自慚形穢 (Zì cán xíng huì)(1) to feel ashamed of one’s inferiority (idiom)(2) to feel inferior From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=210 “Ashamed of one’s own filthy appearance (自慚形穢)” was originally “Realization of my filthy appearance (覺我形穢)”. Historical records narrated that Wei Jie (衛玠) of the Jin Dynasty had a handsome appearance. He was well-known for his good looks, where…
Month: November 2024
002. The Beach of Yasila
Myths, Legends and Peruvian Stories (Mitos, Leyendas y Cuentos Peruanos)Selections and Notes by José María Arguedas and Francisco Izquierdo RíosCosta – Leyenda (Coast – Myth) 002. La Playa De Yasila (The Beach of Yasila) From the Port of Paita, Piura Region. Told by señor Miguel Carrilo, 70 years old, to Consuelo Vatgas, a fourth-year high…
Zhuān xīn zhì zhì (專心致志 – 专心致志)
專心致志 (Zhuān xīn zhì zhì)With single-hearted devotion (idiom) From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=528 Mengzi was a great thinker from the Warring States period, with later generations honoring him as the Second Sage (亞聖). At the time, people were very dissatisfied with the way the King of Qi governed the state, and with the lack of assistance to the…
001. The White Sand Dune (El Medano Blanco)
Myths, Legends and Peruvian Stories (Mitos, Leyendas y Cuentos Peruanos)Selections and Notes by José María Arguedas and Francisco Izquierdo RíosCosta – Leyenda (Coast – Myth) From Sechura, District of the Province and Region of Piura. Told by Mrs. Josefa Amaya to Avelina Paiva, a fourth-year high school student at the private school “Our Lady of…
Zhǐ lù wéi mǎ (指鹿為馬 – 指鹿为马)
指鹿為馬 (Zhǐ lù wéi mǎ)(1) making a deer out to be a horse (idiom)(2) deliberate misrepresentation From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=11 Zhao Gao was a treacherous and ambitious man who wanted to usurp power from the emperor. When Emperor Qin Shihuang died of illness, he falsely sent out an imperial edict, ordering Qin Shihuang’s oldest son, Fusu, to…
083. The Twelve Redoubled Words
Pacts with the DevilFrom Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 083. The Twelve Redoubled Words (Las Doce Palabras Redobladas) (Told by St. Zoila Guerrero Gutiérrez, Prado of Peñaflor. February 1923.) A widow had a very beautiful daughter, and they were served in…
Zhī hū zhě yě (之乎者也 – 之乎者也)
之乎者也 (Zhī hū zhě yě)(1) four common characters of classical Chinese (idiom); fig. semi-incomprehensible talk(2) double Dutch(3) all Greek to me From link. Source: Northern Song – Wen Ying – Xiangshan yelu (Unnofficial records from Mt. Xiangshan) – 北宋·文瑩《湘山野錄》 In 959 A.D., Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou (Chai Rong) suddenly fell ill and passed away….
082. The Generous Devil
Pacts with the DevilFrom Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 082. The Generous Devil (El Diablo Generoso) A gentleman had a large estate which lacked irrigation, and this left him with nothing but losses in dry years (e.g. droughts). In the neighboring…
Záo bì tōu guāng (鑿壁偷光 – 凿壁偷光)
鑿壁偷光 (Záo bì tōu guāng)(1) lit. to pierce the wall to steal a light (idiom)(2) fig. to study diligently in the face of hardship From link. Source: Liu Xin’s Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital – Book Two (劉歆 – 西京雜記·卷二) Kuang Heng was diligent and studious, but his family [was poor and] couldn’t afford…
081. The Son of the Devil
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 081. The Son of the Devil (El Hijo Del Diablo) Not many years ago there lived in Petorca a small and chubby old man of about seventy years old, who was known by the name…