1. Additional Knowledge
The Year of Monkey
Monkey Idioms

2. in the 12-year rotation on the Chinese
The Year of the Monkey ranks ninth
in the 12-year rotation on the Chinese
zodiac, which starts with rat, followed
by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and ends with pig.
"The monkey is a symbol of cleverness
and vitality and it is one of the best friends of human beings,''

3. For thousands of years, Chinese people have regarded the monkey as a symbol of good luck.
As "hou," the word for monkey
in Chinese has the same pronunciation
as the word for "duke,'' monkey images
often appear as part of traditional deco-
rations on windows, walls and clothing.
Being a duke, in a broader sense, simply means achieving success in life.

4. If a monkey is hanging a Chinese
chop, or seal, on a maple tree, the picture
can be literally read as "fenghou guayin'‘
or "taking the seal to become a duke.''
When a monkey sits on the back of a
horse -- "mashang fenghou,'' it can mean
"to become a duke very soon.''
The Ming Dynasty novelist Wu Cheng
'en undoubtedly played a great part in

5. Although the monkey is regarded as
extending the popularity of the monkey with his classic work "Journey to the West.''
Although the monkey is regarded as
being very clever, the Chinese also joke
about its short-sightedness in the idiom
"zhaosan musi,'' which means something
like seeing four but accepting three.
Story?

6. It was said that an old man of the Warring
States Period kept a group of monkeys. Every
day he fed each monkey four chestnuts for
breakfast and another four for supper.
Eventually, the old man couldn't afford it
any more. So he asked the monkeys if he could
feed them only three chestnuts in the morning
and four at night.
The monkeys screeched, jumping up and
down in fury. Then the old man proposed
four chestnuts in the morning, and three at
night.

7. The monkeys were so happy to get four for breakfast that they overlooked the fact that were going to be short-changed in the evening.
Somehow, the idiom's meaning later changed into "playing the playboy,'' which also describes a characteristic of monkeys.

8. Generally speaking, Chinese people are
very fond of monkeys. It is believed that
the monkey would drive away evil, and
also that he would keep even the wildest
of horses under control. This has develop-
ed into a folk belief that people born in
the Year of the Monkey will have better
Luck than those born in the Year of Goat,
which is the preceding year.

9. 1.monkey on one's back 背上的猴子 难以摆脱的负担
I’m really hard; it’s a monkey on my back !
2. monkey around.
I wish that he would be more serious. 
He wants to just monkey around.
To handle something very
casually; to do something without
a real purpose; to play around.

10. 3.get this monkey off my back
e.g. I have to get this monkey off my back.
I have to stop gambling
stop a bad habit, be rid of a
problem or hang-up
4.Monkey business
(1)是指不道德或不合法的行为，往往是偷偷摸摸和具有欺骗性的行为，例如盗用公款等。 
There's a lot of monkey business going on at
city hall, with officials getting money under

11. 5.to make a monkey out of somebody
the table from those who want the contract
to build the new airport
(2)不一定指当官的人贪污腐化，一般人当中
也可能出现不轨行为
I think there's some kind of monkey
business going on in that house across the
street. People going in and out all day long;
maybe they're selling drugs or something
5.to make a monkey out of somebody

12. to make a monkey out of somebody。 把某人弄得好像一个傻瓜一样。
Peter made a monkey out of me the other
day. He told me the party Saturday night
was formal, so I wore a suit and tie. But
everybody else was wearing a tee-shirt.
It sure made me feel like a fool
to make a monkey out of somebody。
把某人弄得好像一个傻瓜一样。 

13. e.g. Tom made a monkey out of himself
by jumping up and down and yelling when
his father wouldn't let him go to the movie.
汤姆因为他爸爸不让他去看电影就一个
劲地上下乱跳，嘴巴里还大声乱叫，简直把
自己弄得像个傻瓜一样
The End