大公無私 (Dà gōng wú sī) – Being Impartial Without [Any] Prejudice Please refer to the following link for an extensive discussion of this story: http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp255_zuozhuan_qi_xi.pdf In the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Ping of Jin once asked Qi Huangyang (祁黃羊): “Nanyang (南陽) County lacks a county magistrate, who do you think would be the most…
117. The Girl Without Arms
117. The Girl Without Arms (La Niña Sin Brazos) A widower had a beautiful daughter who was very generous. She had many other virtues, but this was the one that stood out the most: [her] compassion for those in needs. Many beggars and poor folks had the habit of approaching the door to her house…
SUP – 2022/06/18 – Circumnavigating Brooks Island, Richmond CA
Saturday June 18, 2022. High tide at 2:52AM, 6.4 ft; low tide at 10:01AM, -1.3 ft; sunrise at 5:45AM; sunset at 8:36pm. Forecast wind: NNW at 2.6 knot, with high wind speed of 10.4 knot at 2:45pm. Total paddling distance: 6+ miles in relatively calm waters. I arrived at the Barbara and Jay Vincent Park…
Dà cái xiǎo yòng (大材小用 – 大材小用)
大材小用 (Dà cái xiǎo yòng) (1) using a talented person in an insignificant position(2) a sledgehammer to crack a nut Source: Song Dynasty – in Lu You‘s poem ‘Composed in the morning of sending Xin You’an (e.g. Xin Qiji) away to the imperial court’ (送辛幼安殿撰造朝): Great talent yet being utilized inappropriately [e.g. underutilized] has been…
116. The Old Man Pretending To Be A Child
116. The Old Man Pretending To Be A Child (El Viejo Se Hace Niño) There was a very old man who was very afraid of death; he was so afraid [of death] that he always wandered around [e.g. turning things over] in his head thinking when death would come for [to] him. And with so…
Bù zì liàng lì (不自量力 – 不自量力)
不自量力 (Bù zì liàng lì) – Lit. to not properly gauge one’s own strength In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were two vassal states in what is now Henan Province: one was the State of Zheng (鄭國), one [the other] was the State of Xi (息國). In 712 B.C., the State of Xi launched…
115. The King’s Chef
115. The King’s Chef (El Cocinero Del Rey) Once upon a time, in the days when birds had teeth, there was a rich and powerful king who was in the habit of frequently strolling through his gardens. One day on one of those strolls, he met a little old lady who greeted him with affection…
Dǎ cǎo jīng shé (打草驚蛇 – 打草惊蛇)
打草驚蛇 (Dǎ cǎo jīng shé) Lit. beat the grass to scare the snake Explanation: It is a metaphor for careless actions which allow the other party to be aware and be on guard. In the [Southern] Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Wang Lu (王魯). When he was an official in the court system…
114. The Dragon Prince
114. The Dragon Prince (El Príncipe Dragón) Once upon a time there was a very well-off farmhouse where a very pretty and sharp-witted girl was employed as a cowherd[ess]. One day, while she was watching over the oxen, she heard shrieks and loud groans coming from the forest, as if someone had been wounded. Fearing…
Chéng yě Xiāo Hé, bài yě Xiāo Hé (成也蕭何敗也蕭何 – 成也萧何败也萧何)
成也蕭何敗也蕭何 (Chéng yě Xiāo Hé, bài yě Xiāo Hé) Lit. raised up by Xiao He, cast down by Xiao He (idiom); Fig. a situation where one’s success and failure are both due to the same factor. Xiao He of Western Han was an important advisor to the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu…