小時了了 (Xiǎo shí liǎo liǎo) Lit. Such and such at an early ageFig. Being bright at an early age does not necessarily bring success upon growing up From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=1058 According to A New Account of the Tales of the World, when Kong Rong was ten years old, he accompanied his father to Luoyang and wanted…
Month: April 2024
047. The Tall Woman
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 047. La Mujer Larga (The Tall Woman) From the Cemetery of Paredones (in the province of Curicó, district of Vichuquén), a very tall woman emerges at midnight [everyday]. When someone approaches her, she shrinks and…
Xǔ xǔ rú shēng (栩栩如生 – 栩栩如生)
栩栩如生 (Xǔ xǔ rú shēng) (1) vivid and lifelike (idiom); true to life(2) realistic From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=684 Zhuangzi was a philosopher in the Warring States Period. He lived in a time when the people suffered from [endless] wars and the lives of human beings were as fragile as those of crickets and ants, always [teetering] in…
046. The Widow
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 046. The Widow (La Viuda) (The young student 17-year old D. Carlos Puccio, of Molina, told me about this story in 1911.) When they were constructing the Molina hospital, those who passed by it at…
Xiǔ mù bù kě diāo yě (朽木不可雕也 – 朽木不可雕也)
朽木不可雕也 (Xiǔ mù bù kě diāo yě) You can’t teach an old dog new tricksLit. Rotten wood cannot be carvedFig. A good-for-nothing, someone who cannot be taught Translated from link. Source: The Analects – Gongye Chang Zai Yu slept in the daytime. Kongzi said: “Rotten wood cannot be carved, a wall of muck cannot be…
045. Another Version
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 045. (Otra Version) Another Version In a country house there lived a young couple with two small children. The wife was a witch and on Thursday nights, while her husband was soundly asleep thanks to…
Xiū qī xiāng guān (休戚相關 – 休戚相关)
休戚相關 (Xiū qī xiāng guān) (1) to share the same interests (idiom)(2) to be closely related(3) to be in the same boat From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=214 Discourses of the States – Latter Discourses of Zhou (國語．周語下) once mentioned a story: Sun Zhou (孫周) was the great-grandson of Duke Xiang of Jin. Due to being pushed aside by…
044. Another Version
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 044. Otra Version (Another Version) (From the young student D. Francisco Vásquez, 15 years old, from Santiago.) In Chimba, Santiago there lived, very long ago, a witch who was married to a shoemaker, to whom…
Xiōng yǒu chéng zhú (胸有成竹 – 胸有成竹)
胸有成竹 (Xiōng yǒu chéng zhú) (1) to plan in advance (idiom)(2) a card up one’s sleeve(3) forewarned is forearmed From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=9 Wen Tong (文同, 1018-1079A.D.), courtesy name Yuke (與可), was from Yongtai (永泰), Zizhou (梓州) (east of present day Yanting County, Sichuan) in the Northern Song Dynasty. He excelled at poetry, literature, calligraphy, and painting,…
043. The Calchona
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 043. The Calchona (Told by the 14-year old child, D. Ramón Fernández G., a student from Santiago, in 1911.) A man, ignorant of his fiancee’s actions, got married to a witch. By certain events that…