014. The Yellow Water (El Agua Amarilla) A king who had become king when he was still very young, was in love with the daughter of one of the guards who looked after the lands next to the palace. This guard’s house was within the boundaries of the palace’s gardens and the king used to…
Fù jīng qǐng zuì (負荊請罪 – 负荆请罪)
負荊請罪 (Fù jīng qǐng zuì) (1) lit. to bring a bramble and ask for punishment (idiom) (2) fig. to offer sb a humble apology From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=46 According to the Records of The Grand Historian, Chapter Eighty One, Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, there were two worthy [great] ministers from the State of Zhao…
SUP – 2022/09/03 – Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
For this Labor Day weekend, I decided to head back out to Point Reyes National Seashore in Western Marin County and explored Drakes Estero. The Estero (estuary) is named after Sir Francis Drake, an English explorer who supposedly was the first European to explore the area in 1579 during his circumnavigation of the world. There…
013. Juan Bobo
013. Juan The Fool (Juan Bobo) There was a boy called Juan Bobo. As he did not like to be called Juan Bobo, one day he killed an ox to invite [treat] everyone to a feast and as a result they called him Juan Bobazo. [Nguyen: “bobo” means foolish, silly, dumb, innocent, naive, etc. And…
Fù shuǐ nán shōu (覆水難收 – 覆水难收)
覆水難收 (Fù shuǐ nán shōu) (1) spilled water is difficult to retrieve (idiom)(2) it’s no use crying over spilled milk(3) what’s done is done and can’t be reversed(4) the damage is done(5) once divorced, there’s no reuniting From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=413 Jiang Taigong, whose original name was Jiang Shang (姜尚), lived in the Zhou Dynasty. He had…
012. The Three Little Oranges
012. The Three Little Oranges (Last Tres Naranjitas) Once upon a time there was a son of a king who was looking for the three little oranges of love. Riding on horseback, he searched for them in all the gardens that he came across, but had not managed to find them. Whenever he asked, in…
Fèn bù gù shēn (奮不顧身 – 奋不顾身)
奮不顧身 (Fèn bù gù shēn) (1) to dash on bravely with no thought for one’s personal safety (idiom); undaunted by dangers (2) regardless of perils This idiom comes from the “Book of Han – Biography of Sima Qian“: However, the servants observed him to be a noble person, was filial to his parents, had the…
SUP – 08/27/2022 – Tidewater Boating Center, Oakland CA
Tidewater Boating Center is located on the Oakland side, and is just across from the Oakland Estuary from the southern end of Alameda Island. From here, you can choose between four directions to paddle in. The first is to go north past Coast Guard Island toward Jack London Aquatic Center; the second is to go…
011. The Two Hunchbacks
011. The Two Hunchbacks (Los Dos Jorobados) In a village there lived two hunchbacks whom everyone knew. One of them, [being] of a brave temperament, liked to go out in the summer nights to take in the fresh air at the threshing floors, because [there] he could be alone and safe from the occasional mockery,…
Fēn dào yáng biāo (分道揚鑣 – 分道扬镳)
分道揚鑣 (Fēn dào yáng biāo) (1) lit. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom) (2) fig. to part ways Source: “History of the Northern Dynasties – Wei Clan – Biography of Duke of Hejian” (《北史·魏諸宗室·河間公齊傳》), Gaozu said: “Luoyang is my territory, you [each] should raise the horse bits and go separate ways….