051. Bellaflor (literally Beautiful Flower) A father had two sons. The older became a soldier, set out and was in America for many years. When he got tired of being a soldier, he went back to Spain and showed up at his house. On arriving, he discovered that his father had died and that his…
Nòng qiǎo chéng zhuō (弄巧成拙 – 弄巧成拙)
弄巧成拙 (Nòng qiǎo chéng zhuō) (1) to overreach oneself(2) to try to be clever and end up with egg on one’s face From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=144 Mazu Daoyi, whose surname was Ma, was commonly known as Master Ma (Mazu, or 馬祖), and was one of the most famous figures in the history of Chinese Chan Buddhism (Zen)….
050. The Little Butterfly
050. The Little Butterfly (La Mariposita) This was a little butterfly who was happily sweeping the door of her house when she found a penny. And she began to think: “What will I spend it on? What will I spend it on? On sweets? No, no, [for] they’ll call me a sweet-toothed. On almonds? No,…
Nán kē yī mèng (南柯一夢 – 南柯一夢)
南柯一夢 (Nán kē yī mèng) (1) lit. a dream of Nanke (2) fig. dreams of grandeur From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=192 Li Gongzuo (李公佐) of the Tang Dynasty once wrote a short story (傳奇小說, novella) titled “The Governor of Nanke (南柯太守傳)”, where legend had it that in the ninth month of the seventh year of the Emperor Dezong‘s…
049. The Three Lions
049. The Three Lions (Los Tres Leones) A married couple had three sons and the father unfortunately fell ill with malignant (high) fevers that, despite the care lavished on him by his wife, he went to the grave in a short period of time. And when he died, his wife found out that she was…
Míng luò Sūn Shān (名落孫山 – 名落孙山)
名落孫山 (Míng luò Sūn Shān) (1) lit. to fall behind Sun Shan 孫山|孙山[Sun1 Shan1] (who came last in the imperial examination) (idiom)(2) fig. to fail an exam(3) to fall behind (in a competition) From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=8 In the Song Dynasty, there was a man named Sun Shan (孫山) from Wudi (吳地). He was very smart, had…
048. Juan Of Calaís
048. Juan Of Calaís (Juan De Calaís) This was a man who had a small store in a [certain] town, a store that sold fabrics and this sort of things. Being a good merchant that he was, he had the habit of traveling often to the surrounding towns to sell his goods. One day, he…
Mén tíng ruò shì (門庭若市 – 门庭若市)
門庭若市 (Mén tíng ruò shì) (1) front yard as busy as a marketplace (idiom) (2) a place with many visitors From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=128 According to the “Zhan Guo Ce – First Book of Qi“, in the State of Qi from the Warring States Period lived a high official by the name of Zou Ji (鄒忌) who…
047. The Three Hairs of the Devil
047. The Three Hairs of the Devil (Los Tres Pelos Del Diablo) There was [once] a woman who had a lovely boy and a king who had a girl who was very beautiful. But it turned out that the king also wanted to have a boy [for a son], so that he went to see…
Mǎi dú huán zhū (買櫝還珠 – 买椟还珠)
買櫝還珠 (Mǎi dú huán zhū) (1) to buy a wooden box and return the pearls inside (2) to show poor judgment (idiom) From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=200 The book “Han Feizi – Outer Congeries of Sayings, The Upper Left Series” recorded that one day the king of Chu said to Tian Jiu (田鳩): “The philosophy of Mozi is…