Category: Chinese Idiom

哀感顽艳 AI1 GAN3 WAN2 YAN4

通过时代气候、世家庭、性理想三个方面的考察,力求还原词人身处的文化生态环境,进而理清纳兰性德“哀感顽艳”、婉丽凄清”词风的内蕴及成因。     it tries to restore the then cultural-ecological environment in which nanlan lived from three perspectives: the times, family

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Chinese Idiom -庖丁解牛

A cook was butchering an ox for Duke Wen Hui.
The places his hand touched,
His shoulder leaned against,
His foot stepped on,
His knee pressed upon,
Came apart with a sound.

He moved the blade, making a noise
That never fell out of rhythm.
It harmonized with the Mulberry Woods Dance,
Like music from ancient times.

Duke Wen Hui exclaimed: "Ah! Excellent!
Your skill has advanced to this level?"

"What I follow is Tao,
The cook puts down the knife and answered:
Which is beyond all skills.
"When I started butchering,
What I saw was nothing but the whole ox.
After three years,
I no longer saw the whole ox.

"Nowadays, I meet it with my mind
Rather than see it with my eyes.
My sensory organs are inactive
While I direct the mind’s movement.

"It goes according to natural laws,
Striking apart large gaps,
Moving toward large openings,
Following its natural structure.

"Even places wher tendons attach to bones
Give no resistance,
Never mind the larger bones!

"A good cook goes through a knife in a year,
Because he cuts.
An average cook goes through a knife in a month,
Because he hacks.

"I have used this knife for nineteen years.
It has butchered thousands of oxen,
But the blade is still like it’s newly sharpened.

"The joints have openings,
And the knife’s blade has no thickness.
Apply this lack of thickness into the openings,
And the moving blade swishes through,
With room to spare!

"That’s why after nineteen years,
The blade is still like it’s newly sharpened.

"Nevertheless, every time I come across joints,
I see its tricky parts,
I pay attention and use caution,
My vision concentrates,
My movement slows down.

"I move the knife very slightly,
Whump! It has already separated.
The ox doesn’t even know it’s dead,
and falls to the ground like mud.

"I stand holding the knife,
And look all around it.
The work gives me much satisfaction.
I clean the knife and put it away."

Duke Wen Hui said: "Excellent!
I listen to your words,
And learn a principle of life."

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Chinese Idiom -朝三暮四-3 Bananas in the Morning and 4 in the Afternoon

3 bananas in the Morning and 4 in the Afternoon.Zhuangzi told this story to his disciples to make a point.
once a zookeeper said to his monkeys: "You’ll get 3 bananas in the Morning and 4 in the afternoon."
All monkeys are upset.
"OK. How about 4 bananas in Morning and 3 in the afternoon?"
Hearing this, the monkeys are content.
One should realize that sometimes a change in phrasing does not represent a real change.

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