From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 049. La Cuca (The Cuca) (D. Francisco Vásquez, 1911.)An old lady who lived in Cordillera Province told this story to the grandmother of the boy Vásquez, who [in turn] told me this and many other…
Yǎn ěr dào líng (掩耳盜鈴 – 掩耳盗铃)
掩耳盜鈴 (Yǎn ěr dào líng) (1) lit. to cover one’s ears whilst stealing a bell(2) to deceive oneself(3) to bury one’s head in the sand (idiom) From https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E6%8E%A9%E8%80%B3%E7%9B%9C%E9%88%B4 There is a story in “Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals – Knowing Oneself”: after the Fan family (范氏), one of the six noble families from the…
048. The Piguchen
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 048. The Piguchen (El Piguchen) (D. Francisco Vásquez, 1911.) The Piguchén is a very old culebrón, about half a meter long and covered in bristles (needles); it is black and has wings. It lives in…
Xiǎo shí liǎo liǎo (小時了了 – 小時了了)
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…
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…