人心如面 (Rén xīn rú miàn) (1) Literally, someone’s mind is like his appearance, no one is alike (2) Everyone is different Source: “Zuozhuan – Duke Xiang (襄公)’s 31st year” Zichan said: “People’s mind is akin to people’s appearance, no one is alike. How can I dare to presume that your appearance is like that of…
065. The Coal Miner and Death
065. The Coal Miner and Death (El Carbonero Y La Muerte) Once upon a time there was a coal miner who lived in a modest hut in the middle of the mountain; he was so poor that he had nothing to eat but beans, corn cakes and cheese. One night in which he was having…
Rén jié dì líng (人傑地靈 – 人杰地灵)
人傑地靈 (Rén jié dì líng) (1) Illustrious hero, spirit of a locale (idiom) (2) A place derives glory from an illustrious son (3) Great men are born from the majestic spirit of the land Source – Tang Dynasty Wang Bo‘s Preface to the Prince Teng’s Pavilion (滕王閣序) contains the following lines (literal translation): Brilliance of…
064. The Little Roebuck
064. The Little Roebuck (El Pequeño Corzo) A boy and a girl, who were siblings, lived at home with their stepmother. The stepmother was an evil woman and did not love them. One day, the boy said that he could no longer put up with her anymore, and that he’d [decided to] run away. His…
Rén fēi shèng xián shú néng wú guò (人非聖賢孰能無過 – 人非圣贤孰能无过)
(人非聖賢孰能無過) Rén fēi shèng xián shú néng wú guò Lit. Men are not saints, who among us doesn’t have any faults From “Zuo Zhuan – Duke Xuan Second Year“: Is there anyone who hasn’t any faults? There is no better virtue than to be able to correct one’s own faults. Story: Duke Ling of Jin…
063. The Goddaughter Of Saint Peter
063. The Goddaughter of Saint Peter (La Ahijada De San Pedro) There was an old couple who did not have any children and were always begging Saint Peter to give them a daughter. At last, the compassionate [, Almighty] God gave them a daughter and Saint Peter came down to see them and they made…
Medicine – 001 – The Diagnosis
Today is Father’s Day and I just want to give a big shout out to my dad, who’s been courageously fighting a tough battle since the start of the year. On our annual family trip in early January, my dad started noticing his urine was of a dark yellow color. He didn’t pay too much…
Qǐng jūn rù wèng (請君入甕 – 請君入瓮)
請君入甕 (Qǐng jūn rù wèng) (1) lit. Sir, please enter the boiling pot (idiom)(2) fig. to give sb a taste of his own medicine From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=366 At the time when Empress Wu was ruling [over China] in the Tang Dynasty, Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen served together as judicial ministers in investigating and hearing [criminal]…
062. The Dead Man’s Organs
062. The Dead Man’s Organs (La Asadura Del Muerto) [Nguyen: technically speaking, “asadura” translates to “offal”, which is also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, and is the organs of a butchered animal. I chose to keep it as “organs” in this story.] Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived…
Qiǎo qǔ háo duó (巧取豪奪 – 巧取豪夺)
巧取豪奪 (Qiǎo qǔ háo duó) (1) Lit. Skilled thievery and forceful robbery (2) To take away (others’ money and/or property) by trickery or by force From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=328 Mi Fu (米黻), also known as Mi Fu (米芾), courtesy name Yuanzhang (元章), was from the Xiangyang area in the Song Dynasty. [When he was alive,] He acted…