Tag Archives: Learn Chinese

Inspiration from the Rooster calls 聞雞起舞

Translated 聞雞起舞【wen ji qi wu】 聽到雞叫就起來舞劍。後比喻有志報國的人及時奮起。該典出自《晉書·祖逖傳》,傳說東晉時期將領祖逖年青時就很有抱負,每次和好友劉琨談論時局,總是慷慨激昂,滿懷義憤。為了報效國家,他們在半夜一聽到雞鳴,就披衣起床,拔劍練武,刻苦鍛煉。   啟示:只有不斷努力,才有可能獲得成功。不經過努力奮鬥,不能成就事業。 聞雞起舞的 “舞” 字和 “武” 字是同音同意,“舞” 用在柔軟的肢體和音樂的表演上,即成為舞蹈,而 “舞” 用在剛柔結合的功夫表演上,即成為武術了。 There once was two young men Zhuti and Liugun who wanted to save their country. They both were friends and practiced martial arts every … Continue reading

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Looking for a steed with the aid of its picture 按图索骥

During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a man in the State of Qin whose name was Sun Yang. Sun Yang was very expert in looking at horses and judging their worth. Whatever the horse might be, he could … Continue reading

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Filial (1) 孝感動天

Once, a long long time ago, there was a lad, named Sun. His mother died very early, and his father got remarried. His stepmother hated Sun, and always told his father bad things about him. His parents soon produced a … Continue reading

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Filial (19) 扇枕溫衾

There once was a boy Huang Xiang who’s mother died. A very good boy indeed. One day , he was sitting on a rock staring out to sea when two people came。 They said,” Ever since his mother died he … Continue reading

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Filial(18) 拾椹供親

Translated 拾椹供親 [shi shen gong qin] 蔡順字君仲,東漢人, 自幼喪父,與母親相依為命。年成不好,糧食不足他就每天出門摘拾桑椹,用不同的器皿盛桑椹。農民起義軍看見便問其原因,蔡順說:”黑色的桑椹味道甜,是給母親吃的;紅色的桑椹味道酸,是給自己吃的。”農民起義軍憐憫他的孝心,把白米牛蹄送給了他。 荒年是要用桑葚來填飽肚子,想一想那也是令人悲哀的時代。 启示: 蔡順這樣孝順,真讓人嗟嘆不已。這讓今天的許多只知索取,不知付出的年輕人為之汗顏。 There once was a boy named Cai Shun. One day he was walking down the dry dirt road and heard two people say,” The king ruined our lives. Only … Continue reading

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Finishing touch 画龍點睛

画龍點睛 (hua long dian jing) Once there was a person who was very good at drawing dragons. One day he came to town to draw 4 dragons on the wall. Once everybody heard about it, they all came to see. … Continue reading

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Xanadu 世外桃源

Translated 世外桃源 【shi wai tao yuan】 東晉文學家陶淵明在《桃花源記》中記載:一個漁夫隻身舍船進入一山洞,發現一座桃源,這裡的居民男耕女織,小孩與老人怡然自樂,沒有爭鬥,沒有剝削,沒有戰亂,人人平等,自給自足,人們的關係十分淳樸親切,到處是一片安樂祥和的氣氛,與外面的世界完全隔絕。 啟示: 當漁夫第二次去找“世外桃源” 的時候,為何再也找不到了呢? 試想,人要嚮往美好的生活,避開戰爭和災難,是不是首先要像世外桃源裡的那些人們一樣,修身,養德,行善,努力去掉自己不好的心呢? 如妒忌心,爭鬥心,自私心等,這樣世界才會充滿祥和幸福。 都說中國文化是神傳文化,這世外桃源的故事,是不是也有那麼一點隱隱約約的神蹟所在呢? Once there was a fisherman. He once got lost while fishing. He followed the river, and soon came to a place with many cherry blossom trees. Then, … Continue reading

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Quench one’s thirst by watching plums 望梅止渴

Translated 望梅止渴 【wang mei zhi ke】 有一年夏天,曹操率領部隊去討伐張繡,天氣熱得出奇,驕陽似火,部隊在彎彎曲曲的山道上行走,兩邊密密的樹木和被陽光曬得滾燙的山石,讓人透不過氣來。到了中午,大家的衣服都濕透了,速度也慢下來,有幾個體弱的士兵竟暈倒在路邊。 曹操擔心貽誤戰機,心裡很是著急。可是,眼下幾萬人馬連水都喝不上,又怎麼能加快速度呢? 他立刻叫來嚮導,悄悄問他:“這附近可有水源?”嚮導搖搖頭說:“泉水在山谷的那一邊,要繞道過去還有很遠的路程。” 曹操想了一下說,“不行,時間來不及。” 他看了看前邊的樹林,沉思了一會兒,知道此刻即使下命令要求部隊加快速度也無濟於事。 突然,他聽到隊伍裡有一個士兵的呻吟:“要是有水果樹就好了!” 曹操腦筋一轉,辦法來了,他一夾馬肚子,快速趕到隊伍前面,用馬鞭指著前方說:“士兵們,我知道前面有一大片梅林,那裡的梅子又大又好吃,我們快點趕路,繞過這個山丘就到梅林了!”士兵們一聽,彷彿已經吃到嘴裡,精神大振,步伐不由得加快了許多。 啟示:曹操的機智一念,使士兵們變得精神大振,加快了步伐。 如果反過來,故事裡的曹操也被嚴酷的外因條件所屈服,那麼全軍面臨的是敗仗。通過望梅止渴故事,讓我們悟道:精神和物質是一性的,也就是思想和身體是一性的,人的一念之差會導致事物發展的不同結果。 There once was a warrior (cao cao) was going to war with his men. They were walking and walking as the hot sun shined on … Continue reading

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Childhood 童年

Childhood ” Next to the pond, on the tree, was only the cicada, calling out to summer. In the playground, on the swings, had only a butterfly on top of it. Inside the classroom, The teacher never stopped writing. Waiting … Continue reading

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一休和尚- 半個蛋

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