Picture Word Idiom Card

Author: Da Shan Design and Production
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features:
(Dai Ru Mo Ji - Stupefied Like a Wooden Chicken)
Explanation: During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a man skilled in training fighting roosters. Once, he was training a rooster for the King of Qi. After 10 days, the king asked, "How is the training going?" He replied, "Not yet. When other chickens move or make noise, it still gets affected." It wasn’t until the 40th day that he told the king, "The rooster is trained. It is neither arrogant nor restless; it looks like a wooden chicken." The idiom "dai ru mo ji" comes from this story. Now it is used to describe foolishness or, sometimes, to a person’s stunned expression of surprise.
(Han Dan Xue Bu - Learning to Walk in Hand)
Explanation: Legend has it that the people of Handan in the ancient state of Zhao walked exceptionally well. A young man from the north traveled all the way to Handan specifically to learn how to walk like them. The young man spent his days watching others walk in the streets, imitating them. As a result, after months of practice and spending all his money, he not only failed to learn the Handan way of walking but forgot how to walk on his own. He had no choice but to crawl back home. The idiom "han dan xue bu" satirizes those who blindly imitate others without their own judgment.
(Zu Shan Guan Hu Dou - Watching the Tigers Fight from the Mountain)
Explanation: A man named Bian Zhuang saw two tigers fighting over a piece of beef. He wanted to draw his sword and kill them. Someone beside him said, "Don’t hurry. They’ll start fighting soon." Sure enough, soon after, the two tigers began fighting over the beef. By the time one tiger was killed, the other was badly injured. Bian Zhuang rushed forward with his sword and easily killed the injured tiger. Later, people used the phrase "zu shan guan hu dou" to waiting for an opportunity while watching a conflict between others, aiming to gain an advantage.