110. The Three Stepbrothers (Los Tres Hermanastros) There were once three stepbrothers. The first was the son of a nobleman, the second was the son of a rich man, and the third was the son of a poor man. As they did not get along well, they decided to travel the world and try their…
Chē shuǐ mǎ lóng (車水馬龍 – 车水马龙)
車水馬龍 (Chē shuǐ mǎ lóng)(1) endless stream of horses and carriages (idiom)(2) heavy traffic Source: “Book of the Later Han – Biography of Mingde, Empress Ma“. Explanation: This idiom was shortened from the words in Empress Dowager Ma’s imperial edict. It describes a bustling scene where [a great number of] carriages and horses are coming…
109. The Three Piglets
109. The Three Piglets (Las Tres Cerditas) Once, three [female] piglets were walking down a small road while being very fearful of encountering a wolf. So they stopped and said among themselves: Sisters, why don’t we build a little hut here and the three of us can stay in it to protect ourselves against the…
Cǎo mù jiē bīng (草木皆兵 – 草木皆兵)
草木皆兵 (Cǎo mù jiē bīng) (1) lit. every tree or bush [is like] an enemy soldier (idiom); fig. to panic and treat everyone as an enemy (2) to feel beleaguered Explanation: To take grasses and trees as enemy soldiers. This describes a frightened and paranoid state of mind due to [psychological] shock. This idiom originated…
108. The Golden Ball
108. The Golden Ball (La Bola De Oro) Once upon a time there was a married couple who had a son, and they were so, so poor that they could not [afford to] feed him. One evening, while the child was asleep, the husband and the wife decided that, since they were starving [to death]…
Cǎo chuán jiè jiàn (草船借箭 – 草船借箭)
草船借箭 (Cǎo chuán jiè jiàn) Lit. using straw boats to borrow arrows (from Romance of The Three Kingdoms). Fig. to use others’ manpower and resources for one’s own ends. Story: When [Zhou] Yu saw that Zhuge Liang had exceptional talents, he was very envious [of him]. One day, Zhou Yu invited Zhuge Liang over to…
107. Death’s Friend
107. The Friend of Death (El Amigo de La Muerte) Once upon a time there was a man who had put all of his efforts into being a just man. He did not feel comfortable with anything for which he disagreed with, and whenever he had to opine on some matter, he judged it as…
Cáo chōng chēng xiàng (曹衝稱象 – 曹冲称象)
曹衝稱象 (Cáo chōng chēng xiàng) Lit. Cao Chong weighing an elephant. Cao Chong was intelligent from a young age, where at five or six his intelligence was comparable to that of an adult. Once, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu gifted Cao Cao an elephant, so Cao Cao led his civil and military officials and his…
106. Moneylenders Have No Souls
106. Moneylenders Have No Souls (Los Prestamistas No Tienen Alma) One day, a knight died and when he went up to heaven he wanted to see an uncle of his who had died a year ago. He got to heaven, knocked on a door and out came a man in a white blouse to open…
Cāng hǎi sāng tián (滄海桑田 – 沧海桑田)
滄海桑田 (Cāng hǎi sāng tián) (1) lit. the blue sea turned into mulberry fields (idiom) (2) fig. the transformations of the world Explanation: it indicates the sea transforming into a mulberry field, and the mulberry field again transforming back into a sea. This is a metaphor for the impermanence of life. Azure sea (滄海): great…