不恥下問 (Bù chǐ xià wèn) To not feel ashamed to ask and learn from one’s subordinates (inferiors) Explanation: It is not shameful to ask someone who is less learned or of lower status than oneself. This describes someone who is open-minded and eager to learn. This idiom originated from “The Analects – Gongye Chang“: Being…
Month: February 2022
095. The Serpent with Seven Heads and Seven Tails
095. The Seven-Headed and Seven-Tailed Serpent (La Serpiente de Siete Cabezas y Siete Colas) Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons and he did not know which among them to name as his heir to succeed him when he died. After much pondering, he decided to leave his crown to…
Bó Lè xiāng mǎ (伯樂相馬 – 伯乐相马)
伯樂相馬 (Bó Lè xiāng mǎ) Bo Le physiognomizing horses Explanation: Bo Le can discover thousand-li horses. This is a metaphor for being great at discovering and selecting talents. [Note: from Wikipedia in the Bo Le page linked above, qianlima 千里馬 “thousand-li horse”, which was supposedly able to gallop one thousand li (approximately 400 km) in…
094. The Demon Helps The Sharecropper
094. The Demon Helps The Sharecropper (El Demonio Ayuda Al Casero) [Note 1: the Spanish word used in this story is “Casero”, which translates to “landlord”. In my opinion, however, a better substitute would be “caretaker”, or “sharecropper”.] [Note 2: the Spanish word used in this story is “cavar”, which is to dig, but I…
Bīn zhì rú guī (賓至如歸 – 宾至如归)
賓至如歸 (Bīn zhì rú guī) (1) guests feel at home (in a hotel, guest house etc)(2) a home away from home Explanation: Guests arriving here are like returning to their own homes. It is used to describe the host’s warm and thoughtful hospitality toward guests, which leaves the guests fully satisfied. This idiom came from…
093. The Three Brothers
093. The Three Brothers (Los Tres Hermanos) Once upon a time there were three brothers who had neither father nor mother. The parents had died without leaving a will, and not knowing who would inherit the property, they decided to go to the king to mediate the matter. They set out in the order from…
Bì gōng bì jìng (必恭必敬 – 必恭必敬)
必恭必敬 (Bì gōng bì jìng) (1) reverent and respectful(2) extremely deferential Explanation: Extremely respectful, it is also used to describe [someone] who is dignified and polite. This idiom comes from the Book of Poetry – Minor Odes of the Kingdom / Lesser Court Hymns – Xiao Bian (http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=Chinese/uvaGenText/tei/shi_jing/AnoShih.xml;chunk.id=AnoShih.2;toc.depth=1;toc.id=AnoShih.2;brand=default): “Even the mulberry trees and the Zi…
092. The Candle of Life
092. The Candle of Life (La Vela de La Vida) There was a very poor father who had many children. As he was so poor, one day he saw the need to leave his village and go out in the world to earn a living to feed his family. And the first thing that occurred…