(1) Iron and Pestle Sharpen the Needle
Allusion
When Li Bai, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, was a child, he didn't like to study, and he often skipped school and wandered into the streets.
One day, Li Bai didn't go to school again and wandered around the streets, unknowingly arriving at the outskirts of the city. The warm sunshine, the happy birds, the flowers and plants swaying in the wind made Li Bai sigh, "Such a good weather, if you study all day in the house how meaningless?"
Walking along, in front of a broken hut, there sat an old woman with white hair, grinding a pestle as thick as a stick. Li Bai walked over, "What are you doing, old woman?"
"I'm going to grind this pestle into an embroidery needle. " The old woman raised her head and smiled at Li Bai, then lowered her head again and continued grinding.
"An embroidery needle?" Li Bai asked again, "Is it an embroidery needle for sewing clothes?"
"Of course!"
"But the mortar and pestle is so thick, when will it be sharpened into a fine embroidery needle?"
The old woman asked Li Bai in return, "A drop of water can pierce a stone, and a fool can move a mountain, so why can't an iron mortar and pestle be sharpened into an embroidery needle?"
"But you are so old?"
"As long as I put in more effort than others, there is nothing I cannot do."
The old woman's words made Li Bai very ashamed, so he went back and never skipped school again. He studied especially hard every day, and finally became a famous poet.
Interpretation
No matter what you do, as long as you have perseverance, you will surely succeed. Our children, if they are serious, hardworking and persistent in their studies, there must be no problem for them to get good grades.
(2) Winking at the Rooster
Allusion
Zu Ti of the Jin Dynasty was an open-minded man with great ambitions. But when he was a child, he was a naughty boy who didn't like to read. Into youth, he realized that his own knowledge of the poor, deep sense of not reading in order to serve the country, and then read up. He read books widely and studied history seriously, so he made an effort to read books. He read books widely and studied history seriously, from which he drew rich knowledge and made great progress in his learning. He had been in and out of Luoyang, the capital several times, and those who came in contact with him said that Zu Ti was a talented person who could assist the emperor in governing the country. When Zu Ti was 24 years old, he was recommended to become a government official, but he didn't agree to do so, and he still worked tirelessly on his studies.
Later, Zu Ti and his childhood friend, Liu Kun, became the head of the state of Si. He and Liu Kun had a deep affection, not only often lie in the same bed, sleep with the same quilt, but also have the **** the same lofty ideals: to build a career, revitalize the state of Jin, and become a pillar of the country.
Once, in the middle of the night, Zu Ti heard the rooster's crowing in his sleep, he kicked Liu Kun awake and said to him: "Other people think that hearing the rooster in the middle of the night is unlucky, and I don't think so, so we can simply hear the rooster get up and practice the sword later?" Liu Kun readily agreed. So they got up every day after the cock crowed to practice sword, sword light flying, sword sound clanging. Spring and winter, cold and hot, never stop. After a long period of hard study and training, they finally became all-rounders who could write and fight, and could lead soldiers to win battles. Zu Ti was appointed as the General of Zhenxi, realizing his wish to serve the country; Liu Kun became the governor, and was in charge of the military of the three states of Jin, Ji and You, also giving full play to his literary talent and military strategy.
Interpretation
The story is from "The Book of Jin - Zu Ti's Biography". The idiom of "Winking the Cock and Starting to Dance" describes a person who is vigorous and energetic, and is also a metaphor for a person who has the will to revitalize himself in a timely manner.
(C) Mending the Jail after Losing a Sheep
An allusion
This story is from "Strategies of the Warring States". During the Warring States period, there was a minister of the state of Chu named Zhuang Xin, who said to King Xiang of Chu one day: "When you are in the palace, there is the Marquis of Zhou on your left and the Marquis of Xia on your right; and when you go out, the kings of Yanling and Shouxiang are always with you. You and these four people specialize in luxury and pleasure, regardless of state affairs, Ying (the capital of Chu, in present-day Jiangling County, Hubei Province, north) must be dangerous!"
When King Xiang heard this, he was very unhappy and scolded angrily, "Are you senile? Are you deliberately saying these sinister words to confuse the people?"
Zhuang Xin replied unhurriedly, "I really feel that things must come to this point, and I dare not deliberately say that Chu has any misfortune.
If you keep on favoring this man, Chu must perish. Since you don't believe me, please allow me to go to Zhao to hide for a while and see how things will really turn out." After Zhuang Xin had been living in Zhao for five months, Qin really sent troops to invade Chu, and King Xiang was forced to go into exile in Yangcheng (northwest of present-day Xixian County, Henan Province). He thought Zhuang Xin's words were good, and hurriedly sent someone to find him and ask him what he could do. Zhuang Xin said sincerely, "I've heard that it's not too late to think of hounds when you see a rabbit's teeth, and that it's not too late to make up for a sheep's pen when the sheep has run away. ......"
Interpretation
This is a very meaningful story, only know enjoyment, do not know how to do things, the result is bound to be met with tragic failure undoubtedly.
The idiom of "mending the prison after a sheep is lost" is based on the above two sentences, which expresses the meaning that it is not too late to save something after a mistake has been made. For example, a businessman who made a mistake in estimating the development of things and took a rash step forward was caught in a situation of failure. However, he was not discouraged, but patiently thought things over again, learned from this mistake, and thought that it was not too late to "mend the fold" and start from the beginning!
(4) The Blind Men Feeling the Elephant
Allusion
According to the ancient Indian scriptures, there was a small country in India in ancient times, and the king's name was King of Mirrors. He believed in Shakyamuni's Buddhism and worshipped Buddha and recited scriptures every day with great devotion. However, at that time, there were many religions and witchcrafts prevailing in the country, and most of the subjects were confused by their sermons, which made people's hearts confused and right and wrong unclear, which was very unfavorable to the governance of the country. The Mirror King wanted his subjects to follow Buddhism, so he came up with an idea: to educate and entice them by using the example of the blind man feeling an elephant. The Mirror King instructed his ministers to say, "Find some blind men who are completely blind and come to the king's city." The messenger quickly assembled a group of blind men and led them to the palace.
The messenger entered the palace and reported to the Mirror King, "My lord, the blind men you commanded to be found have now been brought to the front of the palace." The Mirror King said, "You will lead the blind men to the Elephant Garden first thing in the morning, so that each of them can touch only one part of the elephant's body, and then bring them immediately to the square in front of the palace."
The next morning, the Mirror King called all his ministers and tens of thousands of commoners to gather in the square in front of the royal palace, where the seething people mingled with each other, who did not know what great thing the king was about to announce. Soon after, the messenger led the blind men to the Mirror King's high seat, and the people in the square suddenly fell silent. The Mirror King asked the blind men, "Have you all touched the elephant?" The blind men answered in unison, "I touched the elephant!" The Mirror King added, "Each of you tell what an elephant looks like!" The blind man who had touched the elephant's legs was the first to come forward and say, "To the holy king, the elephant is like a large round barrel holding paint." The blind man who touched the elephant's tail said, "Your Majesty, an elephant should look like a broom." The blind man who touched the elephant's belly said, "Your Majesty, the elephant is indeed like a big drum." Then, the one who touched the elephant's head said that the elephant looked like a big spoon, the one who touched the elephant's tusks said that the elephant looked like a bull's horn, the one who touched the back of the elephant's tail said that the elephant looked like a stick, and the one who touched the elephant's ears said that the elephant was like a dustpan. Finally, the blind man who touched the elephant's trunk said, "Sage king, the elephant is really like a thick rope." The group of blind men split up into several groups and quarreled and argued, all saying that they were right and the others were wrong. They went to the King of Mirrors again in droves and argued, "Great King! The elephant does look like what I say!" At this, all the subjects present laughed out loud at this, and the Mirror King looked meaningfully at the crowd and laughed.
Source
The Mahaparinirvana Sutra, III.2: "He who touches the tusks says that the elephant is shaped like the root of a rutabaga, he who touches the ears says that the elephant is like a winnowing fan, he who touches the head says that the elephant is like a stone, he who touches the snout says that the elephant is like a mortar and pestle, he who touches the feet says that the elephant is like a wooden mortar, he who touches the ridge says that the elephant is like a bed, he who touches the belly says that the elephant is like an urn, and he who touches the tail says that the elephant is like a rope."
Explanation
Metaphorically, it is used to describe a person who makes wild guesses and tries to make comprehensive judgments about things based on only one-sided understanding or partial experience.
(5) Waiting for a rabbit by guarding a tree
Allusion
Legend has it that in the state of Song during the Warring States period, there was a farmer who worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. In a good year, he was only just fed and clothed; in a disaster, he had to suffer from hunger. He wanted to improve his life, but he was too lazy, timid and small, doing everything is lazy and afraid, always want to come across the door of the unexpected wealth.
A miracle finally happened. One day in the late fall, he was plowing in the field, and there were people hunting around him. The sound of yelling rose and fell in all directions, and the frightened beasts ran for their lives. Suddenly, a rabbit, unerringly, ran headlong into the roots of a tree at the edge of his field.
That day, he had a good meal.
From then on, he stopped farming. All day long, he guarded the magical tree root and waited for a miracle.
Interpretation
The idiom of "Waiting for a rabbit by guarding a tree plant" is a metaphor for trying to get something for nothing, or sticking to a narrow experience without knowing how to change it.
(6) Pulling up seedlings to help them grow
An allusion
Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the State of Song, who thought that the seedlings in his field were growing too slowly, and so he was worried all day long. One day, when he was hoeing again, he felt that the rice seedlings didn't seem to grow at all, so he thought hard about what could be done to make them grow a little taller.
Suddenly, he was struck by an idea, and without hesitation, he rolled up his pants and jumped into the paddy field and began to pull each seedling a little higher. In the evening, the farmer had no trouble finishing his masterpiece, which he thought was clever, and ran home proudly, unable to wait to tell his wife, "I'll tell you something marvelous, I've thought of a good idea today, which has made the rice seedlings in our field grow a lot taller." The farmer's wife was half-convinced, so she asked her son to go to the field to see what was going on. The son was so excited to hear that the family's rice had grown taller that he flew to the field to see what was going on. At that moment, he found that the rice seedlings were growing tall, but they were hanging low, and looked like they were about to wither.
Interpretation
This story tells us that we must not follow the example of the farmer of Song, for everything has its own order, and if we want to finish it earlier, we will not only fail to finish it earlier, but also fail to accomplish anything.
(7) Buying a Casket of Pearls
An allusion
There was a man in Chu who had a beautiful pearl which he intended to sell. In order to sell the pearl at a good price, he thought of packing the pearl well, thinking that the pearl's "status" would naturally be higher if it had a noble packing.
The Chu people to find the valuable wood orchids, but also to invite skilled craftsmen, pearl made a box (i.e., casket), with cinnamon pepper spices to the box smoked aroma. Then, on the outside of the box carved a lot of good-looking pattern, but also set on the beautiful metal lace, looks, shiny, is really a delicate and beautiful crafts.
In this way, the Chu people will carefully put the pearls into the box, to the market to sell.
Soon after arriving at the market, many people gathered around to admire the Chu man's box. A Zheng man held the box in his hands for half a day, and loved it so much that he finally paid a high price to buy the Chu man's box. After paying the money, the Zheng man took the box and walked back. But he didn't walk a few steps and came back again. Chu thought that Zheng Ren regretted to return the box, not waiting for Chu to finish thinking, Zheng Ren had already walked to Chu. He took the pearl out of the open box and gave it to the Chu man, saying, "Sir, you forgot to put a pearl in the box, and I came back to return the pearl." So Zheng Ren handed the pearl to Chu Ren and then walked back with his head down while admiring the wooden box.
The chu man stood there very awkwardly with the returned pearl. He originally thought that others would appreciate his pearls, but he did not realize that the exquisite packaging exceeded the value of the box, so that "the dominant guest", making the Chu people laugh and cry.
Interpretation
The Zheng man's focus on appearance to the exclusion of substance led him to make the improper choice of sacrificing the essence for the end, while the Chu man's "excessive packaging" was also a bit ridiculous.
(H) Indiscriminately Playing Yuju
Allusion
According to Han Fei Zi, King Xuan of Qi loved to play yu, and he was a great fan of ostentation. There were three hundred people who played for him. He often asked them to play yu for him. There was a Mr. Nanguo who did not know how to play yu at all. When he saw this opportunity, he went to King Xuan of Qi and asked to join the yu-playing team. King Xuan of Qi put him in the team and gave him a very high salary. This Mr. Nanguo, who did not know how to play yu at all, mixed with the team whenever he played yu, and pretended to play with yu.
When King Xuan of Qi died, King Mian of Qi took over the throne. Unlike King Xuan of Qi, he did not like to hear everyone play yu together, but preferred to ask the yu players to come one by one to play for him. When Mr. Nanguo heard this, he had to run away and did not dare to pretend to be an yu player anymore.
Interpretation
A western proverb says that you can fool some people at a certain time, but you can't fool all the people all the time. If Mr. Nanguo does not know how to play yu and pretends to know how to play yu, there will come a time when he reveals himself.
This story also shows that Mr. Nanguo was not good at using good learning conditions. In King Xuan of Qi's 300-member yu-playing team, he got along with 299 other musicians, and his learning resources were quite rich. However, he did not realize this and was content to indiscriminately deceive himself and others, and could only end up getting away with it.
(IX) Seeking a Horse by the Map
Allusion
Sun Yang, a native of the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn Period, was rumored to be the most famous horse-reading expert in ancient China, who could tell at a glance whether a horse was good or bad. Because legend has it that Bole was the god in charge of managing horses in the sky, people called Sun Yang Bole.
It is said that Bole took his rich experience in horse-reading and wrote a book called "The Book of Horse-reading", in which he wrote about the characteristics of various kinds of thousand-horse and drew a lot of illustrations for people's reference in horse-reading.
Bo Le had a son who was very poor in intelligence. He read his father's book and was eager to go out and find a horse. He saw that the Sutra of Horse-reading said, "The main characteristics of a thousand-mile horse are, a high brain, big eyes, and hooves like stacked wine-currant blocks," so he took the book and walked outside to try his eyesight.
Walked not far, he saw a big toad, busy catch back to tell his father said: "I found a good horse, and your book 'horse-reading scripture' said about the same, only the hooves are not like a stack of wine currant block!"
Bele looked at the big toad in his son's hand, and couldn't help but feel both amused and irritated, and said humorously, "This 'horse' loves to jump, so there's no way to ride it!"
Origin
This idiom comes from "The Art of Forests and Mountains", Bole's "Horse Scripture" has "Long Pelte (sang) water-boat day, hooves such as the tired curve", his son to execute the "Horse Scripture" in order to seek the horse. He saw a big toad and said to his father, "I have got a horse which is slightly the same, but the hooves are not as good as those of a horse."
Interpretation
Seeking a good horse according to its image is a metaphor for sticking to the dogma of doing things and sticking to the rules. Now it means to follow the clues to find. Suo means to look for, to seek, and steed is a good horse.
(10) Handan Learning to Walk
An allusion
Legend has it that 2,000 years ago, there was a young man in Shouling, a place in the state of Yan, and he did not know what his name was, so let's just call him a young man in Shouling!
The Shouling teenagers do not worry about food and clothing, on the looks of the medium human resources, but he is the lack of self-confidence, often for no reason at all feel that everything is not as good as others, inferior - clothing is good, food is the fragrance of other people, standing and sitting are also other people's elegance. He saw what to learn, learn the same lost the same, although the pattern of renovation, but never be able to do a good job of a thing, do not know what he should be like.
The people at home advised him to change this problem, he thought it was too much control by the family.
Relatives and neighbors, said he was a dog with a stick, and he simply could not listen. As the day wore on, he questioned whether he should walk like this, and the more he looked, the more he felt his walking posture was too stupid and ugly.
One day, he ran into a few people on the road talking and laughing, only to hear someone say that Handan people walking posture that is called the beauty. When he heard that, he was right on the heart disease, and hurriedly walked up, wanting to inquire about it. But when he saw them, they laughed and left.
How beautiful is the walk of the people of Handan? He couldn't visualize it. This became a problem for him. Finally, one day, he hid from his family and traveled to the distant city of Handan to learn how to walk.
On arriving in Handan, he was dazzled by the newness of the place. See children walking, he felt lively, beautiful, learn; see the old man walking, he felt stable, learn; see women walking, swaying posture, learn. In this way, but half a month's time, he can't even walk, and spent all the money, so he had to crawl back.
Interpretation
The story is from "Zhuangzi - Autumn Water". The idiom of "Handan Learning to Walk" refers to the fact that if you imitate others mechanically, not only will you fail to learn their strengths, but you will also lose your own strengths and skills.
(xi) The Frog at the Bottom of the Well
Allusion
The Zhuangzi Autumn Waters tells a story about a toad in a shallow well and a turtle in the East China Sea. One day, a frog from a shallow well saw a big turtle from the East China Sea and said to it excitedly, "I am happy! When I come out, I jump around the well bar, and when I go in, I rest in the cracks of the well wall; when I jump into the well, the water soaks my armpits and gills; when I swim to a shallow place, the mud and soup are no longer there for my feet. I have the water of the well all to myself, and neither crabs nor tadpoles can compare with me; why don't you come down and see for yourself?"
The turtle came to the edge of the well, and before he could get his left foot in, his stone knee was already stuck. The turtle of the East China Sea slowly retreated, and then told the frog of the shallow well about the sea: "A thousand miles away is not enough to describe the vastness of the sea; a thousand feet high is not enough to measure its depth. Da Yu when ten years nine floods, the sea did not show how much increase; Shang Tang when eight years seven early, the sea did not see how much decrease ...... "The shallow well of the frog listened to the dumbfounded, horrified, bewildered if lost, how it ever thought that there is a bigger world than its side of the water well it!
The dynasty to which it belongs
Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods
Source
"Zhuangzi - Autumn Water": "The frogs in the wells are not allowed to speak to the sea, and they are detained in the void."
Interpretation
The frog at the bottom of a well can only see a piece of sky as big as the mouth of the well. It is a metaphor for people with narrow insights.