| Proverbs |
Annotation
And Connotations |
- Looking
for a donkey on its very back.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Qi2 lü2 zhao3 lü2.)
|
Looking
for something as if it were missing while it is just under one's nose. |
- Once
on a tiger's back, it is hard to alight.
(Chinese
original: 骑虎难下 Chinese Pinyin: Qi2 hu3 nan2 xia4.)
|
- Once
you take on a thorny task, you'll find it hard to get rid of it
|
- An
ant may well destroy an entire dam.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Qian1 li3 zhi1 di1, kui4 yu2 yi3xue2.)
|
- If a
small problem is overlooked, it could develop into a big disaster as
ant can multiply, making tunnels in the dam to allow water soak in and
consequently bring it to a collapse.
|
- A
long march starts from the very first step.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Qian1li3 zhi1 xing2 shi3 yu2 zu2 xia4.)
|
- Success
does not come from nothing, instead it comes from concrete hard work.
|
- A
smile woth a thousand ounces of gold.
(Chinese
original: 千金买笑Chinese Pinyin: Qian1 jin1 mai3 xiao4.)
|
- You describe
a smile that is hard to come by as "a smile purchased for a thousand
ounces of gold." There is a tragic story behind this proverb (See the story in my book The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese)
|
- A
donkey has limited abilities.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Qian2 lü2 ji4 qiong2.)
|
- (See the story in my book The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese)
|
- A
melon forced off its vine is not sweet.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Qiang2 niu3 de gua1 bu4 tian2.)
|
- "You
can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make it drink." For
that matter, a forced marriage is not happy and examples can be listed
endlessly.
|
- Without
rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook.
(Chinese
original: 巧妇难为无米之炊 Chinese Pinyin: Qiao3fu4 nan2 wei2
wu2 mi3 zhi1 chui1.)
|
- It
may not be true to American housewives who seldom cook
rice. But rice is staple food in South China where the
proverb may have originated. Without the right material,
no matter how good you are, you may not accomplish the
task.
|
- Learn
from other's strong points to offset one's shortcomings.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Qu3 chang2 bu3 duan3.)
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