Chinese 成语 | chengyu can be proverbs, common sayings, idiomatic phrases, or groups of words that convey a figurative meaning beyond their literal meaning. Chengyu mostly comes from ancient myths, stories, or historical periods.

 

They are frequently used in both spoken and written Chinese, and are an important part of the Chinese language. The mastery of these idioms will help you both express yourself in an authentic way as well as gain a better understanding of Chinese culture. Through this article, you will learn commonly used Chinese Chengyus through interesting stories from where they originated from.

 

 

东施效颦 | dōng shī xiào pín (Mere Copycat).

 

传说春秋时期, 越国有一美女, 名唤西施。 | Chuán shuō chūn qiū shí qī, yuè guó yǒu yī měi nǚ, míng huàn xī shī。(In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期, 770-476 BC), there was a beauty in the State of Yue called Xishi (西施)).

 

但是西施有心口疼的毛病, 所以她经常手捂胸口, 皱着眉头走着。| dàn shì xī shī yǒu xīn kǒu téng de máo bìng, suǒ yǐ tā jīng cháng shǒu wǔ xiōng kǒu, zhòu zhe méi tóu zǒu zhe。(She often suffered from pains in her chest, and so she would often walk around doubled over and with her eyebrows knitted).

 

村子里还住着一位丑姑娘, 叫做东施, 她十分嫉妒西施。| cūn zǐ lǐ hái zhù zhe yī wèi chǒu gū niáng, jiào zuò dōng shī, tā shí fēn jí dù xī shī。(There was an ugly girl in the village called Dongshi (东施) who envied Xishi).

 

于是东施时常效仿西施, 手捂胸口, 紧皱眉头。| yú shì dōng shī shí cháng xiào fǎng xī shī, shǒu wǔ xiōng kǒu, jǐn zhòu méi tóu。(Striving to emulate Xishi, she imitated her stoop and knitted her eyebrows at the same time).

 

东施觉得她效仿西施就会变得很美丽, 但是实际上, 只会使她变得更难看而已。| dōng shī jué de tā xiào fǎng xī shī jiù huì biàn de hěn měi lì, dàn shì shí jì shang, zhī huì shǐ tā biàn de gèng nán kàn ér yǐ。(She thought that this made her elegant, but in fact, it only made her uglier).

 

这个典故比喻不恰当的模仿, 带来相反的效果。| zhè ge diǎn gù bǐ yù bù qià dāng de mó fǎng, dài lái xiāng fǎn de xiào guǒ。(Later, this idiom was used to express improper imitation that produces a reverse effect).

 

 

爱屋及乌 | ài wū jí wū I Love me, love my dog

 

中国历史上有一个国家名叫“周”。| zhōng guó lì shǐ shàng yǒu yí gè guó jiā míng jiào “zhōu”。(There was a state called Zhou (周) in Chinese history).

 

一天, 周王问他的官员, 应该怎样处理战俘。| yì tiān, zhōu wáng wèn tā de guān yuán, yīng gāi zěn yàng chǔ lǐ zhàn fú。(One day, the king of Zhou asked his officials for advice on how to deal with prisoners of war).

 

一个官员说, “我以前曾听说：如果喜欢某个人, 就连停留在那人住的屋顶上的乌鸦都喜欢:如果厌恶某个人, 就连那人家里的墙壁和围墙都厌恶。战俘是我们的敌人,和我们是对立的，我觉得最好把他们全部杀了。” | yígè guānyuán shuō, “wǒ yǐqián céng tīngshuō: rúguǒ xǐhuan mǒugè rén, jiù lián tíngliú zài nà rén zhù de wūdǐng shàng de wūyā dōu xǐhuan; rú guǒ yàn wù mǒu gè rén, jiù lián nà rén jiā lǐ de qiáng bì hé wéi qiáng dōu yàn wù。 zhàn fú shì wǒ men de dí rén, hé wǒmen shì duì lì de, wǒ jué dé zuì hǎo bǎ tāmen quán bù shā le。” (An official said, "I once heard that if you love someone, you are supposed to love even the crows on the roof of his house. If you hate someone, you are intended to hate even the walls and the parapets of his house. The prisoners of war are enemies that fought against us. In my opinion, we'd better kill them all").

 

周王认为这样做不行。 另外一个官员也提出了自己的意见： “依我看应该把战俘区分对待, 把有罪的和无罪的, 好的和坏的区分开来。 有罪的战俘要处死, 不能留下祸患。” | zhōu wáng rèn wéi zhè yàng zuò bù xíng。 lìng wài yí gè guān yuán yě tí chū le zì jǐ de yì jiàn: “yī wǒ kàn yīnggāi bǎ zhànfú qūfēn duìdài, bǎ yǒuzuì de hé wú zuì de, hǎo de hé huài de qūfēn kāi lái。 yǒu zuì de zhàn fú yào chǔ sǐ, bù néng liú xià huò huàn。” (But the king didn't agree with him. Another official put forward his suggestion. “I think we should treat the prisoners of war differently by splitting them into those who are guilty and those who are not. The guilty ones will be sentenced to death in order to avoid future disasters”).

 

周王认为这样做也不大妥当。 | zhōu wáng rèn wéi zhè yàng zuò yě bú dà tuǒ dang。(The king didn't think this was the proper way, either).

 

接着，又有一个官员说： “大王, 我认为应该把这些战俘全都放了, 让他们回到自己的家里, 耕种田地，自食其力。而大王对自己的亲人和朋友, 也要赏罚分明, 不能偏心。 通过道德和法律来治理国家, 人民肯定会对大王信服的。” | jiē zhe, yòu yǒu yí gè guān yuán shuō：“dà wáng， wǒ rèn wéi yīng gāi bǎ zhè xiē zhàn fú quán dōu fàng le, ràng tāmen huí dào zìjǐ de jiā lǐ, gēng zhòng tián dì, zì shí qí lì。 ér dà wáng duì zì jǐ de qīn rén hé péng yǒu, yě yào shǎng fá fēn míng, bù néng piān xīn。 tōng guò dào dé hé fǎ lǜ lái zhì lǐ guó jiā, rén mín kěn dìng huì duì dà wáng xìn fú de。” (Then a third advisor said, "Your majesty, I think all the prisoners should be set free and sent back home to work in the fields -- thus support themselves with their own labor. Moreover, you should strictly maintain your rules for reward and punishment, and treat your relatives and friends impartially. The people are sure to believe in you if you administer our country with morals and laws”).

 

周王听后觉得很有道理, 就按这个办法去做, 结果国家真的很快安下来了, 变得越来越稳定和强大。| zhōu wáng tīng hòu juéde hěn yǒu dàolǐ, jiù àn zhège bàn fǎ qù zuò, jiéguǒ guójiā zhēn de hěn kuài āndìng xià lái le, biàn dé yuè lái yuè wěn dìng hé qiáng dà。(The king thought the official's proposal was quite reasonable so he accepted and followed it. As a result, the domestic situation soon settled down and gradually the country stabilized and became stronger).

 

成语“爱屋及乌”后来就被用来比喻： 因为喜爱一个人，连带和他有关的人或事物也喜爱, 关心。  | chéng yǔ “ài wū jí wū” hòu lái jiù bèi yòng lái bǐ yù： yīn wéi xǐ ài yí gè rén, lián dài hé tā yǒu guān de rén huò shì wù yě xǐ ài, guān xīn。(This idiom is used to convey that if you love someone, you'll love people and things relative to him as well).

 

Hero image by Hisu lee (CC0 1.0)