Author: nlt

四面楚歌 (Sì miàn Chǔ gē) (1) lit. surrounded on all sides by the songs of Chu (idiom)(2) fig. surrounded by enemies, isolated and without help From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=41 According to the “Records of the Grand Historian – 7th book – Biography of Xiang Yu“: After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang…

四海之內皆兄弟 (Sì hǎi zhī nèi jiē xiōng dì) Lit. Within the four seas all men are his brothers From https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E5%9B%9B%E6%B5%B7%E4%B9%8B%E5%85%A7%E7%9A%86%E5%85%84%E5%BC%9F/833645 Source: Sima Niu (司馬牛) worriedly said: “Everyone has brothers, and I alone do not!” Zixia (子夏) replied: “I have heard people said ‘Life and death are preordained, wealth and honors are up to heaven. The…

司空見慣 (Sī kōng jiàn guàn) Lit. The Minister of Works is used to seeing thisFig. A common occurrence From https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E5%8F%B8%E7%A9%BA%E8%A6%8B%E6%85%A3/602937 The poet Liu Yuxi (772 – 842A.D.) was born into a scholarly family where he was heavily influenced by its traditions, and later on became a strong advocate for political reforms in the government. After…

雙管齊下 (Shuāng guǎn qí xià) (1) lit. to paint holding two brushes (idiom); fig. to work on two tasks at the same time(2) to attack one problem from two angles at the same time From https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E9%9B%99%E7%AE%A1%E9%BD%8A%E4%B8%8B/833337 From Tang Dynasty – Zhu Jingxuan (朱景玄)’s Great Painters of Tang – Zhang Zao (唐朝名畫錄·張璪): “His technique in painting…

守株待兔 (Shǒu zhū dài tù) (1) lit. to guard a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits (idiom)(2) to wait idly for opportunities(3) to trust to chance rather than show initiative From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=39 Han Feizi, a political philosopher from the Warring States Period, elaborated that a king’s governance of his people should be in accordance with the times,…