From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 033. The Pequenes Seller (El Vendedor De Pequenes) [Nguyen: A pequén is a Chilean Onion Empanada.] (A variant of the previous story.) A Frenchman recently arrived in Santiago and…
Month: January 2024
Wànshì jùbèi, zhǐ qiàn dōngfēng (萬事俱備，只欠東風 – 万事俱备，只欠东风)
萬事俱備，只欠東風 (Wànshì jùbèi, zhǐ qiàn dōngfēng) (1) all is ready except what is crucial(2) 只欠東風 zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng – all we need is an east wind (idiom); lacking only one tiny crucial item From this link on baidu: link. Source: Ming Dynasty – Luo Guanzhong‘s “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” – Chapter Forty-Nine: “Kongming…
032. The Coquito Nuts Seller
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 032. The Coquito Nuts Seller (El Vendedor De Coquitos) [Nguyen: to appreciate this very short story, I’d need to retain the original Spanish-French conversations, as the Spanish-speaking seller and…
Wán bì guī Zhào (完璧歸趙 – 完璧归赵)
完璧歸趙 (Wán bì guī Zhào)Lit. Returning the jade to ZhaoFig. Return of an item to its original owner From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=341 During the Warring States Period, the King of Qin wanted to use fifteen of his cities in exchange for the Heshibi jade disk (lit. Mr. He’s jade) from the State of Zhao. Due to the…
031. The Roasted Capon
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 031. The Roasted Capon (El Capon Asado) (The young man D. A. Freire, from Santiago, told me about it in 1911.) A gentleman went out for a horse ride…
Tuì bì sān shè (退避三舍 – 退避三舍)
退避三舍 (Tuì bì sān shè) (1) lit. to retreat [a distance of] three day’s march (idiom); fig. to give way in the face of superior strength(2) a strategic withdrawal From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=105 The “Zuo Zhuan – Duke Xi‘s 23rd year” recorded that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Xian of Jin doted on his concubine,…
030. The Three Nasal Sisters
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 030. The Three Nasal Sisters (Las Tres Gangosas) [Nguyen: Gangoso is someone with nasal voice.] (Told by the 12-year old boy Alfonso González, a native of Santiago, in 1912.)…
Tǔ bēng wǎ jiě (土崩瓦解 – 土崩瓦解)
土崩瓦解 (Tǔ bēng wǎ jiě)(0) Lit. Earth crumbling and tiles breaking(1) to collapse(2) to fall apart From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=173 Source: 秦之積衰，天下土崩瓦解。（西漢·司馬遷《史記·秦始皇本紀》）[With] Qin‘s long decline, the earth collapsed and tiles cracked everywhere in the world. (Western Han, Sima Qian – Records of the Grand Historian – Biography of Qin Shihuang) “Earth (foundation) crumbling, or landslide (土崩)” indicates…
029. The Three Brothers Who Left Home To Learn To Speak
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 029. The Three Brothers Who Left Home To Learn To Speak [Properly] (029. Los Tres Hermanos Que Salieron A Aprender A Hablar) (Recounted by the 12-year old boy M….
Tiě chǔ mó zhēn (鐵杵磨針 – 铁杵磨针)
鐵杵磨針 (Tiě chǔ mó zhēn)Lit. Grinding an iron pestle to make an embroidery needle. From https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E9%90%B5%E6%9D%B5%E7%A3%A8%E9%87%9D/1923839 Source: this phrase originated from Zhu Mu (祝穆)’s Fang Yu Sheng Lan (方輿勝覽) in the Southern Song Dynasty: Passing by the small creek, he met an old woman grinding an iron pestle; upon asking her what she was doing,…