The Chinese Idioms, Allusions, Legends and Folktales

Chinese Idioms and Allusions  Idioms are fixed phrases, expressions and sentences quoted from ancient literature works, which are concise and meaningful.  Allusions are expressions and phrases which have their origins in stories, quoted in ancient poems and other literature works, or in other sources.  The two are regarded, later, the same: comprehensive, integrated and compendious fixed expressions, phrases or sentences.

Three basic ways in which they are originated  1. Chinese Idioms and Allusions Derived from Refined Quotations from Ancient Poems and Other Literary Works  2. Chinese Idioms and Allusions Originating from the Ancient Chinese Stories and Fables and Stories in Historical Works and Folktales  3. Idioms Which Are Derived from Slang and Colloquialism

Chinese Idioms and Allusions Derived from Refined Quotations from Ancient Poems and Other Literary Works  One day out of sight seems like three years far apart (the Book of Poetry)  When Pi reaches its utmost, Tai occurs (Zhou yi)  Press on without letup (The Biography of Zuo Qiuming)  Having passed through the hall into the inner chamber (The Anal acts of Confucius)  Mr. Unreality and Mr. Nothing (Historical Records)  Green plums and bamboo horses (Singing Through the Long Lane by Li Bai)

Chinese Idioms and Allusions Derived from Refined Quotations from Ancient Poems and Other Literary Works  Diligence makes a master (On progress in Study) (Diligence makes a master,while negligence spoils a man; independent thinking results in success, while depending on others’ ideas gets one nowhere.)  Rubbish coated in gold and jade (An Orange Peddler’s Tale)  Crystal-like heart kept in the jade flask---pure and innocent friendship (On the Farewell Dinner in Honor of Xin Jian in Hibiscus Tavern)

Chinese Idioms and Allusions Originating from the Ancient Chinese Stories and Fables and Stories in Historical Works and Folktales  It is like adding extra feet to a snake when it is drawn up  Going to the South by driving the carriage northward  When a snipe grapples with a clam, the fisherman will benefit  Helping the shoots grow by pulling them upward  Learning the way of walking in Handan— Awkward imitation produces even worse effect.

Chinese Idioms and Allusions Originating from the Ancient Chinese Stories and Fables and Stories in Historical Works and Folktales  Dongshi, an ugly woman, imitates the frowning of the beauty Xishi  To put up two examples which contradict each other; to contradict oneself  To trust chances and windfalls  The food handed out in contempt  The man in Qi State worrying about the collapse of the sky; the man who worried about the impossible catastrophy

Chinese Idioms and Allusions Originating from the Ancient Chinese Stories and Fables and Stories in Historical Works and Folktales  The sound of the song was still echoing in the hall  Xia Li Ba Ren—works of popular literature and art  He lost his horse, but gained good luck  To leave three sides of the net open—to give a way-out to the wrongdoers  To sleep on the firewood and taste gall bladder— to experience all the hardships in preparation for revenge

Chinese Idioms and Allusions Originating from the Ancient Chinese Stories and Fables and Stories in Historical Works and Folktales  All around were folk songs of Chu State—to be completely isolated  To offer one’s services as voluntarily as Mao Sui did  Three moves by Mencius’ mother  Lord Ye’s love for dragons—professed love for what one really fears  To make three calls at the thatched cottage— repeated solicitation for an important person  To quench one’s thirst by thinking of plums

Chinese Idioms and Allusions Originating from the Ancient Chinese Stories and Fables and Stories in Historical Works and Folktales  Golden millet dream—dream full of fantasy  The proverbial donkey in Gui Zhou has exhausted its tricks—at one’s wits end  To bring the painted dragon to life by drawing up the pupils of its eyes—to add the touch that brings a work of art to life  To occur for the first time—unprecedented  A seamless robe of the Heaven—flawless

 To tie one’s hair to the beam and stab one’s thighs with an awl to avoid dozing when one studies—grueling studies  To lag behind Sun Shan—fail in a competitive examination  Punish somebody by means of his/her own  A single slip incurs lasting sorrow—error of a moment becomes a regret of lifetime Chinese Idioms and Allusions Originating from the Ancient Chinese Stories and Fables and Stories in Historical Works and Folktales

Idioms Which Are Derived from Slang and Colloquialism  Pedantic terms; literary jargons  To do woodwork before the door of Lu Ban, the master of carpenter—display one’s slight skill before an expert  The three religions and nine schools of thought—various religious sects and people in various trades  To substitute martens with tails of dogs—a wretched sequel to a fine work  Once spoken, a word cannot be overtaken, even by a team of four horses—what is said cannot be unsaid

Legends and Folk Tales   Legends are stories about the gods and goddesses, or about the deified heroes and heroines. They were innocent accounts in the primitive societies about natural phenomena and social lives.   Folk tales are the stories in relation to historical personnel, historical events and ancient relics, which are created by the laboring people and spread orally from generation to generation. They are an account of history.

Legends and Folk Tales  The Creation of the World  Nv Wa Created Humans  Yu Gong Wanted to Move the Two Mountains  A Love Story of Niu Lang, the Farmer, and Zhi Nv, the Weaveress from the Heaven

Legends and Folk Tales  Meng Jiang Nv Cried the Great Wall Down  Dong Yong, a Farmer, Married Qi Xian Nv, a Celestial Fairy  The Love Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, China’s Romeo and Juliet  A Biography of the White Snake