Chinese idiom story 中国成语故事 (2024)

23/12/2011

"the latecomers surpass the old-timers"
this set phrase is derived from the complaints ji an made to the emperor.
ji anlived at the time of emperor wudi of the western han dynasty (206 b.c.-a.d.24). he was respected for being upright and just and for daring to speak the truth. he did not bother about amall matters in personal behaviour and in being an official. he was particular about actual effects and ,although he did not cause a stir ,he could keep the prefecture he governed in perfect order. because of this. the imperial court transferred him to the central government from being the perfect of the donghai prefecture to being a commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officals.

once,emperor wudi said that he would implement the policy of benevolence and justice of confucianism and would do good turns to the people.emperor wudi had hardly finished his remards when ji an said that there was no need for the emperor to say so.why should the emperor bother,ji an said, about pretending to implement the policy of benevolence and justice since he was so greedy and avaricious within himself? this choked the emperor off. the emperor suddenly changed his countenance and declared the meeting over. all the civilian and military officers at court were breathless with anxiety for fear that ji an might bring disaster upon himself because of this. after returning, emperor wudi said to the people around him that ji an was a little too rude and too straightforward.

for this reason ,ji an was never promoted again. when he was the commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officials, both gongsun hong and zhang tang were low -ranking lfficials of little importance. later ,they were promoted continuously. gongsun hong became the prime minister and zhang tang became the imperial censor. however, jian's post remained thesame. one day, ji an said to emperor wudi that the way the emperor used his ministers was just like piling up firewood, which meant that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers. of course, emperor wudi could see that ji an was complaining. so,turning to his ministers, emperor wudi said, "it is true that no one can stop learning.you see, ji an is making more and more indiscreet remarks."

this story comes from the historical records. later generations use the set phrase "the latecomers surpass the old-timers " to indicate that successors can cxcel the predecessors, which is quite different from the original idea when ji an said that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers.

“后来居上”

汲黯是西汉武帝时代人，以刚直正义、敢讲真话而受人尊重。他为人和做官都不拘小节，讲求实效。虽然表面上不那么轰轰烈烈，却能把一个郡治理得井井有条，因此，朝廷把他从东海太守调到朝廷当主爵都尉——一种主管地方吏任免的官职。

有一次，汉武帝说要实行儒家的仁义之政，为老百姓办好事了。没等皇帝把话说完，汲黯就说：“陛下内心里那么贪婪多欲，表面上却要装得实行仁政，这是何苦呢？”一句话把皇帝噎了回去。汉武帝登时脸色大变，宣布罢朝，满朝文武都为汲黯捏着一把汗，担心他会因此招来大祸。武帝回到宫里以后，对身边的人说，汲黯这个人也未免太粗太直了。

从此以后，汲黯的官职再也没有提升。他当主爵都尉的时候，公孙弘、张汤都还是不起眼的小官，后来，他们一个劲儿住上升，公孙弘当上了丞相，张汤做上了御史大夫，可他汲黯还蹲在原地没动窝。有一天，汲黯对武帝说，陛下使用群臣，跟码劈柴一样，是“后来者居上”啊！汉武帝当然听得出这是发牢骚。于是，转脸对臣下们说：“人真是不能不学习啊！你们听汲黯说话，越来越离谱了！”

故事出自《史记·汲郑列传》。成语“后来居上”，往往指后起的可以胜过先前的。和汲黯说这话的原意，大不相同。

22/12/2011

"按图索骥"
"looking for a steed with the aid of its picture"

during the spring and autumn period, there was a man in the state of qin whose name was sun yang. sun yang was very expert in looking at horses and judging their worth. whatever the horse might be, he could tell whether it was good or bad at first sight. people called him bo le (bo le was the name of one of the celestial bodies and was fabled to be in charge of heavenly steeds), and he was often asked to appraise and select horses.

one day, when sun yang was passing a place, an old horse pulling acart loaded with salt suddenly neighed to him without stopping. he came near, and saw that it was a horse that really could cover a thousand li a day, and that the only problem with it was that it was a little too old. the old horse was pulling the heavy cart with difficulties and hardships. sun yang felt acutely that the horse was really unjustly treated, for it might have been a fine steed galloping on the battlefield. it was a great pity that it was pulling the cart loaded with salt without attracting public attention, which had taken the edge off its spirit and consumed its energy. when he thought of this, he was so grieved that he shed tears.

in order to help more people learn how to appraise horses so that fine horses which could cover a thousand li a day would no longer fall into oblivion, and also in order to ensure that his unique skill in judging horses would not be lost, sun yang worte a book entitled the art of looking at horses and judging their worth, based on his experiences and knowledge accumulated over the years. the book was also illustrated with the pictures of various horses.

sun yang had a son who, after reading his father's the art of looking at horses and judging their worth, thought it was very esay to appraise horses. so he took the book with him to look for fine horses everywhere. at first he searched according to the pictures in the book, and accomplished nothing. then he searched according to the characteristics of a toad fit very well the characteristics described in the book. so he happily took the toad back home, and said to his father, "father, i have found a horse that can cover a thousand li a day, only its hoofs are not good enough." looking at the toad, sun yang did not know whether he should laugh or cry. knowing that his son was stupid, sun yang said humourously. "it's a pity that this horse is too fond of jumping to pull a cart." then he sighed, "that is just what we call looking for a steed with the aid of its picture."

later, people have used the set phrase "look for a steed with the aid of its picture" to refer to handling affairs mechanically in the outmoded ways without being flexible. somethimes it is also used to refer to trying to locate something by following up a clue. this set phrase originates in lumbering in the forest of art written by yang shen in the ming dynasty （1368-1644）.

春秋时候，秦国有个叫孙阳的人，擅长相马，无论什么样的马，他一眼就能分出优劣。他常常被人请去识马、选马，人们都称他为伯乐（“伯乐”本是天上的星名，据说负责管理天马）。

有一次，孙阳路过一个地方，忽见一匹拖着盐车的老马冲他叫个不停，走近一看，原来是匹千里马，只是年龄稍大了点。老马拉着车艰难地走着，孙阳觉得太委屈了这匹千里马，它本是可以奔跑于疆场，可以发挥更大作用的宝马良驹，现在却默默无闻地拖着盐车，慢慢地消耗着它的锐气和体力，实在可惜！孙阳想到这里，难过得落下泪来。

为了让更多的人学会相马，使千里马不再被埋没，也为了自己一身绝技不至于失传，孙阳把自己多年积累的相马经验和知识写成了一本书，配上各种马的形态图，书名叫《相马经》。

孙阳有个儿子，看了父亲写的《相马经》，以为相马很容易，就拿着这本书到处找好马。他按照书上所绘的图形去找，一无所获。又按书中所写的特征去找，最后发现有一只癞蛤蟆很像书中写的千里马的特征，便高兴地把癞蛤蟆带回家，对父亲说：“爸爸，我找到一匹千里马，只是蹄子稍差些。”父亲一看，哭笑不得，没想到儿子竟如此愚笨，便幽默地说：“可惜这马太喜欢跳了，不能用来拉车。”接着感叹道：“所谓按图索骥也。”

　　故事出自明朝杨慎的《艺林伐山》。成语“按图索骥”，比喻机械地照老办法办事，不知变通；也比喻按照某种线索去寻找事物。

　

22/12/2011

"草木皆兵"
"every bush and tree looks like an enemy"

during the eastern jin dynasty, fu jian, king of the state of qin, controlled northern china. in the year383, fu jian led 900,000 infantry and cavalry troops to assault the state of jin which was south of the yangtze river. xie shi and xie xuan, senior generals of the jin army, led 80,000 troops to offer resistance. knowing that the jin army was short of men, fu jian wanted to seize this opportunity of being much more numerous in armed forces to stage a quick attack.

unexpectedly, the van of fu jian's army of 250,000 troops was defeated in the shouchun area by an ingenious military move of the jin army and suffered heavy losses. the senior general of the van of fu jian's army was killed, and there were heavy casualties of more than 10,000 soldiers. fu jian's army was dispirited and its morale was shaken. many soldiers were in such a great panic that they waited for opportunities to run away. standing on the city wall of the shouchun city, fu jian and his brother fu rong saw that the ranks of the jin army were in good order and that the morale of the jin army was high. turning to his brother, fu jian said, "what a powerful enemy this is! why did people say that the jin army was short of men?" he deeply regretted that he had taken the enemy too lightly.

overshadowed by the disastrous defeat, fu jian ordered his troops to be deployed in battle formation on the north side of the feishui river, in an attempt to regain the initiative by relying on the superior geographical conditions. then xie shi and xie xuan, the senior generals of the jin army, suggested that fu jian's army retreat a little bit, leaving some space, so that the jin army could cross the river to conduct ooperations. fu jian thought that his chance had come, believing that the senior generals of the jin army did not have the elementary knowledge of warfare. it was his plan to stage a sudden attack while the troops of the jin army was busy crossing the river, and he was sure that his plan would word. so he willingly accepted the suggestion of the jin army.

unexpectedly, the moment the order to retreat was given, fu jian's troops were utterly routed and could by no means be controlled. taking advantage of this favorable situation, the jin army crossed the river, pursuing and attacking the enemy. the trooops of fu jian's army threw away everything in headlong flight, and the field was littered with the corpses of the soldiers of fu jian's army. fu rong was killed in the tangled fighting, and fu jian was hit by an arrow and ran away. the jin army won a brilliant victory by defeating a big army with its limited armed forces.

this story comes from "the life of fu jian" in the volume "records" of the history of the jin dynasty. the set phrase "every bush and tree looks like an enemy" is subsequently used to refer to a state of extreme nervousness.

东晋时代，秦王苻坚控制了北部中国。公元383年，苻坚率领步兵、骑兵90万，攻打江南的晋朝。晋军大将谢石、谢玄领兵8万前去抵抗。苻坚得知晋军兵力不足，就想以多胜少，抓住机会，迅速出击。

谁料，苻坚的先锋部队25万在寿春一带被晋军出奇击败，损失惨重，大将被杀，士兵死伤万余。秦军的锐气大挫，军心动摇，士兵惊恐万状，纷纷逃跑。此时，苻坚在寿春城上望见晋军队伍严整，士气高昂，再北望八公山，只见山上一草一木都像晋军的士兵一样。苻坚回过头对弟弟说：“这是多么强大的敌人啊！怎么能说晋军兵力不足呢？”他后悔自己过于轻敌了。

出师不利给苻坚心头蒙上了不祥的阴影，他令部队靠淝水北岸布阵，企图凭借地理优势扭转战局。这时晋军将领谢玄提出要求，要秦军稍往后退，让出一点地方，以便渡河作战。苻坚暗笑晋军将领不懂作战常识，想利用晋军忙于渡河难于作战之机，给它来个突然袭击，于是欣然接受了晋军的请求。

谁知，后退的军令一下，秦军如潮水一般溃不成军，而晋军则趁势渡河追击，把秦军杀得丢盔弃甲，尸横遍地。苻坚中箭而逃。

故事出自《晋书·苻坚·载记》。成语“草木皆兵”，形容神经过敏、疑神疑鬼的惊恐心理。

22/12/2011

"洛阳纸贵"
"overwhelming popularity of a new work causes shortage of printing paper"

in the jin dynasty (265-420) there was a famous writer whose name was zuo si who, however, was very naughty and did not like to study when he was a small kid.his father often got angry, and yet young zuo si was as naughty as ever and would not study hard.

one day, zuo si's father was chatting with his friends. his friends envied him his clever and loverly son. hearing this, zuo si's father sighed, "please do not mention him. my son zuo si does not study as well as i did when i was young, although i did not study well enough myself. it appears that he is actually a good-for-nothing." so saying, he looked disappointed. all this was witnessed by young zuo si. he felt very sad, feeling intensely that he would not be able to have a bright future if he did not study hard. so he was determined to study assiduously from then on. day after day and year after year, zuo si gradually grew up. because of his unremitting afforts in hard study, he became an erudite scholar and wrote very excellent essays. the "ode to the capital of the state of qi", which took him one year to write, showed his brilliant literary talent and laid the foundation for his becoming an outstanding writer. then he planned to write an "ode to the capitals of the three kingdoms of wei, shu han and wu" with the local conditions and customs as well as the produce of the three capitals as its content. in order to achieve the desired effect in content, structure and language, he applied himself to research work with great concentration, and was so absorbed in creative writing as to forget food and sleep. it took him ten whole years to finish the writing of "ode to the capitals of the three kingdoms of wei, shu han and wu", a literary masterpiece.

the "ode to the capitals of the three kingdoms of wei, shu han and wu" was well received by the broad masses of readers after it made its appearance to the public, and people considered it as superbly written as the "ode to the western capital (changan) and to the eastern capital (luoyang)" written by ban gu (32-92) and the "ode to the western capital and to the eastern capital" written by zhang heng of the han dynasty (206 b.c. to a.d.220). as the art of printing had not been invented at that time, people who were fond of this "ode" had to make handwritten copies of it themselves. as there were so many people who vied with each other in making handwritten copies, the supply of writing paper fell short of the demand in luoyang went up greatly.

this story comes from "the life of zuo si" in the book "literary field" of the history of the jin dynasty. based on this story, people have coined the set phrase "the price of writing paper went up greatly", meaning the overwhelming popularity of a new work causes shortage of printing paper, to show how popular an outstanding piece of literary work is.

晋代文学家左思，小时候是个非常顽皮、不爱读书的孩子。父亲经常为这事发脾气，可是小左思仍然淘气得很，不肯好好学习。

有一天，左思的父亲与朋友们聊天，朋友们羡慕他有个聪明可爱的儿子。左思的父亲叹口气说：“快别提他了，小儿左思的学习，还不如我小时候，看来没有多大的出息了。”说着，脸上流露出失望的神色。这一切都被小左思看到听到了，他非常难过，觉得自己不好好念书确实很没出息。于是，暗暗下定决心，一定要刻苦学习。

日复一日，年复一年，左思渐渐长大了，由于他坚持不懈地发奋读书，终于成为一位学识渊博的人，文章也写得非常好。他用一年的时间写成了《齐都赋》，显示出他在文学方面的才华，为他成为杰出的文学家奠定了基础。这以后他又计划以三国时魏、蜀、吴首都的风土、人情、物产为内容，撰写《三都赋》。为了在内容、结构、语言诸方面都达到一定水平，他潜心研究，精心撰写，废寝忘食，用了整整十年，文学巨著《三都赋》终于写成了。

《三都赋》受到谅也评，人们把它和汉代文学杰作《两都赋》相比。由于当时还没有发明印刷术，喜爱《三都赋》的人只能争相抄阅，因为抄写的人太多，京城洛阳的纸张供不应求，一时间全城纸价大幅度上升。

故事出自《晋书·文苑·左思传》。成语“洛阳纸贵”，称颂杰出的作品风行一进。

22/12/2011

"退避三舍"
"Retreating about Thirty Miles as Condition For Peace"

During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.), Duke Xian of the State of Jin Killed the crown prince Sheng because he had heard slanders about Sheng and believed them. He also sent his men to arrest Chong Er, Shen Sheng and believed them. He also sent his men to arrest Chonh Er, Shen Sheng's brother. Hearing the news, Chong Er escaped from the state of Jin, remaining a fugitive for more than ten years.

After innumerable hardships, Chong Er arrived at the State of Chu at last. King Cheng of the State of Chu treated him with high respect as he would have treated the ruler of a state, believing that he would have a vright fuure.

One day, King Cheng of the State of Chu gave a banquet in honoudr of Chong Er. Suddenly, amid the harmonious atmosphere of drinking and talking, King Cheng of the State of Chu asked Chong Er. "How will you repay me when you return to the State of Jin and become its ruler one day?" After thinking for a moment, Chong Er said, "You have plenty of beauties and attendants as well as jewelry and silk cloth, and the state of Chu abounds in rare brides and animals. What treasure can the State of Jin boast having to present to your majesty?" King Cheng of the State of Chu said, "You are too modest. Nevertheless, you still have to show your gratitude to me in one way or another, I presume?" Smiling, Chong Er answered, "If I should be fortunate enouge to return to the State of Jin and become its ruler, the State of Jin would be friendly to the State of Chu. If, one day, there should be a war between the two states, I would definitely order my troops to retreat three SHE (one SHE is equivalent to thirty LI. The LI is a Chinese unit of length equivalent to 1/2 kilometre. And, therefore, three SHE is about thirty miles.) as a condition for peace. If, under that condition, you were still not reconciled, I would have to fight with you."

Four years later, as might be expected, Chong Er returned to the State of Jin and became its ruler. He was none other than Duke Wen of the State of Jin famous in ancient Chinese history. Ruled by him, the State of Jin became increasingly powerful.

In the year 533 B.C., the Chu troops and the Jin troops confronted each other in a battle. Faithful to his promise, Duke Wen of the State of Jin ordered his troops to retreat about thirty miles. After retreating, the Jin troops were stationed at Chengpu. Seeing that the Jin troops were retreating, the Chu troops thought that the enemy troops were afraid, and began chasing them. Taking advantage of the Chu troops' arrogance and their talking the Jin troops lightly, the Jin troops concentrated their forces and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Chu troops, thus winning the victory of the battle of Chengpu.

This set phrase, "retreating about thirty miles as a condition for peace," is derived from the Chapter "The Twenty-second Year of Duke Xi" in ZuoZhuan, the famous commentary by Zuo Qiuming on The spring and Autumn Annals. The idea of this set phrase is to give way to somebody in order to avoid a conflict.

春秋时候，晋献公听信谗言，杀了太子申生，又派人捉拿申生的弟弟重耳。重耳闻讯，逃出了晋国，在外流忘十几年。

经过千幸万苦,重耳来到楚国。楚成王认为重耳日后必有大作为，就以国群之礼相迎，待他如上宾。
一天，楚王设宴招待重耳，两人饮洒叙话，气氛十分融洽。忽然楚王问重耳：“你若有一天回晋国当上国君，该怎么报答我呢？”重耳略一思索说：“美女待从、珍宝丝绸，大王您有的是，珍禽羽毛，象牙兽皮，更是楚地的盛产，晋国哪有什么珍奇物品献给大王呢？”楚王说：“公子过谦了。话虽然这么说，可总该对我有所表示吧？”重耳笑笑回答道：“要是托您的福。果真能回国当政的话，我愿与贵国友好。假如有一天，晋楚国之间发生战争，我一定命令军队先退避三舍（一舍等于三十里），如果还不能得到您的原谅，我再与您交战。”

四年后，重耳真的回到晋国当了国君，就是历史上有名的晋文公。晋国在他的治理下日益强大。

公元前633年，楚国和晋国的军队在作战时相遇。晋文公为了实现他许下的诺言，下令军队后退九十里，驻扎在城濮。楚军见晋军后退，以为对方害怕了，马上追击。晋军利用楚军骄傲轻敌的弱点，集中兵力，大破楚军，取得了城濮之战的胜利。

故事出自《左传·僖公二十二年》。成语“退避三舍”比喻不与人相争或主动让步。

22/12/2011

"草木皆兵"
"every bush and tree looks like an enemy"

during the eastern jin dynasty, fu jian, king of the state of qin, controlled northern china. in the year383, fu jian led 900,000 infantry and cavalry troops to assault the state of jin which was south of the yangtze river. xie shi and xie xuan, senior generals of the jin army, led 80,000 troops to offer resistance. knowing that the jin army was short of men, fu jian wanted to seize this opportunity of being much more numerous in armed forces to stage a quick attack.

unexpectedly, the van of fu jian's army of 250,000 troops was defeated in the shouchun area by an ingenious military move of the jin army and suffered heavy losses. the senior general of the van of fu jian's army was killed, and there were heavy casualties of more than 10,000 soldiers. fu jian's army was dispirited and its morale was shaken. many soldiers were in such a great panic that they waited for opportunities to run away. standing on the city wall of the shouchun city, fu jian and his brother fu rong saw that the ranks of the jin army were in good order and that the morale of the jin army was high. turning to his brother, fu jian said, "what a powerful enemy this is! why did people say that the jin army was short of men?" he deeply regretted that he had taken the enemy too lightly.

overshadowed by the disastrous defeat, fu jian ordered his troops to be deployed in battle formation on the north side of the feishui river, in an attempt to regain the initiative by relying on the superior geographical conditions. then xie shi and xie xuan, the senior generals of the jin army, suggested that fu jian's army retreat a little bit, leaving some space, so that the jin army could cross the river to conduct ooperations. fu jian thought that his chance had come, believing that the senior generals of the jin army did not have the elementary knowledge of warfare. it was his plan to stage a sudden attack while the troops of the jin army was busy crossing the river, and he was sure that his plan would word. so he willingly accepted the suggestion of the jin army.

unexpectedly, the moment the order to retreat was given, fu jian's troops were utterly routed and could by no means be controlled. taking advantage of this favorable situation, the jin army crossed the river, pursuing and attacking the enemy. the trooops of fu jian's army threw away everything in headlong flight, and the field was littered with the corpses of the soldiers of fu jian's army. fu rong was killed in the tangled fighting, and fu jian was hit by an arrow and ran away. the jin army won a brilliant victory by defeating a big army with its limited armed forces.

this story comes from "the life of fu jian" in the volume "records" of the history of the jin dynasty. the set phrase "every bush and tree looks like an enemy" is subsequently used to refer to a state of extreme nervousness.

东晋时代，秦王苻坚控制了北部中国。公元383年，苻坚率领步兵、骑兵90万，攻打江南的晋朝。晋军大将谢石、谢玄领兵8万前去抵抗。苻坚得知晋军兵力不足，就想以多胜少，抓住机会，迅速出击。

谁料，苻坚的先锋部队25万在寿春一带被晋军出奇击败，损失惨重，大将被杀，士兵死伤万余。秦军的锐气大挫，军心动摇，士兵惊恐万状，纷纷逃跑。此时，苻坚在寿春城上望见晋军队伍严整，士气高昂，再北望八公山，只见山上一草一木都像晋军的士兵一样。苻坚回过头对弟弟说：“这是多么强大的敌人啊！怎么能说晋军兵力不足呢？”他后悔自己过于轻敌了。

出师不利给苻坚心头蒙上了不祥的阴影，他令部队靠淝水北岸布阵，企图凭借地理优势扭转战局。这时晋军将领谢玄提出要求，要秦军稍往后退，让出一点地方，以便渡河作战。苻坚暗笑晋军将领不懂作战常识，想利用晋军忙于渡河难于作战之机，给它来个突然袭击，于是欣然接受了晋军的请求。

谁知，后退的军令一下，秦军如潮水一般溃不成军，而晋军则趁势渡河追击，把秦军杀得丢盔弃甲，尸横遍地。苻坚中箭而逃。

故事出自《晋书·苻坚·载记》。成语“草木皆兵”，形容神经过敏、疑神疑鬼的惊恐心理。

22/12/2011

"洛阳纸贵"
"overwhelming popularity of a new work causes shortage of printing paper"

in the jin dynasty (265-420) there was a famous writer whose name was zuo si who, however, was very naughty and did not like to study when he was a small kid.his father often got angry, and yet young zuo si was as naughty as ever and would not study hard.

one day, zuo si's father was chatting with his friends. his friends envied him his clever and loverly son. hearing this, zuo si's father sighed, "please do not mention him. my son zuo si does not study as well as i did when i was young, although i did not study well enough myself. it appears that he is actually a good-for-nothing." so saying, he looked disappointed. all this was witnessed by young zuo si. he felt very sad, feeling intensely that he would not be able to have a bright future if he did not study hard. so he was determined to study assiduously from then on. day after day and year after year, zuo si gradually grew up. because of his unremitting afforts in hard study, he became an erudite scholar and wrote very excellent essays. the "ode to the capital of the state of qi", which took him one year to write, showed his brilliant literary talent and laid the foundation for his becoming an outstanding writer. then he planned to write an "ode to the capitals of the three kingdoms of wei, shu han and wu" with the local conditions and customs as well as the produce of the three capitals as its content. in order to achieve the desired effect in content, structure and language, he applied himself to research work with great concentration, and was so absorbed in creative writing as to forget food and sleep. it took him ten whole years to finish the writing of "ode to the capitals of the three kingdoms of wei, shu han and wu", a literary masterpiece.

the "ode to the capitals of the three kingdoms of wei, shu han and wu" was well received by the broad masses of readers after it made its appearance to the public, and people considered it as superbly written as the "ode to the western capital (changan) and to the eastern capital (luoyang)" written by ban gu (32-92) and the "ode to the western capital and to the eastern capital" written by zhang heng of the han dynasty (206 b.c. to a.d.220). as the art of printing had not been invented at that time, people who were fond of this "ode" had to make handwritten copies of it themselves. as there were so many people who vied with each other in making handwritten copies, the supply of writing paper fell short of the demand in luoyang went up greatly.

this story comes from "the life of zuo si" in the book "literary field" of the history of the jin dynasty. based on this story, people have coined the set phrase "the price of writing paper went up greatly", meaning the overwhelming popularity of a new work causes shortage of printing paper, to show how popular an outstanding piece of literary work is.

晋代文学家左思，小时候是个非常顽皮、不爱读书的孩子。父亲经常为这事发脾气，可是小左思仍然淘气得很，不肯好好学习。

有一天，左思的父亲与朋友们聊天，朋友们羡慕他有个聪明可爱的儿子。左思的父亲叹口气说：“快别提他了，小儿左思的学习，还不如我小时候，看来没有多大的出息了。”说着，脸上流露出失望的神色。这一切都被小左思看到听到了，他非常难过，觉得自己不好好念书确实很没出息。于是，暗暗下定决心，一定要刻苦学习。

日复一日，年复一年，左思渐渐长大了，由于他坚持不懈地发奋读书，终于成为一位学识渊博的人，文章也写得非常好。他用一年的时间写成了《齐都赋》，显示出他在文学方面的才华，为他成为杰出的文学家奠定了基础。这以后他又计划以三国时魏、蜀、吴首都的风土、人情、物产为内容，撰写《三都赋》。为了在内容、结构、语言诸方面都达到一定水平，他潜心研究，精心撰写，废寝忘食，用了整整十年，文学巨著《三都赋》终于写成了。

《三都赋》受到谅也评，人们把它和汉代文学杰作《两都赋》相比。由于当时还没有发明印刷术，喜爱《三都赋》的人只能争相抄阅，因为抄写的人太多，京城洛阳的纸张供不应求，一时间全城纸价大幅度上升。

故事出自《晋书·文苑·左思传》。成语“洛阳纸贵”，称颂杰出的作品风行一进。

22/12/2011

"退避三舍"
"Retreating about Thirty Miles as Condition For Peace"

During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.), Duke Xian of the State of Jin Killed the crown prince Sheng because he had heard slanders about Sheng and believed them. He also sent his men to arrest Chong Er, Shen Sheng and believed them. He also sent his men to arrest Chonh Er, Shen Sheng's brother. Hearing the news, Chong Er escaped from the state of Jin, remaining a fugitive for more than ten years.

After innumerable hardships, Chong Er arrived at the State of Chu at last. King Cheng of the State of Chu treated him with high respect as he would have treated the ruler of a state, believing that he would have a vright fuure.

One day, King Cheng of the State of Chu gave a banquet in honoudr of Chong Er. Suddenly, amid the harmonious atmosphere of drinking and talking, King Cheng of the State of Chu asked Chong Er. "How will you repay me when you return to the State of Jin and become its ruler one day?" After thinking for a moment, Chong Er said, "You have plenty of beauties and attendants as well as jewelry and silk cloth, and the state of Chu abounds in rare brides and animals. What treasure can the State of Jin boast having to present to your majesty?" King Cheng of the State of Chu said, "You are too modest. Nevertheless, you still have to show your gratitude to me in one way or another, I presume?" Smiling, Chong Er answered, "If I should be fortunate enouge to return to the State of Jin and become its ruler, the State of Jin would be friendly to the State of Chu. If, one day, there should be a war between the two states, I would definitely order my troops to retreat three SHE (one SHE is equivalent to thirty LI. The LI is a Chinese unit of length equivalent to 1/2 kilometre. And, therefore, three SHE is about thirty miles.) as a condition for peace. If, under that condition, you were still not reconciled, I would have to fight with you."

Four years later, as might be expected, Chong Er returned to the State of Jin and became its ruler. He was none other than Duke Wen of the State of Jin famous in ancient Chinese history. Ruled by him, the State of Jin became increasingly powerful.

In the year 533 B.C., the Chu troops and the Jin troops confronted each other in a battle. Faithful to his promise, Duke Wen of the State of Jin ordered his troops to retreat about thirty miles. After retreating, the Jin troops were stationed at Chengpu. Seeing that the Jin troops were retreating, the Chu troops thought that the enemy troops were afraid, and began chasing them. Taking advantage of the Chu troops' arrogance and their talking the Jin troops lightly, the Jin troops concentrated their forces and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Chu troops, thus winning the victory of the battle of Chengpu.

This set phrase, "retreating about thirty miles as a condition for peace," is derived from the Chapter "The Twenty-second Year of Duke Xi" in ZuoZhuan, the famous commentary by Zuo Qiuming on The spring and Autumn Annals. The idea of this set phrase is to give way to somebody in order to avoid a conflict.

春秋时候，晋献公听信谗言，杀了太子申生，又派人捉拿申生的弟弟重耳。重耳闻讯，逃出了晋国，在外流忘十几年。

经过千幸万苦,重耳来到楚国。楚成王认为重耳日后必有大作为，就以国群之礼相迎，待他如上宾。
一天，楚王设宴招待重耳，两人饮洒叙话，气氛十分融洽。忽然楚王问重耳：“你若有一天回晋国当上国君，该怎么报答我呢？”重耳略一思索说：“美女待从、珍宝丝绸，大王您有的是，珍禽羽毛，象牙兽皮，更是楚地的盛产，晋国哪有什么珍奇物品献给大王呢？”楚王说：“公子过谦了。话虽然这么说，可总该对我有所表示吧？”重耳笑笑回答道：“要是托您的福。果真能回国当政的话，我愿与贵国友好。假如有一天，晋楚国之间发生战争，我一定命令军队先退避三舍（一舍等于三十里），如果还不能得到您的原谅，我再与您交战。”

四年后，重耳真的回到晋国当了国君，就是历史上有名的晋文公。晋国在他的治理下日益强大。

公元前633年，楚国和晋国的军队在作战时相遇。晋文公为了实现他许下的诺言，下令军队后退九十里，驻扎在城濮。楚军见晋军后退，以为对方害怕了，马上追击。晋军利用楚军骄傲轻敌的弱点，集中兵力，大破楚军，取得了城濮之战的胜利。

故事出自《左传·僖公二十二年》。成语“退避三舍”比喻不与人相争或主动让步。

Chinese idiom story 中国成语故事

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