Vienna

To Have So Much Fun That One Forgets About Shu

Liou Shan, son of Liou Bei, was ruler of the kingdom of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms Period. He was a coward who cared only about amusing himself and knew nothing about ruling a country.

One time, the kingdom of Wei attacked Shu and took Liou Shan prisoner.

The people of Wei gave Liou Shan the title "Duke of peace and Happiness", and took him to live in their capital. Liou Shan had so much fun in the Wei capital that he soon forgot he was the ruler of a defeated kingdom. One day, Sz-ma Jau, a very powerful Wei general, invited Liou Shan over to dinner. Sz-ma Jau intenetionally hired some people to perform traditional Shu songs and plays at dinner, in order to insult Liou Shan. When Liou Shan's subordinates heard the music and saw the plays of their homeland, they grew very sad. Only Liou Shan was completely unaffected, and continued drinking wine and being merry. When Sz-ma Jau asked him, "Don't you miss Shu?" Liou Shan laughed and replied, "I'm having so much fun here; of course I don't miss Shu." And so Sz-ma Jau had even less respect for Liou Shan.

Today, when a person is enjoying himself so much that he forgets about his home and his work, we can say that he "is having so much fun that he has forgotten about Shu."

乐不思蜀

    「乐不思蜀」是起源于我国三国时代的故事。刘备去世后，由儿子刘禅继位，刘禅的小名叫阿斗，是个愚笨无能的人。一开始，由于有诸葛亮等有才能的人辅佐，所以还没有什么大问题。后来，这些贤人先后去世，蜀国也就很快的被魏国灭了，刘禅因此投降被俘。他投降后，被安排到魏国的京城许昌居住，并且封为安乐公。有一次，魏国的大将军司马昭请他喝酒，当筵席进行得酒酣耳热时。司马昭说：「安乐公，您离开蜀地已经很久了，因此我今天特别安排了一场富有蜀国地方色彩的舞蹈，让你回味回味啊！」这场舞蹈跳得刘禅身旁的部属们非常难过，更加想念他们的家乡。然而唯独安乐公刘禅依然谈笑自若，丝毫没有难过的表情。司马昭问道：「你还想不想回西蜀的家乡呢？」刘禅答道：「这里有歌有舞，又有美酒好喝，我怎么舍得回西蜀国呢！」很不错的事唷!

The Old Horse Knows The Way

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of the Kingdom of Ch'i was at war with the Kingdom of Gu-ju. The king of Gu-ju ordered his supreme commander to pretend to surrender to Duke Huan. So the commander of the Gu-ju army, while pretending to let Duke Huan's troops catch up to him, actually led them into a great desert known as Han-hai. Right at that time, there was a strong wind which blew the sand and stones all around and made it impossible to distinguish which direction was which. Duke Huan's troops, unable to go anywhere, realized that they had been tricked. Just then, Guan Jung of Ch'i remembered that borses are always able to find their way home, no matter how far they have strayed. So at his suggestion, the army let a few of the old horses go, and then followed where they went. And as expected, the horses led the army out of Han-hai. Today, a person who is very experienced at any given thing may be refered to as "the old horse who knows the way.

老马识途

    春秋时代，有一次，管仲和隰朋跟随齐桓公出征孤竹国，春天去，冬天回，归途中迷失了道路。管仲说：「可以让老马发挥作用了。」于是让几匹老马在前面走，队伍跟在后面，终于找到了道路。走在山里，队伍找不到水喝。隰朋说：「蚂蚁冬天住在山南，夏天住在山北，只要顺着蚂蚁窝向下挖就会找到水源。」果然挖到了水。

    象管仲这样能干、隰朋这样聪明的人，也知道要向老马和蚂蚁学习，可是今天有许多人，不知道自己知识浅薄，也不愿向别人学习，不是错得很厉害吗？

    「老马识途」比喻有经验的人对事情比较熟悉。

To Hang Books On The Ox's Horn

In ancient times, there lived a boy named Li Mi, who loved to read. He never wasted a single minute, but spent all of his spare time every day reading.

One day, Li Mi had to go to a faraway place to take care of some business. Not wanting to waste any time on the way there, he took all of the books that he wanted to read and hung them on one of the horns of his ox. He then climbed up onto his ox's back, and with a book in one hand and the reins in the other, began his journey.

On the way, Li Mi was spotted by Yang Su, a very well-known scholar of the time. Not wishing to interrupt Li Mi while he was so absorbed in his reading, Yang Su instead followed behind the ox, waiting until Li Mi looked up to get a new book. Yang Su then rode up to Li Mi and greeted him, praising him highly for his attitude towards reading.

Today, we can say that a person who is son diligent in his studies that he finds a way to make use of every minute is "Hanging Books On The Ox's Horn."

牛角挂书

    古时候，有一个人名叫李密，非常喜欢读书。每天从早到晚从来不浪费一分钟，所有的时间都在看书。

    有一次，要到远地方去办事，他担心在路上躭误时间太多。出门前想了一个可以一面赶路一面读书的好办法。自己用草编了个鞍子放在牛背上，把要看的书挂在牛角上。就这样他可以舒服地骑在牛背上，一手拿著书，一手牵着缰绳，一边赶路一边看书。在路上刚好遇到个很有地位的人─杨素。他看到李密专心读书的样子，不想打搅，就跟在李密后面，一直等到李密转头想换一本书时，才上前打招呼，还连连夸奖李密专心读书的态度。

     今天我们可用「牛角挂书」来形容一个人找到方法来用尽他的每分每秒学习。

The Old Man Who Lost His Horse

There was once an old man who lived with his only son at the border of the state. They were fond of horses and often let them graze freely in the meadow.

One time a servant reported to the old man, "A horse is missing! It must have gone into the neighbouring state."

His friends felt sorry for him, but the old man was not bothered at all by the loss. As a matter of fact, he said, "Who knows! The loss may bring us good fortune!"
a few months later, a strange thing happened. Not onl did the missing horse return home safely, it also brought back with it a fine horse from the neighbouring state.

When his friends heard the new, they congratulated the old man on his good luck. But the old man said, "Who knows! This may bring us ill fortune!"
One day, when the old man's son was riding the fine horse, he accidentally fell off the horse, broke his leg, and was crippled.

Many friends came to comfort the old man, but the old man was njot the least disturbed by the accident. "Who knows! This may bring us good fortune after all!" he said.

A year later, when the neighbouring state sent troops across the border, all the young and strong men were drafted to fight the invaders, and most of them got killed. The old man's son was not drafted because he was crippled and so his life was spared.

塞翁失马

    从前在边界的地方，住了一个老人与他的独生子。他们喜欢马匹，常常让他们的马四处吃草。

    有次，仆人回报老人说：「有匹马逃走了，相信是跑到邻国去。」

老人的朋友都替他感到可惜，但老人并没有为此事而烦恼。并说：「天晓得！说不定这会给我们带来好运。」

    过了几个月，有件奇怪的事发生，老人失去的马不仅平安回家，而且带了一匹邻国的骏马回来。朋友知道了，都来道贺，但老人说：「天晓得！说不定这会给我们带来厄运。」

    一天，当他的儿子骑着骏马到处驰骋时，不慎坠马断腿，成了跛子。

    朋友都来慰问他，但老人一点也没有把此事放在心上，并说：「天晓得，说不定这会因祸得福呢！」

     过了一年，邻国举兵入侵，所有壮丁都被征去应战，十之八九都阵亡。老人的儿子，因为残废没有被征，因而得以平安无事。

XiǎoLì：      Hē xǐjiǔ。Hǎo pénɡyou jiéhūn，yāoqǐnɡ wǒ zuò bànniánɡ。

XiǎoYuán： Gōnɡxǐ nǐ de pénɡyou。Tāmen zěnme rènshi de？

XiǎoLì：       Liǎnɡrén qīnɡméi-zhúmǎ，érqiě hái méndānɡhùduì。

XiǎoYuán： Zhème bānpèi？Nà yīdìnɡ huì bǎiniánhǎohé，báitóudàolǎo la。

XiǎoLì：Shì'a。Zhènɡhǎo xiànɡnǐ qǐnɡjiào yīxià，zuò bànniánɡ yīnɡɡāi zhùyì nǎxiē wèntí？

XiǎoYuán：  Bànniánɡ hé bànlánɡ zhǔyào shì xiézhù xīnniánɡ hé xīnlánɡ wánchénɡ jiéhūn 
小袁：         伴娘        和    伴郎     主要    是   协助     新娘    和    新郎     完成       结婚  
                   lǐyí de。Bǐfanɡshuō zǒulù shí bānɡ xīnniánɡ tí yīxià hūnshā，jiāohuàn  jièzhi  
                   礼仪的。  比方说     走路  时   帮      新娘   提  一下  婚纱，    交换     戒指  
                   shí bānɡzhe  dì  yīxià  。

XiǎoLì：       Xūyào bānɡ xīnniánɡ dàijiǔ mɑ？

XiǎoYuán：  Hāhā，xiǎnɡ de měi，jiāobēijiǔ dānɡrán shì xīnniánɡ xīnlánɡ běnrén hē le。

XiǎoLì：Nǐ  wùhui le，wǒde yìsi  shì xīnniánɡ xiànɡ bīnkè jìnɡjiǔ shí yàobuyào wǒ dàijiǔ。

XiǎoYuán： Gèdì fēnɡsú bùyīyànɡ，wǒmen zhèr shì bùxūyào，érqiě hái yǔnxǔ xīnniánɡ 
小袁：         各地   风俗    不一样，   我们    这儿 是   不需要， 而且 还  允许    新娘
                   xīnlánɡ jiǔbēi lǐ chānshuǐ。Dàn wǒ yě tīnɡshuō yǒuxiē dìfɑnɡ huì bǎ bànniánɡ
                    新郎    酒杯 里    掺水。   但   我  也    听说      有些    地方   会 把    伴娘
                   bànlánɡ dōu ɡuànzuì。

XiǎoLì：       Bùhuì bɑ？Zhème cǎn'a。

XiǎoYuán：  Duìle，bùyào wànɡle zhǔnbèi hónɡbāo。

Vocabularly

随大流

Do as the others do

【注音】suí dà liú

【解释】从众心理是一种普遍心理，跟大家一样，不会出现俗话说的“枪打出头鸟”。

“To do as the others do” is a common mentality，so that one will not court danger as the saying goes：“the bird out of the group will be shot.”

【例子】

例：做服装设计的必须有创新意识，不能随大流。

Ex.：As a fashion designer, one must pursue novelty instead of following the trend.

死心眼儿

Rigid or one-track mind

【注音】sǐ xīn yǎnr

【解释】过去古人认为心是思想的器官，而且聪明人的心是有空间的，笨人的心是死板一块。因此有“死心眼儿”和“心眼儿活”的说法。

In the old time, people used to believe that heart is the organ for thinking, and smart people have space in their hearts while stupid people’s heart is a dead plate. Therefore, we have expressions of si xin yanr and xin yanr huo to describe the two types of people.

【例子】

例：大家都说老李是死心眼儿，没有一点灵活性。

Ex.：Everyone says that Lao Li is one-track minded. He has the least flexibility.

dà wàn er
大 腕 儿
Person with high skills or rich experiences

dà kuăn
大 款
Person of wealth

xià găng
下 岗
Lose one’s job

bèi chăo yóu yù
被 炒 鱿 鱼
To be fired

pào bā
泡 吧
Indulge oneself in spending long time in bar, café or d