053. Stone Of Pain And Knife Of Love (Piedra de Dolor Y Cuchillo de Amor) There was a very beautiful princess whom the devil was courting, but the princess spurned his advance. From then on, the devil searched for a way to take revenge on her refusal. One day when he was prowling about the…
Pǐ fū zhī yǒng (匹夫之勇 – 匹夫之勇)
匹夫之勇 (Pǐ fū zhī yǒng) Lit. the valor of an ordinary (coarse) man According to “Guoyu – Discourses of Yue (越語), Upper Chapter”, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the King of Yue, Goujian, was defeated by the King of Wu, Fuchai, and was imprisoned in the State of Wu for three years, [thus] having…
052. The Marble Statue
052. The Marble Statue (La Estatua De Mármol) A woman had a grown son who decided to do nothing in life, and so he remained in his mother’s house, loafing around and wasting his time. The mother insisted to him that he had to learn a trade, but the young man refused to learn any…
Nèi zhù zhī xián (內助之賢 – 内助之贤)
內助之賢 (Nèi zhù zhī xián) Lit. A Virtuous Spouse (Wife) Yan Ying was the chancellor of Duke Jing of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was of short stature, being less than six chi tall (equivalent to four feet three inches in modern measurements). However, he was very talented and was well known…
051. Bellaflor
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…