The idiom 雞鳴戒旦, literally “the cock crows, announcing the dawn” originates from a poem called the Cock Crows in the Odes Of Qi in the ancient Chinese classic the Book of Poetry. The poem imagines a virtuous woman repeatedly cautioning the licentious and dissolute Duke of Ai to attend to affairs of state when the […]
活用成語:徒勞無功
The ancient Chinese Taoist thinker and philosopher Zhuangzi, in the Revolution of Heaven chapter of the Outer Chapters section of the work attributed to him, wrote the curious phrase 「今蘄行周於魯,是猶推舟於陸也」: “attempting these days to put into practice the old ways of Zhou in Lu is like pushing a boat on dry land.”
活用成語:點石成金
The story of the Midas Touch originates from Greek mythology. It is a cautionary tale of being careful of what you wish for, and of the perils of unchecked greed. In modern usage, it seems to have lost this cautionary aspect, and now simply refers to the ability to transform something pedestrian into something remarkable, […]
活用成語:得寸進尺
The idiom 得寸進尺 is very interesting for several reasons. First of all, it has a very close equivalent in English: “give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.” That is, if you allow somebody something even apparently inconsequential, they may well become greedy and try to get more from you. The second reason it […]
活用成語:三人成虎
This idiom originally comes from the second part of the Strategies of Wei in the ancient Chinese text the Strategies of the Warring States, or Zhan Guo Ce. Wei was one of the major states during the Warring States, a period of political upheaval and weak central government, as was the state of Zhao. When […]
活用成語:懸崖勒馬
The idiom 懸崖勒馬 comes from quite an early work, the Yuan dynasty play Zhi Yong Ding Qi by Zheng Dehui. In the play there is the line “呀!你如今船到江心補漏遲,抵多少臨崖勒馬纔收騎”, which means
活用成語:面紅耳赤
When we say somebody “sees red,” we mean they suddenly become extremely angry. Why red? Perhaps because people’s vision can actually take on a red tinge when they fly into a rage; they have a “sudden rush of blood to the head,” and the blood lends its color to their vision. There is another explanation […]
活用成語:朱門酒肉臭,路有凍死骨
Within the vermilion gates, the smell of wine and meat On the streets outside, frozen bones Prosperity and emaciation are side by side I am far too saddened to speak Du Fu (712AD-770AD) was an important realist poet of the Tang dynasty. He is known as a “poet sage.” His poems are known for their […]
活用成語:螳臂擋車
The “praying” mantis has a triangular head, bulging eyes, and two serrated, very developed forelimbs. A predator, in the insect world it is probably very intimidating. It is still an insect, however, and relatively weak compared to other animals. When it comes across an animal that is stronger than it is, it should be […]
活用成語:同舟共濟
Sun Wu, also known by the honorific titles Sunzi, Master Sun Wu, and the Sage of War, was a famous military strategist from the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Sunzi wrote the Art of War, a work in 13 chapters that is now revered by military strategists and is the most internationally renowned […]