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Chinese idioms:百闻不如一见 (Bǎiwén bùrú yíjiàn)

百闻不如一见 bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn Hàncháo de shíhòu, wàizú jīngcháng qīnfàn zhōngyuán. Huángdì xiǎng ràng yí wèi xìng Zhào de lǎo jiāngjūn dàibīng chūzhēng, dàn zhèshí tā yǐjīng qīshí duō suì le, huángdì pài rén qù wèn tā kě bù kě yǐ chūzhēng, Zhào jiāngjūn hěn zìxìn dì huídá:” Wǒ qù zuì héshì le.” Huángdì yòu pài rén qù wèn:” Qǐng jiāngjūn gūjì yí xià dírén de qíngkuàng, tāmen de bīnglì zěnmeyang, gāi pài qù duōshǎo rénmǎ?” Zhào jiāngjūn huí dá:” Bǎi wén bù rú yí jiàn. Duìfāng jūnshì shàng de qíngkuàng rúhé, zài hòufāng hěn nán zhǔnquè de gūjì, háishì ràng wǒ shàng qiánfāng liáojiě zài lái zhìdìng cèluè ba!” Tā yàoqiú huángdì bǎ rènwù jiāo gěi tā, búbì dānyōu. Huángdì jiù xiào zhe dāyìng le. Hòulái tā lǐngbīng yíng zhàn wàizú, dà huò quán shèng.
汉朝的时候,外族经常侵犯中原。皇帝想让一位姓赵的老将军带兵出征,但这时他已经七十多岁了,皇帝派人去问他可不可以出征,赵将军很自信地回答:“我去最合适了。”皇帝又派人去问:“请将军估计一下敌人的情况,他们的兵力怎么样,该派去多少人马?”赵将军回答:“百闻不如一见。对方军事上的情况如何,在后方很难准确地估计,还是让我上前方了解了解再来制定策略吧!”他要求皇帝把任务交给他,不必担忧。皇帝就笑着答应了。后来他领兵迎战外族,大获全胜。In the Han Dynasty, foreign tribes often attacked the region of Han. The emperor wanted to ask an old general surnamed Zhao to go out to battle. But he was already over seventy. The emperor sent somebody to ask him if he could go on an expedition. With confidence, General Zhao answered, “I’m the best person to do it”. Then the emperor sent another person to ask him, “Please evaluate the situation of the enemy. How are their armed forces, and how many troops should we deploy?” General Zhao answered, “Seeing is believing. It’s difficult to evaluate the enemy’s military situation. So let me formulate a strategy after I go to the frontier.”He requested the emperor to assign the task to him and not to be worried. The emperor agreed with a smile. Later, he led troops to fight against the enemy and gained a complete victory.

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每日一词:钻牛角尖(zuān niújiǎojiān ) get into a blind alle

钻牛角尖(zuān niújiǎojiān ) get into a blind alley;to take unnecessary pains to study an insignificant problem;
释义
“牛角尖”指很小的地方或细节。“钻牛角尖”带有贬义,指某人过于关注那些不重要的小地方或者是暂时不能解决的问题。常用来形容某人对一些目前不必要或不值得研究的问题过于认真,含有批评的语气。Meaning
"牛角尖(niújiǎojiān)" refers to the trivial or unimportant details. The phrase "钻牛角尖(zuān niújiǎojiān)" has a negative meaning which is commonly used to criticize those people who pay too much attention to small details or problems that cannot be solved for the moment.
例句 Sentences 1.Xiǎng wèntí sīlù yào guǎng yìxiē ,búyào zǒngshì zài yí gè dìfang zuān niújiǎojiān.
想问题思路要广一些,不要总是在一个地方钻牛角尖。Do have a bigger picture of the matter instead of attaching much importance to one aspect.
2. Búyào zǒng shì zuān niújiǎojiān, yìzhí xiǎng nàxiē bù kāixīn de shì.
不要总是钻牛角尖,一直想那些不开心的事。Do not dwell on the unhappy things any more.
原文链接

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Chinese idioms:半途而废( Bàntú-érfèi )

半途而废 Bàntú-érfèi
Dōnghàn shí, yǒu yíwèi cōngmíng de nǚzǐ, rénmen dōu bùzhī tā jiào shénme míngzì, zhī zhīdào tā shì Lè yángzǐ de qīzǐ.
东汉时,有一位聪明的女子,人们都不知她叫什么名字,只知道她是乐羊子的妻子。 During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there lived a very intelligent woman known to people only as Leyangzi’s wife.
Yǒu yìnián, Lè yángzǐ qù yuǎnfāng qiúxué. Yì nián hòu, Lè yángzǐ huí lái le. Qīzǐ guì zhe wèn tā wèishénme huíjiā, Lè yángzǐ shuō:” chūmén shíjiān cháng le xiǎng jiā, méiyǒu qítā yuányīn.” Qīzǐ tīng le, ná qǐ yì bǎ dāo zǒudào zhībù jī qián shuō:” zhèlǐ de sī shì yìgēn yìgēn zhī zài yìqǐ, jīlèi qǐlái cái yǒu yícùn cháng, rán hòu yícùn cùn dì jīlèi , cái yǒu yízhàng, zhí zhì yìpǐ. Xiànzài rúguǒ wǒ bǎ tā gē duàn, jiù huì qiángōng jìnqì, qiánmiàn de shíjiān yě jiù báibái làngfèi le.”
有一年,乐羊子去远方求学。一年后,乐羊子回来了。妻子跪着问他为什么回家,乐羊子说:“出门时间长了想家,没有其他原因。”妻子听了,拿起一把刀走到织布机前说:“这里的丝是一根一根织在一起,积累起来才有一寸长,然后一寸寸地积累,才有一丈,直至一匹。现在如果我把它割断,就会前功尽弃,前面的时间也就白白浪费了。”One year, Leyangzi went to a distant school to study. A year later, when he returned, his wife kneeled on the ground and asked why he’d come home. He said, “There are no reasons other than missing home.” On hearing this, his wife walked to the loom with a knife and said, “This silk is weaved one by one. It’s now one-inch long. And one zhang (3.33 meters) was formed only after I weaved several inches. Finally, I was able to produce one bolt of cloth. If I cut it off now, all of my previous efforts and invested time will have been wasted.”
Qīzǐ jiē zhe shuō: ” dúshū yě shì zhèyàng, nǐ yīnggāi měitiān huò dé xīn de zhīshí, màn màn jīlèi, ránhòu shǐ zìyǐ de pǐnxíng rìyì wán měi.Rúguǒ zhōngtú huíjiā le, nà hé gēduàn zhè xiē sī yǒu shénme fènbié ne?”
妻子接着说:“读书也是这样,你应该每天获得新的知识,慢慢积累,然后使自已的品行日益完美。如果中途回家了,那和割断这些丝有什么分别呢?” His wife continued, “It’s the same with study. You should acquire new knowledge and slowly accumulate it in order to perfect yourself. If you go home in the middle, is it any different than chopping the silk off the loom?”

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Chinese idioms:百发百中(Bǎifā-bǎizhòng )

百发百中Bǎifā-bǎizhòng
Yǎng Yóujī shì wǒ guó gǔdài zhùmíng de shèjiàn néngshǒu. Zài Chǔ Gòngwáng shí, háiyǒu yí gè shàn shè de rén, míng jiào Pān dǎng, nénggòu měi jiàn dōu shè zhòng jiànbǎ de bǎ hóngxīn. Yǎng Yóujī duì tā shuō: “zhè hái bú suàn běnshì, yào néng zài bǎibù zhī wài shè zhòng yángliǔ yèzǐ, cái suàn chàbùduō le.” Pān dǎng tīng le yǐ hòu bù fúqì, dāngjì xuǎn dìng yáng liǔ shù shàng de sān piàn yè zǐ, bìng biāo míng hào shù, jiào Yǎng Yóujī tuì dào bǎibù zhī wài, shùnxù shè qù. Yǎng Yóujī lián shè sān jiàn, guǒrán, dì yī jiàn zhòng yīhào yèxīn, dì èr jiàn zhòng èrhào yèxīn, dì sān jiàn zhòng sānhào yèxīn, sān jiàn dōu fēicháng zhǔnquè dì shè zhòng le mùbiāo.
养由基是我国古代著名的射箭能手。在楚共王时,还有一个善射的人,名叫潘党,能够每箭都射中箭靶的靶红心。养由基对他说:“这还不算本事,要能在百步之外射中杨柳叶子,才算差不多了。”潘党听了以后不服气,当即选定杨柳树上的三片叶子,并标明号数,叫养由基退到百步之外,顺序射去。养由基连射三箭,果然,第一箭中一号叶心,第二箭中二号叶心,第三箭中三号叶心,三箭都非常准确地射中了目标。Yang Youji was a famous archer in the ancient times in the state of Chu. During the period Chu was ruled by Chu Gongwang, there was another famous archer, Pan Dang. Every his shot hit the target.
Yang Youji said to Pan Dang, "This cannot be counted as a great skill. If you can shoot the leaves of a willow tree from one hundred paces away, it can be considered as more or less a great skill." Pan Dang was not convinced. He chose three leaves from a willow tree and marked them. He asked Yang Youji to shoot them from a hundred pace away in order. Yang Youji gave three shots. Without any surprise, the first shot hit the middle of the first leave, the second shot hit the middle of the second leave and the third shot hit the middle of the third leave. All of the three shots have hit the targets precisely.

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每日一词:猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)indefinite time

猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)indefinite time; long long ago
释义
“猴年马月”指没有准确的期限,不知道什么时候,事情发生或者完成的时间与说话时时间间隔比较长;也用来指这件事情不太可能实现或完成。也有一种说法认为,“猴年马月”是天津话“何年嘛月”谐音的变体。Meaning
"猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)" means there is no specific deadline for an on-going thing or specific date for occurrence of the thing. It also indicates that something is unlikely accomplished. Someone believes that "猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)" is derived from “何年嘛月(hénián màyuè)”, an expression in Tianjin(China city) dialect.
例句 Sentences 1、Zhège xiàngmù yǐjīng tuō le hěnjiǔ le ,zài zhèyàng xiàqù, hóunián mǎyuè cái néng wán chéng.
这个项目已经拖了好久了,再这样下去,猴年马月才能完成。This project has been delayed for a long time. If things go on like this, God knows when we can finish it.
2、Zhè dōu shì hóunián mǎyuè de shìqing le, nǐ jūrán hái jìzhe?
这都是猴年马月的事情了,你居然还记着?It happened a long time ago, but you still remember it! 

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每日一词:团购(tuángòu)Group purchase

团购(tuángòu)Group purchase 释义
团购的字面意思是团体购物,指认识的或者不认识的人一起买东西,这样可以求得最优价格。团购时,商家一般会给出低于零售价格的团购折扣和单独购买得不到的优质服务,这样就可以卖出更多的产品,从中获利。现在团购的主要方式是网络团购,也有某单位集体购买。

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每日一词:宅(zhái)Staying at Home a lot

宅男zháinán/   宅女zháinǚ  释义Meaning“宅”,本意是名词,指“住宅、房子”;也可以作为动词来用,意思是“呆在家不出门”。“宅男/宅女”是近几年在中国年轻人中流行起来的一个词语,这些年轻人的最大特点就是不喜欢外出,除工作、购物等必要活动以外,整天呆在家里,很少出门,生活圈里基本只有自己。这些人在家中也常常沉迷于电视、电脑、游戏等活动。“宅(zhái)” mainly means a dwelling house, which is a noun. Now it has also taken on another meaning as a verb referring to “staying at home a lot”. Recently the expressions of “宅男/ 宅女(zháinán/zháinǚ)” become popular among the young people in China. The typical feature of those who can be described as “宅男” or “宅女” is that, except for doing some necessary things, such as working and shopping, they always stay at home, and seldom go out. They do not have many friends in their life and spend most of their time in watching TV, playing computers and video games alone.

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每日一词:忘年交(wàng nián jiāo)Friendship in Generations

忘年交(wàng nián jiāo) 释义Meaning“忘年交” 的意思是两个人之间的友谊忘记了他们年龄的差距,指两个年龄差距很大,但却有情谊深厚的朋友。It indicates the friends who has deep friendship although there is age difference.
例句Sentences1.Xiǎo Lǐ hé Lǎo Wáng yīnwèi dōu xǐhuān diàoyú, chéng le yíduì wàngniánjiāo.
小李和老王因为都喜欢钓鱼,成了一对忘年交。Xiao Li and Lao Wang become friends in spite of the age difference, because they both like fishing.2.Qīsuì de XiǎoBèi tiāntiān hé Wáng dàyé xiàqí, xiànzài tāliǎ shì dà jiā xiànmù de wàngniánjiāo.
7岁的小贝天天和王大爷下棋,现在他俩是大家羡慕的忘年交。 Xiao bei, 7 year-old, has become friends with Grandpa Wang. The friendship between generations is admired by people.

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Chinese idioms:掩耳盗铃(Yǎn’ěr-dàolíng)

掩耳盗铃(Yǎn'ěr-dàolíng)
Cóngqián yǒu yí gè xiǎotōu, pǎo dào yí hù rénjiā lǐ xiǎng tōu diǎn dōngxī. Tā kànjiàn yuànzǐ lǐ guà zhe yì kǒu dàzhōng, gāoxìng jí le, xīnxiǎng: zhè kǒu zhōng yídìng hěn zhíqián! Yúshì, tā biàn xiǎng bǎ zhè kǒu zhōng bānhuí jiā qù. Kěshì, zhōng fēicháng chén, tā zěnme bān dōu bān bú dòng. Hòulái, tā xiǎng dào le yígè bànfǎ, nà jiùshì bǎ zhōng qiāosuì zhīhòu fènbié bān huíji. Xiǎo tōu zhǎo le yìbǎ dà chuízǐ, shǐjìn cháo zhōng záqù, kěshì, gāng yì zá jiù fā chū le hěndà de xiǎngshēng. Xiǎotōu huāng le, jímáng yòng shǒu wǔzhù ěrduǒ, jiéguǒ, zhōngshēng bújiàn le. Xiǎotōu xiǎng, wǔzhù zìjǐ de ěrduǒ, biérén jiù tīng bú jiàn zhōngshēng le, yúshì yòu kāishǐ zázhōng. Jiéguǒ, rénmen tīng dào zhōngshēng zhīhòu, quán dōu cóng jiā zhōng pǎo chūlái, yíxià jiù zhuāzhù le xiǎotōu.
从前有一个小偷,跑到一户人家里想偷点东西。他看见院子里挂着一口大钟,高兴极了,心想:这口钟一定很值钱!于是,他便想把这口钟搬回家去。可是,钟非常沉,他怎么搬都搬不动。后来,他想到了一个办法,那就是把钟敲碎之后分别搬回家。小偷找了一把大锤子,使劲朝钟砸去,可是,刚一砸就发出了很大的响声。小偷慌了,急忙用手捂住耳朵,结果,钟声不见了。小偷想,捂住自己的耳朵,别人就听不见钟声了,于是又开始砸钟。结果,人们听到钟声之后,全都从家中跑出来,一下就抓住了小偷。Plug One's Ears While Stealing a Bell—Deceive Oneself
In the ancient time, there was a thief who went to someone's house to steal. He saw a big bell hanging in the courtyard. The thief was very happy and he thought the bell looked valuable. Then, he decided to carry this beautiful bell back home. But the bell was too big and heavy. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move it. Later, he thought there was only one way to solve the problem. He had to break down the bell into parts before he was able to carry them back to his home. The thief found a big iron hammer, with which he struck the bell with all his might. But the striking produced a loud noise and even scared the thief. But when he covered up his ears he could no longer hear the noise. The thief became cheerful at once and thought the sound of the bell would not be heard by anyone if he covered up his own ears. Feeling relieved, he began striking the bell again, one blow after another. The sound of the bell was heard at distant places, and finally people caught the thief from tracing the sound.

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