唇亡齒寒 (Chún wáng chǐ hán) Lit. without the lips, the teeth feel the cold (idiom); fig. intimately interdependent In the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Xian of Jin wanted to expand his influence and territory, thus he made up excuses that the neighboring State of [Western] Guo (虢) had often infringed on Jin’s border, so…
Author: nlt
111. The Lying Girl
111. The Lying Girl (La Muchacha Embustera) A farmer had a daughter who brought him lunch everyday to where he was working. On one of those days in which the mother sent the girl over with [his] lunch, she encountered Our Lady on the way. And Our Lady said to her: Would you like to…
Chéng fēng pò làng (乘風破浪 – 乘风破浪)
乘風破浪 (Chéng fēng pò làng) To brave the wind and the billows (idiom); to have high ambitions Explanation: Follow the wind and brave the waves to move forward. This is a metaphor for having great ambitions and being not afraid of difficult circumstances. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the Song Kingdom had a…
110. The Three Stepbrothers
110. The Three Stepbrothers (Los Tres Hermanastros) There were once three stepbrothers. The first was the son of a nobleman, the second was the son of a rich man, and the third was the son of a poor man. As they did not get along well, they decided to travel the world and try their…
Chē shuǐ mǎ lóng (車水馬龍 – 车水马龙)
車水馬龍 (Chē shuǐ mǎ lóng)(1) endless stream of horses and carriages (idiom)(2) heavy traffic Source: “Book of the Later Han – Biography of Mingde, Empress Ma“. Explanation: This idiom was shortened from the words in Empress Dowager Ma’s imperial edict. It describes a bustling scene where [a great number of] carriages and horses are coming…
109. The Three Piglets
109. The Three Piglets (Las Tres Cerditas) Once, three [female] piglets were walking down a small road while being very fearful of encountering a wolf. So they stopped and said among themselves: Sisters, why don’t we build a little hut here and the three of us can stay in it to protect ourselves against the…
Cǎo mù jiē bīng (草木皆兵 – 草木皆兵)
草木皆兵 (Cǎo mù jiē bīng) (1) lit. every tree or bush [is like] an enemy soldier (idiom); fig. to panic and treat everyone as an enemy (2) to feel beleaguered Explanation: To take grasses and trees as enemy soldiers. This describes a frightened and paranoid state of mind due to [psychological] shock. This idiom originated…
108. The Golden Ball
108. The Golden Ball (La Bola De Oro) Once upon a time there was a married couple who had a son, and they were so, so poor that they could not [afford to] feed him. One evening, while the child was asleep, the husband and the wife decided that, since they were starving [to death]…
Cǎo chuán jiè jiàn (草船借箭 – 草船借箭)
草船借箭 (Cǎo chuán jiè jiàn) Lit. using straw boats to borrow arrows (from Romance of The Three Kingdoms). Fig. to use others’ manpower and resources for one’s own ends. Story: When [Zhou] Yu saw that Zhuge Liang had exceptional talents, he was very envious [of him]. One day, Zhou Yu invited Zhuge Liang over to…
107. Death’s Friend
107. The Friend of Death (El Amigo de La Muerte) Once upon a time there was a man who had put all of his efforts into being a just man. He did not feel comfortable with anything for which he disagreed with, and whenever he had to opine on some matter, he judged it as…