三折其肱 (Sān zhé qí gōng)
Lit. One’s arm had been broken three times
Fig. After experiencing something multiple times, one would become an expert at it.
From https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%B8%89%E6%8A%98%E5%85%B6%E8%82%B1
Zuo Qiuming – “Zuo Zhuan – Duke Ding’s Thirteenth Year”: When one’s arm had been broken three times, that person would surely become a good physician (三折肱知為良醫).
Story: In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were two influential families in the State of Jin, the Fan family (范氏) and the Zhonghang family (中行氏), who [together] were preparing to attack Duke Ding of Jin. At that time, some people pointed out that the key to the success or failure of this operation depended on whether the common people would support their cause, for if the people’s trust and support could not be obtained, then defeat would surely follow. Since the Fan and Zhonghang families leading troops to attack Duke Ding of Jin was considered an act of rebellion, the people would certainly not support their cause. Moreover, Duke Ding of Jin had been defeated in the past and had ended up living in exile in a foreign land, so it could be said that he was someone who had tasted failure. Just like someone who had thrice broken his arm: although he was completely healed after being medically treated, he already experienced having his arms broken; and in having his arms broken and medically treated multiple times, he had learned the cause together with the [ensuing] treatment. In other words, being a long-time patient had made a veteran physician out of him. [As such, he won’t be easily defeated this time around.]
—– VOCABULARY —–
折 shé – to break (e.g. a stick or bone); a loss
zhē – to turn sth over; to turn upside down; to tip sth out (of a container)
zhé – to break; to fracture; to snap; to suffer loss; to bend; to twist; to turn; to change direction; convinced; to convert into (currency); discount; rebate; tenth (in price); classifier for theatrical scenes; to fold; accounts book [[chiết: gãy, bẻ gãy; phán đoán; uốn cong, bẻ cong; phục, bội phục; gấp, xếp; nhún; trách bị, bắt bẻ; hủy đi; chết non; tổn thất, hao tổn; trừ bớt; đổi lấy, đền thay; đắp đất làm chỗ tế; đổi phương hướng; sự trắc trở, vấp ngã, thất bại; số chia thập phân; đồ tống táng thời cổ]]
肱 gōng – upper arm; arm [[quăng: cánh tay. Tả truyện 左傳: “Tam chiết quăng tri vi lương y” 三折肱知為良醫 (Định công thập tam niên 定公十三年) Ba lần bị gãy tay thì biết làm thầy thuốc giỏi (ý nói người từng trải mới lão luyện). Thư Kinh 書經 có câu: Lương y tam chiết quăng 良醫三折肱 ý nói thầy thuốc trải nhiều bệnh khó rồi mới giỏi, nói ví như người có từng trải nhiều sự biến rồi mới lõi vậy.]]
属于 shǔ yú – to be classified as; to belong to; to be part of
无疑 wú yí – no doubt; undoubtedly
何况 hé kuàng – let alone; to say nothing of; besides; what’s more
落得 luò de – ending up as; leading to; resulting in; in total
异国 yì guó – exotic; foreign
手臂 shǒu bì – arm; helper [[cánh tay]]
臂 bì – arm [[tí: cánh tay]]
医疗 yī liáo – medical treatment
疗, 療 liáo – to treat; to cure; therapy [[liệu: chữa trị (bệnh); giải trừ, cứu giúp]]
痊愈 quán yù – to recover completely (from illness or injury)
痊 quán – to recover from illness [[thuyên: khỏi bệnh]]
愈 yù – the more … (the more …); to recover; to heal; better [[dũ: hơn, vượt hơn; bệnh tình biến chuyển tốt đẹp, khỏi bệnh 癒; càng thêm]]
嘗, 尝 cháng – to taste; to try; to experience; already; ever; once [[thường: nếm; thử, thí nghiệm; từng trải; từng; tế về mùa thu gọi là tế “Thường”]]
滋味 zī wèi – taste; flavor; feeling
滋 zī – to grow; to nourish; to increase; to cause; juice; taste; (dialect) to spout; to spurt [[tư: sinh trường, sinh sôi nẩy nở; chăm sóc, tưới bón; thấm nhuần; bồi bổ thân thể; gây ra, tạo ra, dẫn đến; phun, phún (tiếng địa phương, bắc TQ); thêm, càng; mùi, vị, ý vị; chất dãi, chất lỏng; nhiều, tươi tốt, phồn thịnh]]
几次三番 jǐ cì sān fān – lit. twice then three times (idiom); fig. repeatedly; over and over again
换句话说 huàn jù huà shuō – in other words
久病成医 jiǔ bìng chéng yī – (proverb) a long illness makes the patient into a doctor
挫折 cuò zhé – setback; reverse; check; defeat; frustration; disappointment; to frustrate; to discourage; to set sb back; to blunt; to subdue
挫 cuò – obstructed; to fail; to oppress; to repress; to lower the tone; to bend back; to dampen [[tỏa: bẻ gãy, thất bại; đè nén, ức chế; chịu khuất nhục]]
侃 kǎn – upright and honest; cheerful; to chat idly; to boast; to talk smoothly [[khản]]
逢 féng – to meet by chance; to come across; (of a calendar event) to come along; (of an event) to fall on (a particular day); to fawn upon [[phùng: gặp, đụng phải; gặp mặt; săn đón, phụ họa; to, lớn]]
漫 màn – free; unrestrained; to inundate [[mạn: nước đầy tràn; bao phủ, bao trùm; khắp; dài, xa; buông tuồng, mặc tình, tùy thích; mờ, không rõ, mơ hồ; quàng, hão, uổng; chớ, đừng; tùy tiện, phóng túng, loạn xạ; tràn khắp, tràn đầy]]
指代 zhǐ dài – to refer to; to be used in place of
寄 jì – to send; to mail; to entrust; to depend on; to attach oneself to; to live (in a house); to lodge; foster (son etc) [[kí: gửi thân ở tạm; phó thác, giao phó; gửi, chuyển đi; nhờ; tạm thời; nuôi (vì tình nghĩa, không phải ruột thịt)]]
壁 bì – wall; rampart [[bích: bức, vách; sườn núi dốc; sao “Bích”; lũy đắp trong trại quân]]
蘄, 蕲 qí – (herb); implore; pray; place name [[kì: mong cầu; hàm thiết ngựa; cỏ thơm]]
紫 zǐ – purple; violet; amethyst [[tử: sắc tía, sắc tím; dây thao]]
施 shī – to grant; to give; to bestow; to act; to carry out [[thi: thực hành; làm, thêm vào; bày, đặt, dựng, thiết trí; kể công, khoe công; bêu xác; ân huệ, ân trạch; thí: giúp, cấp cho, ban cho]]