9 Chinese Idioms for Young Scholars

In the kingdom of Song, long ago, a farmer was working his field. A rabbit ran out of the woods, struck a tree stump, broke its neck, and died. The farmer picked it up and took it home for dinner.

The next day the farmer sat down by the stump and waited. He waited the day after that, and the day after that. He stopped working his field. No more rabbits came. His crops failed, and the people of Song laughed at him.

The story is from the Han Feizi (3rd century BCE).

A farmer in the kingdom of Song was impatient with his rice. The shoots were too short. He went into the field and pulled each one up a little, to help them grow taller.

He came home tired and proud. I helped the sprouts grow today, he told his son.

The son ran out to the field. By morning, every plant was dead.

The story is from the Mencius (4th century BCE).

In the kingdom of Chu, several men were sharing one cup of wine. There was not enough for all of them. They agreed to a contest: whoever finished drawing a snake first would drink the wine.

One man finished his snake quickly. Looking at the others still drawing, he smiled and added four small feet to his snake.

A second man finished and reached for the cup. Wait, the first man said. I was first.

Snakes have no feet, the second man said. What you have drawn is not a snake.

He drank the wine.

The story is from the Strategies of the Warring States (compiled c. 1st century BCE).

An old man lived near the northern frontier. One day his horse ran away across the border. His neighbors came to comfort him. This is bad, they said.

How do you know? the old man said.

A few months later the horse returned, bringing a fine wild horse with it. The neighbors came to congratulate him. This is good, they said.

How do you know? the old man said.

His son began riding the wild horse, fell, and broke his leg. The neighbors came to comfort him. This is bad, they said.

How do you know? the old man said.

The next year the army came through the village taking young men to fight in a war. Most of them died. The son, with his broken leg, was left at home.

The story is from the Huainanzi (2nd century BCE).

An old man named Yu Gong lived between two mountains. The mountains blocked his way to the south. Every journey took many days because he had to go around them.

One day he gathered his family. We will move the mountains, he said. Each day we will dig and carry the stones to the sea.

A neighbor laughed at him. You are old. You will die before you finish.

When I die, Yu Gong said, my sons will continue. When they die, their sons will continue. The mountains do not grow. The work will be finished.

The gods heard him and were moved. They sent two giants to carry the mountains away.

The story is from the Liezi (4th century BCE).

A famous painter named Zhang Sengyou was asked to paint four dragons on a temple wall. He painted them beautifully but left their eyes blank.

People asked him why. If I paint the eyes, he said, the dragons will fly away.

They did not believe him. They insisted he finish the work.

He took up his brush and painted the eyes of two of the dragons. Thunder split the sky. The two dragons cracked open the wall and flew up into the clouds.

The other two dragons, eyeless, stayed on the wall.

The story is from the Lidai Minghua Ji (9th century CE), about a painter who lived in the 6th century.

A minister was being sent to a distant city. Before he left, he asked the king a question.

If one person told you there was a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe them?

No, the king said.

If two people told you?

I would begin to wonder.

If three people told you?

I would believe them.

Your majesty, the minister said, there is no tiger in the marketplace. But while I am gone, more than three people will tell you bad things about me. I ask you to remember this conversation.

The king promised. While the minister was away, many people spoke against him. The king believed them, and the minister was never called back.

The story is from the Strategies of the Warring States (compiled c. 1st century BCE).

A musician named Gongming Yi was famous for his skill on the qin. One day he saw a cow grazing in a field and decided to play for it.

He played his most beautiful music. The cow kept eating grass.

He played his most complex music. The cow kept eating grass.

Then he played the sound of a calf crying and the buzz of a fly. The cow lifted its head and listened.

The story is from the Mouzi Lihuolun (2nd century CE).

A tiger caught a fox in the forest. The fox said, You cannot eat me. The Emperor of Heaven has made me king of all the animals.

The tiger did not believe him.

Walk behind me, the fox said. You will see how the other animals run from me.

The tiger walked behind the fox through the forest. Every animal they met — the deer, the rabbits, the boars — saw them coming and fled.

The tiger was impressed. He let the fox go.

The fox knew, of course, that the animals were running from the tiger.

The story is from the Strategies of the Warring States (compiled c. 1st century BCE).