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…
113. Juan And Half
113. Juan And Half (Juan y Medio) Once upon a time there was a soldier named Juan And Half, who could eat the communal meal for seven soldiers and still remained hungry. One day, the captain called him in and said: How is it that you are never full from eating? [Note: In Spanish, his…
Cǐ dì wú yín sān bǎi liǎng (此地無銀三百兩 – 此地无银三百两)
此地無銀三百兩 (Cǐ dì wú yín sān bǎi liǎng) Lit. 300 silver taels not hidden here (idiom); fig. to reveal what one intends to hide From: https://www.chinesewords.org/idiom/show-3675.html Story: Once upon a time there was a man name Zhang San (張三, lit. Zhang the Third) who liked to act cleverly. He had saved up three hundred taels…
112. The Wolf Who Thinks The Moon Is A Wheel of Cheese
112. The Wolf Who Thinks The Moon Is A Wheel Of Cheese (El Lobo Cree Que La Luna Es Queso) One night, a very hungry wolf was going round and round in the forest in search of something to eat, but no animal was within his reach. In one such instance, he ran into a…