一問三不知 (Yī wèn sān bù zhī)(1) lit. to reply “don’t know” whatever the question (idiom)(2) fig. absolutely no idea of what’s going on(3) complete ignorance from beginning to end From link. Source: Wenzi (文子) said: “When a gentleman plans something, he considers its beginning, progress, and end, and only then will he act. Today I…
065. The Sorcerers of Peumo
Histories of Witches – Historias de BrujosFrom Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 065. The Sorcerers of Peumo (Los Brujos de Peumo) (This comes from D. Roberto Rengifo, who gave me this story in writing in 1921.) Near the town of Peumo,…
Yī wǎng dǎ jìn (一網打盡 – 一网打尽)
一網打盡 (Yī wǎng dǎ jìn)(1) lit. to catch everything in one net (idiom)(2) fig. to scoop up the whole lot(3) to capture them all in one go From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=161 The founding sovereign of the Shang Dynasty, Cheng Tang (成湯), was a benevolent ruler. He felt that King Jie of Xia was a brutal tyrant, and…
064. The Peddling Sorcerer
Histories of Witches – Historias de BrujosFrom Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 064. The Peddling Sorcerer (El Falte Brujo) (The young man D. Carlos Puccio from Molina, 17 years of age, told me about this in 1911) There is a peddler…
Yī sī bù gǒu (一絲不苟 – 一丝不苟)
一絲不苟 (Yī sī bù gǒu) (1) not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules(2) meticulous(3) not one hair out of place From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=237 From the word “not out of place (不苟, e.g. careful, meticulous)”, one can trace its earliest appearance in “Rites of Zhou – Offices of Earth – On Taxation and Division…
063. The Man Who Wanted To Fly
Histories of Witches – Historias de BrujosFrom Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 063. The Man Who Wanted To Fly (063. El Hombre Que Quiso Volar) (Told by D. Francisco Vásquez in 1911, who heard it told in Santiago.) There lived in…
Yī shì wú chéng (一事無成 – 一事无成)
一事無成 (Yī shì wú chéng) (1) to have achieved nothing(2) to be a total failure(3) to get nowhere From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=834 The Tang Dynasty poets Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen were good friends and often exchanged poetry with one another to stay in touch. “Writing to Weizhi (e.g. Yuan Zhen) on New Year’s Eve (除夜寄微之)” was…
062. The Cave of Cardillas
Histories of Witches – Historias de BrujosFrom Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 062. The Cave of Cardillas (La Cueva de Las Cardillas) (The 12-year old child D. Oscar Salinas told me this story in 1912. He heard it told in Melipilla.)…
Yī rì qiān lǐ (一日千里 – 一日千里)
一日千里 (Yī rì qiān lǐ) From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=67 The great philosopher Zhuangzi once wrote an essay “Autumn Floods (秋水)” to explain the principle of unity in all matters, where he listed many examples: although they all abdicated their thrones to others, Yao and Shun were able to rule as Emperors, while King Kuai [of Yan] perished;…
061. The Vengeful Frog
Histories of Witches – Historias de BrujosFrom Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos) 061. The Vengeful Frog (La Rana Vengativa) (Told by the same young man Morales in 1909.) While on her way a village girl ran into a frog, and picking…