The form of idiom story

Twenty idioms and allusions that Chinese people must know

(1) Iron pestle grinding needles

Allusions

Famous poets of the Tang Dynasty Li Bai didn't like studying when he was a child. He often skipped school and wandered on the streets.

One day, Li Bai did not go to school again. He wandered around the street and looked here and there, and unknowingly arrived outside the city. The warm sunshine, cheerful birds, and flowers swaying in the wind made Li Bai sigh, "With such a beautiful weather, how boring would it be to read in the house all day?"

Walking, in a At the door of the dilapidated hut, an old woman with white hair sat grinding an iron pestle as thick as a stick. Li Bai walked over and asked, "Old woman, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to grind this iron pestle into an embroidery needle." The old woman raised her head, smiled at Li Bai, and then lowered her head to continue. Grinding.

"Embroidery needle?" Li Bai asked again: "Is it an embroidery needle used for sewing clothes?"

"Of course!"

"But, Tie Chu When can such a thick needle be ground into a fine embroidery needle?"

The old woman asked Li Bai: "A drop of water can penetrate a stone, and a foolish old man can move a mountain. Why can't an iron pestle be ground into an embroidery needle?"

"But, you are so old?"

"As long as I work harder than others, there is nothing I can't do."

The old woman's words made Li Bai very ashamed, so after he returned, he never skipped school again. I also studied very hard every day, and finally became a poet who will be famous throughout the ages.

Interpretation

No matter what you do, as long as you have perseverance, you will definitely succeed. Hard work pays off. If our children can be serious, hard-working and perseverant in their studies, there will be no problem with good grades.

(2) Hearing the Chicken and Dancing

Allusions

Zu Ti of the Jin Dynasty was a man with an open mind and lofty ambitions. But when he was a child, he was a naughty child who didn't like reading. When he entered his youth, he realized his lack of knowledge and felt that he could not serve the country without studying, so he started reading hard. He read extensively and studied history seriously, so he started reading hard. He read extensively and studied history carefully, from which he learned a wealth of knowledge and made great progress in his knowledge. He had been in and out of Luoyang, the capital, several times. People who had come into 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, someone recommended him to go to court, but he refused and continued to study hard.

Later, Zu Ti and his childhood friend Liu Kun Yizhi served as the chief registrar of Sizhou. He and Liu Kun had a deep relationship. Not only did they often sleep in the same bed and quilt, they also had the same lofty ideals: to make contributions, revive the Jin Dynasty, and become the pillars of the country.

Once, Zu Ti heard the crow of a rooster in his sleep in the middle of the night. He kicked Liu Kun awake and said to him: "Other people think it is unlucky to hear a rooster crow in the middle of the night, but I don't." Thinking about it this way, how about we just get up and practice swordplay when the rooster crows?" Liu Kun readily agreed. So they got up after the rooster crows every day to practice their swords, with sword lights flying and sword sounds clanging. Spring goes to winter, cold comes and heat comes, never stopping. Hard work paid off, and after long-term hard study and training, they finally became all-round talents capable of writing good articles and leading troops to win battles. Zu Ti was named General Zhenxi, realizing his desire to serve the country; Liu Kun became the governor, taking charge of the military affairs of Bing, Hebei and Youzhou, and gave full play to his literary and military talents.

Interpretation

The story comes from "Book of Jin·Zu Ti Zhuan". The idiom "Dance upon hearing the rooster" describes a person who is energetic and promising, and also a metaphor for people with lofty ideals to cheer up in time.

(3) Repairing the situation after a desperate situation

Allusion

This story comes from the "Warring States Policy". During the Warring States Period, a minister of the Chu State named Zhuang Xin said to King Chu Xiang one day: "When you are in the palace, the Marquis of Zhou is on your left and the Marquis of Xia is on your right; when you go out, Lord Yanling and Lord Shouhe are always together. It’s up to you. You and these four people specialize in luxury and sex, regardless of national affairs, and Ying (the capital of Chu, in the north of Jiangling County, Hubei Province) must be in danger.”

King Xiang heard this! , was very unhappy and cursed angrily: "Are you confused? Are you deliberately saying these sinister words to confuse people's hearts?"

Zhuang Xin replied calmly: "I really feel that things must be done. If you have reached this point, you don’t dare to deliberately say that Chu is in trouble.

If you continue to favor this person, Chu will definitely perish. If you don’t believe me, please allow me to hide in Zhao. Hide and see what happens." Zhuang Xin had only lived in Zhao for five months. As expected, Qin sent troops to invade Chu, and King Xiang was forced to go into exile in Yangcheng (now northwest of Xixian County, Henan). Only then did Zhuang Xin feel that what he said was good, and he quickly sent someone to find Zhuang Xin and asked him what he could do. Zhuang Xin said sincerely: "I've heard that it's not too late to think of a hound when you see a rabbit's teeth; when a sheep runs away, It's not too late to mend the sheepfold after it falls..."

Interpretation

This is a very meaningful story. I only know how to enjoy myself, but I don't know how to do things. The result will undoubtedly be a tragic failure.

The idiom "mend the situation after the sheep is gone" is based on the two sentences above. It expresses the meaning that after a mistake has been made in handling something, it is not too late to save it as soon as possible.

For example, a businessman makes a mistake in estimating the development of things, advances rashly, and falls into failure. But he was not discouraged, and patiently thought about the matter again, learned from this mistake, and believed that it was not too late to "make up for it" and start from scratch!

(4) The blind man touched the elephant

Allusions

According to ancient Indian Buddhist scriptures, there was a small country in India in ancient times, and the king was named the Mirror King. He believed in Sakyamuni's Buddhism, worshiped Buddha and recited sutras every day, and was very pious. However, there were many divine religions and witchcraft that were popular in the country at that time. Most of the subjects were confused by their preachings, and their hearts were confused and unclear about right and wrong, which was not conducive to the governance of the country. The Mirror King wanted all his subjects to convert to Buddhism, so he came up with an idea: educate and induce them through the teachings of the blind man touching the elephant. The Mirror King told his courtiers: "Find some blind people who are completely blind to come to the royal city." The messenger quickly gathered a group of blind people and led them to the palace.

The messenger walked into the palace and reported to the Mirror King: "Your Majesty, the blind men you asked to find have been brought to the palace." The Mirror King said: "You will lead the blind people to the Elephant Garden early tomorrow morning, and let them Each of them could only touch one part of the elephant's body, and then immediately brought them to the square in front of the palace." The next morning, the Mirror King summoned all the ministers and tens of thousands of civilians to gather in front of the palace. In the square, people were talking to each other in excitement. No one knew what important thing the king was going to announce. After a while, the messenger led the blind people to the Mirror King's high seat, and the people in the square suddenly became quiet. The Mirror King asked the blind people: "Have you all touched the elephant?" The blind people replied in unison: "I have touched the elephant!" The Mirror King added: "Each of you, tell us what the elephant is. What does it look like?" The blind man who touched the elephant's leg first stood up and said, "Tell the wise king that the elephant is like a big barrel filled with paint." The blind man who touched the elephant's tail said, "Your Majesty, the elephant. It should be 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 was like a big spoon, and the one who touched the big tusks said that it was an elephant. Like horns, if you touch the back of the elephant's tail, you say the elephant is like a stick, and if you touch the elephant's ears, you say the elephant is like a dustpan. Finally, the blind man who touched the trunk of the elephant said: "Sage King, the elephant is really like a thick rope." A group of blind men divided into several groups, noisy and arguing, each saying that he was right and others were wrong. They all went to the Mirror King to argue: "Your Majesty! The elephant does look like what I said!" At this time, the people present laughed when they saw this, and the Mirror King also looked at everyone meaningfully and laughed. .

Source

32 of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra: "Those who touch the teeth are like words like reed roots, those who touch the ears are like words like a dustpan, and those who touch the head are like a dustpan. When it touches the nose, it sounds like a pestle. When it touches the feet, it sounds like a wooden mortar. When it touches the spine, it sounds like a bed. When it touches the belly, it sounds like an urn. When it touches the tail, it sounds like a rope. . ”

Explanation

It means making random guesses and trying to make a comprehensive judgment based on only one-sided understanding or partial experience of things.

(5) Sit back and wait for the rabbit

Allusions

According to legend, in the Song Dynasty during the Warring States Period, there was a farmer who worked at sunrise and rested at sundown. When there is a good year, you can only have enough to eat and clothe yourself; when there is a famine, you will go hungry. He wants to improve his life, but he is too lazy and very timid. He is lazy and afraid of everything he does, and always wants to encounter the windfall that comes to his door.

The miracle finally happened. One day in late autumn, he was plowing in the fields, and people were hunting around him. There were shouts and shouts everywhere, and the frightened little beast ran desperately. Suddenly, a rabbit hit the root of a tree at the edge of his field and died.

That day, he had a delicious meal.

From then on, he stopped farming. Day and night, guarding the magical tree roots, waiting for a miracle to appear.

Interpretation

The idiom "waiting for the rabbit" is a metaphor for getting something for nothing, or clinging to a narrow experience without knowing how to adapt.