Conjure
up clouds with one turn of one's hand and rain with another.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Fan1 yun2 fu4 yu3.) |
To
say that someone can conjure up clouds and rain with his turn of hand
is to say that he is capricious or skillful at playing tricks. |
- A
flying moth throws itself into a fire.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Fei1 e2 tou2 huo3.)
|
- To say
one is a flying moth that throws itself into a fire is to say that he
is looking for his own demise.
|
- Like
neither a donkey nor a horse.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Fei1 lü2 fei1 ma3.)
|
- If something
one has created is like neither animals, then it must be something awkward
and laughable.
|
Burn
a forest to farm and drain a pond to fish.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Fen2 lin2 er3 tian2, jie2 ze2 er3 yu2.)
|
Isn't
this what some of us doing today to our environment against the 3000-year
old proverbial warning? In many other aspects we are also prone to such
mistakes: in trying to achieve an end by all means, we wittingly or
unwittingly ignore the consequences. |
- On
the same boat in a tempest.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Feng1 yu3 tong2 zhou1.)
|
- Going
through hardships together.
|
- In
face of evil, one would rather be a jade broken than a brick intact.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Feng2 jian1 ning4 ke3 yu4 sui4, qi4 zheng4 bu4 qiu2
wa3 quan2.)
|
- One would
rather die than surrender.
|
- (As
rare as ) phoenix feather and unicorn horns.
(Chinese
original: 凤毛麟角Chinese Pinyin: Feng4 mao2 lin2 jiao3.)
|
- According
to Chinese legends, phoenix's feather and unicorn's horns are the rarest
things one can find in the world.
|
- Remove
firewood from under a pot.
(Chinese
original: 釜底抽薪Chinese Pinyin: Fu3 di3 chou1 xin1.)
|
- Solve
a problem thoroughly.
|
- Water
spilled can never be retrieved.
(Chinese
original: 覆水难收 Chinese Pinyin: Fu4 shui3 nan2 shou1.)
|
- Things
have developed to a degree that there is no turning
back.
|
- Wade
through boiling water and scorching flame.
(Chinese
original: 赴汤蹈火 Chinese Pinyin: Fu4 tang1 dao3 huo3.)
|
- If
one can do this, he is courageous enough to do anything.
|
- Give
it to the Yangtze that rambles east to the sea.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Fu4 zhu1 dong1 liu2.)
|
When
you give something to the Yangtze that brings it to the waters, then
everything you have been doing is in vain. |
