Fable of Idioms

Author: Liu Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: ▼Complete Content ▼Sandalwood Aroma ▼Compact and Lightweight ▼Original Illustrations ▼Portable
Carrying idioms with you is like savoring the essence of the vast history, a rare gem in the myriad gardens of language. In China's 5,000-year civilization, Chinese is our rich spiritual treasury, a captivating art palace. Idioms are the dazzling pearls in this spiritual treasury, the colorful treasures in this art palace.
Idioms are concise and profound expressions or short sentences summarized from people's long-term life experiences. They are the most enchanting part of Chinese linguistic culture, vivid yet succinct, embodying the essence of our speech and writing. Most idioms consist of four characters and can often be understood from their literal meaning, such as the well-known "frog at the bottom of the well" or "the mantis catching the cicada while the sparrow waits behind." Some idioms, however, require knowledge of their origin or folklore to grasp their meaning, such as "Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi" and "theman who worries about the sky falling."