòu fu – yī qīng èr bái
小葱拌豆腐 – 一清二白
White bean curd and green scallions – as clear as daylight

gǒu ná hào zi – duō guǎn xián shì
狗拿耗子 – 多管闲事
Dog trying to catch mice – meddling in other people's business

yǎ ba chī huáng lián – yǒu kǔ shuō bù chū
哑巴吃黄连 – 有苦说不出
A dump person tasting bitter herbs – unable to express one's discomfort

qiū hòu de mà zha – bèng da bù liǎo jǐ tiān
秋后的蚂蚱 – 蹦跶不了几天
A grasshopper in late autumn – nearing one's end

ní pú sa guò hé – zì shēn nán bǎo
泥菩萨过河 – 自身难保
The clay idol crosses a river – one is hardly able to save oneself, let alone assist others

zhú lán dǎ shuǐ – yī chǎng kōng
竹篮打水 – 一场空
Draw water with a bamboo basket – achieving nothing; fruitless labor

gǎn miàn zhàng chuī huǒ – yí qiào bù tōng
擀面杖吹火 – 一窍不通
Try to blow the fire with a rolling pin – be completely ignorant or irrelevant

jiāng tài gōng diào yú – yuàn zhě shang gōu
姜太公钓鱼 – 愿者上钩
Fish like Jiang Taigong (prime minister of Zhou Dynasty in Chinese history) , who cast a hook-less and bait-less line for the fish that wants to be caught – ask for willing victim or collaborator

Chinese Idioms -- jìn shuǐ lóu tái

近水楼台

Waterfront pavilion --- the benefit of a favourable position

Fan Zhongyan (989 --- 1052) was a great statesman and celebrated literary man of the Song Dynasty. He was honest and frank and knew his subordinates well enough to assign them qppropriates jobs. He served as the prefect of Qiantang, present-day Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province. All of his staff members and had an ideal assignment, except Su Lin. Su was an official, stationed in a remote area. He didn't have many chances to meet Fan, and was quite unhappy about his isolation. One day he wrote a poem and sent it to Fan Zhongyan. The poem included these lines:

A waterfront pavilion receives the moonlight first;

Sun-facing flowers find it easier to proclaim spring. Fan immediately understood Su Lin's intention and recommended him for a suitable promotion.

From Su Lin's poem people drew the idiom 近水楼台 (Jìn shuǐ lóu tái) --- sometimes, people quote the whole line of the poem --- 近水楼台先得月 (Jìn shuǐ lóu tái xiān dé yuè, a waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first) --- and use it as an idiom to suggest that person in a favourable position wins favour first, that is, when you have close relations with someone influential, you have good opportunities. It's somewhat like the English proverb "it's easy to fetch water when a river is near".

近水楼台 jìn shuǐ lóu tái 　　

解释

靠近水边的楼台。比喻由于地处近便而获得优先的机会。

故事　　

北宋时著名的政治家和文学家范仲淹，在杭州任知州时，在他身边任职的很多官员，大多得到过他的推荐或提拔。只有一个叫苏鳞的人，因为他在杭州所属的外县做巡查，所以没被范仲淹推荐。一次，苏鳞因事到杭州见范仲淹，趁机写了一首诗，其中两句："近水楼台先得月，向阳花木易为春。"暗示范仲淹只提拔身边的人。范仲淹看了诗以后，立即写了推荐苏鳞的信，使他的愿望得以实现。这个成语出自《清夜录》，比喻由于环境或职务上的便利而获得优先的机会。

Lesson 26 Taking a Bus

1.   这车到东方小区吗？

Zhè chē dào Dōngfāng xiǎoqū ma?

Does this bus go to Dongfang community?

2.   买一张票。

Mǎi yì zhāng piào.

Ticket, please.

3.   到了请你告诉我。

Dàole qǐng nǐ gàosu wǒ.

Please let me know when we get there.

4.   在哪儿换车？

Zài nǎr huàn chē?

Where do I change the bus

Chinese Idioms -- bù hán ér lì

不寒而栗 (bù hán ér lì)

Shiver all over though not cold --- tremble with fear

Yi Zhou was known as a rigid official in Chinese history who lived in the Han Dynasty and died in the year 117BC. He had been county and prefecture magistrates. He was strict with laws and stern to law-breakers. And he was not swayed by personal considerations. Nor did he shrink from bigwigs. Outlaws were very much afraid of him and social order improved significantly in the counties under his jurisdiction.

After he was promoted to the position of Magistrate of Nanyang between present-day Central China's Henan and Hubei provinces, Yi Zong learned that one of his immediate subordinates named Ning Cheng was extremely ruthless. Ning Cheng was in charge of tariffs. He usurped power and cruelly victimized the people. Without hesitation, the new magistrate Yi Zhong investigated and verified the brutal official's crimes and brought him to justice.

Later, Yi Zhong was transferred to Ding Xiang in what is now the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He was now Magistrate of Ding Xiang, an area where offenders ran wild. Upon his arrival, Yi Zhong took drastic measures. He sentenced to death more than two hundred criminals from the prison who he felt had been underpunished and had taken off their fetters and handcuffs without permission. Also killed at the same time were more than two hundred people who had secretly visited those major criminals and helped them take off their shackles.

This incident shocked the Ding Xiang area. People high and low were talking about how Yi Zhong killed more than four hundred people in one day. Although it was not cold that day, many people shivered at the news. Those who had violated het law or had done evil began to restrain and behave themselves.

Such massive execution really struck people with horror. And from the phrase about people's reaction comes our idiom 不寒而栗 (bù hán ér lì). We use it to describe the feeling of being terrified