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自相矛盾 ZI XIANG MAO DUN One's Spear Contradicts His/her Own Shield

A man in the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He loudly praised his shield saying, \

He also sang the praises of his spear. \anything.\

\is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable.

Hence the expression \自相矛盾 ZI XIANG MAO DUN (One's spear contradicts his/her own shield)\

Moral: Self-contradiction.

刻舟求剑 KE ZHOU QIU JIAN Marking the Boat for the Sword

A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. Suddenly, his sword fell into the water while he was sitting in the boat.

He immediately made a mark on the boat. \

When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat. But, the boat had moved, not the sword.

Hence the expression \刻舟求剑 KE ZHOU QIU JIAN (marking the boat for the sword)\

Moral: A very foolish way to look for something.

塞翁失马 SAI WENG SHI MA An Old Man at the Border Lost his Horse

An old man, living at the northern border of China, was well versed in the practices of Taoism. One day his horse went across the border into the northern tribes' territory and disappeared. Everyone showed sympathy for his lost horse. But to their surprise, the old man said calmly, \

A few months later, the horse came back with another fine horse from the north. When congratulated, the old man was not pleased at all, but was concerned that it might cause some misfortune.

The old man was well off, and had lots of good horses. His son was fond of riding, and one day fell from a horse and broke his leg. People came to comfort the old man; but he wasn't sad. He stated that perhaps it might be a blessing instead. No one believed him, and everyone was surprised by his comment.

One year later, the northern tribes came across the border and started an invasion. All the young men, except the old man’s son, were enlisted to fight against the invaders. Consequently, nine out of ten of the young men died at the border. The old man’s son survived because he was crippled.

Hence the expression \翁失马 SAI WENG SHI MA (An old man at the border lost his horse)\

Moral: Loss sometimes spells gain, and vice versa.

东施效颦 DONG SHI XIAO PIN The Ugly Copies the Beauty by Frowning

Early in the Spring and Autumn Period, a Chinese Cleopatra called Xi Shi was famous for her beauty. She lived in the village of Kuaiji (now Shaoxin City, Zhejiang Province) in southeast China.

Once she had a pain in her bosom; and all day long she had a frown on her face, even when she went out.

Her neighbour, Dong Shi, a well-known ugly girl in the village, thought that Xi Shi looked more beautiful than before, even though she was ill and frowning.

So when she went out, Dong Shi imitated Xi Shi by placing her hands on her bosom and frowning. Unfortunately, to her great disappointment, her frightened neighbours tightly shut their doors and didn’t want to go out to meet her.

She only knew Xi Shi's frown looked beautiful, but she did not know the reason for its beauty.

Hence the expression \东施效颦 DONG SHI XIAO PIN (The ugly copies the beauty by frowning)”.

Moral:Blindly copying others.