| Proverbs |
Annotation
And Connotations |
- You
looked high and low till your iron shoes were worn out but still to
no avail. Then you chanced upon it without ever looking.
(Chinese
original: 踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费功夫 Chinese Pinyin: Ta4 po4 tie3xie2
wu2 mi4 chu4, de2lai2 quan2 bu4 fei4 gong1fu.)
|
- You looked
for something everywhere but could not find it. All of a sudden you
chanced upon it. Have you had this experience? I bet you have
|
- A
mantis stalking a cicada is unaware of an oriole behind.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tang2lang2 bu3 chan2, huang2que4 zai4 hou4.)
|
- While
coveting gains ahead, one should be aware of the danger behind.
|
- No
banquet in the world that never ends.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tian1xia4 mei2you3 bu4 san4 de yan4xi2.)
|
- Nothing
in the world is eternal. Friendship, relations and a good time are no
exceptions
|
Crows
everywhere are equally black.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tian1xia4 wu1ya1 yi1ban1 hei1.) |
It
is a metaphorical statement of "Bad people are bad no matter where you
find them because human nature never changes". |
- Perseverance
can reduce an iron rod to a sewing needle.
(Chinese
original: 铁杵磨成针Chinese Pinyin: Tie3 chu3 mo2 cheng2 zhen1.)
|
- See the story in my book The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese.
|
- Dream
different dreams on the same bed.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tong2 chuang2 yi4 meng4.)
|
Hide
different purposes behind the semblance of accord. |
- Fail
to steal a chicken, which instead ate up your bait.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tou1 ji1 bu4cheng2 fan3 shi1 yi1ba3 mi3.)
|
- Kind
of like "Shoot Your Own Feet". Starting out to hurt others but ending
up in being hurt.
|
- Steal
beams and replace them with poles.
(Chinese
original: 偷梁换柱Chinese Pinyin: Tou1 liang2 huan4 zhu4.)
|
- In so
doing, the devious contractors are perpetrating a fraud. The proverb
is also extended to any deception involving the replacement of one thing
with another.
|
- A
flea on the top of a bald head - it is only too apparent.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tu1zi tou2shang de shi1zi - ming2 bai3 zhe de shi4.)
|
- A crane
is too obvious when it stands among a flock of chickens and looks very
awkward. It is also true with a camel amidst a flock of sheep and a
flea when it stands on top of a hairless head. They all carry a pejorative
tone: the thing that out stands others is something awkward if not necessarily
bad.
|
- An
unfolded map reveals a dagger.
(Chinese
original: 图穷匕首见 Chinese Pinyin: Tu2 qiong2 bi4 xian4.)
|
- See the story in my book The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese.
|
- Foxes
grieve over the death of rabbits.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tu4 si3 hu2 bei1.)
|
- The proverb
is used derogatorily to refer to the forlornness that bad people feel
upon learning the misfortune of their like.
|
- Rabbits
do not eat the grass around their burrows.
(Chinese
original: 兔子不吃窝边草 Chinese Pinyin: Tu4zi bu4 chi1 wo1bian1 cao3.)
|
- The proverb
is used derogatorily. It is believed that a villain usually does not
harm his neighbors.
|
- Even
a rabbit will bite when it is cornered.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Tu4zi ji2 le ye3 yao3 ren2.)
|
|
