culture
128 篇Calling a Stag a Horse | 指鹿为马
The story of Prime Minister Zhao Gao testing court loyalty by calling a stag a horse, leading to ...
31 阅读Dong Shi Imitates Xi Shi | 东施效颦
The story tells of Dong Shi, an ugly woman who blindly imitates the beautiful Xi Shi's pained exp...
29 阅读The Plum Dies for the Peach | 李代桃僵
This idiom, derived from a folk song, uses the metaphor of a plum tree sacrificing itself for a p...
28 阅读The Confucian Poise | 儒学风度
Two anecdotes from the Song and Ming periods satirize the rigid and performative nature of Confuc...
32 阅读Huang Gong's Daughters | 黄公嫁女
Huang Gong's excessive modesty backfires when he constantly describes his beautiful daughters as ...
30 阅读Three Visits to the Cottage | 三顾茅庐
This story recounts how Liu Bei, ruler of the weak Shu kingdom, persistently visited the recluse ...
29 阅读Mao Sui Recommends Himself | 毛遂自荐
During the Warring States Period, Mao Sui volunteered to accompany Duke Pingyuan to Chu and, by b...
26 阅读The Black Sheep | 害群之马
The idiom 'The Black Sheep' originates from a story where the legendary Emperor Huangdi learns fr...
32 阅读The Fate of the Hunting Dog | 兔死狗烹
This story recounts how the Yue King Gou Jian eliminated his loyal minister Wen Zhong after achie...
35 阅读Recommending Zhuge Liang on Horseback | 走马荐诸葛
Cao Cao lures Liu Bei's advisor Xu Shu away by exploiting his filial piety. Before leaving, Xu Sh...
34 阅读Waiting by the Stump | 守株待兔
This fable tells of a farmer who, after a lucky accident, abandons work to wait for more luck, sa...
35 阅读Love Me, Love My Dog | 爱屋及乌
This story recounts how the ancient King of Zhou, by wisely choosing to release prisoners of war ...
32 阅读The Boatmaker and the Boatman | 治舟驾舟
A master boatmaker in Yue, trusted and rewarded by the king, overconfidently claimed to also be a...
28 阅读Strike While the Iron is Hot | 一鼓作气
This story explains the idiom "一鼓作气" through a historical battle where waiting for the enemy's sp...
31 阅读Playing the Lute to a Cow | 对牛弹琴
This story tells of a musician who played elegant music for a cow, which ignored him, illustratin...
39 阅读A Dagger Behind the Smile | 笑里藏刀
This story recounts how the Tang Dynasty minister Li Yifu, despite his charming smile, was a vici...
29 阅读Broken Mirror Rejoined | 破镜重圆
This article recounts the ancient Chinese story behind the idiom "Broken Mirror Rejoined," where ...
34 阅读Food Handled Out in Contempt | 嗟来之食
During a famine in ancient Qi, an arrogant noble's contemptuous offer of food is refused by a sta...
38 阅读Adding the Finishing Touch | 画龙点睛
The idiom 'Adding the Finishing Touch' originates from a tale about painter Zhang Sengyao, whose ...
53 阅读Kindly Step into the Vat | 请君入瓮
The story recounts how the cruel judge Lai Junchen used Zhou Xing's own torture method—a scorchin...
31 阅读