chinese-idiom
52 篇The Man Who Choked | 因噎废食
A man who ate ravenously choked to death on a fishbone. In a misguided response, someone banned e...
35 阅读Rising with the Rooster | 闻鸡起舞
The story of Zu Ti and Liu Kun, who disciplined themselves to rise at the rooster's crow to pract...
33 阅读His Spear Against His Shield | 自相矛盾
A Chu weapon seller's boast about his impenetrable shield and all-piercing spear leads to a logic...
30 阅读Do Not Burn Your House to Get Rid of a Mouse | 投鼠忌器
A cautionary tale from *Hanshu* warns against disproportionate retaliation, using the metaphor of...
33 阅读Seamless Heavenly Garment | 天衣无缝
This story from the Tang Dynasty explains the idiom "Seamless Heavenly Garment," where a man sees...
35 阅读Riding a Tiger | 骑虎难下
The article explains the Chinese idiom "Riding a Tiger," which originated from the advice given t...
36 阅读Armchair Strategist | 纸上谈兵
The idiom "armchair strategist" originates from the story of Zhao Kuo, a Warring States theorist ...
38 阅读The Fox Borrows the Tiger's Might | 狐假虎威
A fox escapes being eaten by a tiger by pretending to be Heaven's envoy, tricking the tiger into ...
31 阅读The Donkey of Guizhou Has Exhausted Its Tricks | 黔驴技穷
A tiger initially fears a strange donkey but discovers its only trick is kicking. The idiom means...
35 阅读Flowers Raining from the Sky | 天花乱坠
This article explains the Chinese idiom "Flowers Raining from the Sky," which originates from a l...
34 阅读Three in the Morning, Four in the Evening | 朝三暮四
This fable tells of a monkey keeper who tricks his monkeys by merely rearranging their daily rati...
38 阅读When Lips Are Gone, Teeth Will Be Cold | 唇亡齿寒
The ancient fable illustrates the strategic folly of the State of Yu. Lured by treasures, its kin...
36 阅读Sun Shan, the Last on the List | 名落孙山
This story explains the origin of the Chinese idiom "名落孙山," which describes exam or competition f...
31 阅读Adding Feet to a Snake | 画蛇添足
A story from the Warring States Period where a servant, after quickly drawing a snake, unnecessar...
36 阅读The Wolf and the Jackal | 狼狈为奸
A wolf and a jackal collaborate, using their complementary physical traits to overcome a high wal...
32 阅读At the End of One's Tether | 日暮途穷
This article recounts the story of Wu Zixu from the Spring and Autumn Period, which gave rise to ...
42 阅读An Old Horse Knows the Way | 老马识途
The idiom tells how Duke Huan of Qi's army, lost in a winter snowstorm, found their way home by f...
34 阅读Besieged on All Sides | 四面楚歌
This article recounts the historical origin of the Chinese idiom "Besieged on All Sides," describ...
33 阅读Pulling Up Seedlings to Help Them Grow | 揠苗助长
An impatient farmer pulls up his rice shoots to make them grow faster, only to cause them all to ...
30 阅读The Man of Qi Who Feared the Sky | 杞人忧天
This fable tells of a man from Qi who was paralyzed by the irrational fear that the sky would fal...
42 阅读