Chengyu Stories - (Elementary Part) (Revised Edition)

Author: Li Xinwu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-01
Features: Every language has idioms, but compared to other languages, Chinese idioms are not only numerous but also have a longer history, wider usage, and a more prominent status. They also exhibit more distinct characteristics of national culture. Therefore, whether Chinese or foreigners, if they want to master Chinese or understand Chinese culture, they cannot afford to ignore the learning and exploration of idioms. So, what are idioms? Many people might immediately think of their external form and answer without hesitation: "Idioms are phrases consisting of four characters." Indeed, many idioms we know are composed of four Chinese characters and are called "four-character idioms" by linguists. It is estimated that at least 90% of Chinese idioms are four-character idioms. However, although four-character idioms are the majority, they are not the only type. There are also non-four-character idioms. For example, two-character idioms like "tuiqiao" (to ponder carefully) and "yuli" (to profit from others' misfortune); three-character idioms like "pohuanghuan" (a groundbreaking event) and "moxuyou" (unsubstantiated accusation); five-character idioms like "xiao wu jian da wu" (a small sorcerer seeing a great sorcerer) and "shu duo huxun san" (when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter); six-character idioms like "wu shi bu xiao bai bu" (those who run away halfway laugh at those who run all the way) and "feng ma niu bu xiang ji" (horses and oxen have nothing in common); seven-character idioms like "zuo weng zhi yi bu zai jiu" (the old man's intention is not in the wine) and "yi shi zhi cheng qian gu hun" (one misstep leads to eternal regret); even twelve-character idioms like "zhi xu zhou guan fang huo, bu zhun bai min dian deng" (officials are allowed to set fires but commoners are not allowed to light lamps). On the other hand, many four-character phrases commonly used by people are not idioms. For example, "dao jiang bu ru" (impervious to swords and spears), "ren re renao" (lively and bustling), and "ying xiong hao han" (heroes and bandits). Therefore, the number of characters in the external form cannot be used as a criterion for determining whether a phrase is an idiom. However, from the perspective of external form, it can be observed that regardless of how many characters an idiom consists of, its structure differs significantly from general words: the composition of an idiom is relatively fixed, and the characters and their order cannot be freely rearranged. For example, "jiao tu san kuo" cannot be split into "jiao tu" and "san kuo"; it cannot be replaced with "jiao tu wu kuo" or "jiao shu san kuo"; and it cannot have its order changed to "san kuo jiao tu" or "jiao kuo san tu," etc. Because, if the characters are arbitrarily split or rearranged, the meaning expressed is no longer the meaning of the idiom "jiao tu san kuo." Of course, some idioms may have some variations in wording and appropriate rearrangements of order, but the meaning remains unchanged. For example, "hui ji ji yi" can be said as "hu ji ji yi"; the "long" in "huo long huo xian" can also be written as "ling"; "qian shan wan shui" can be rearranged to "wan shui qian shan"; and "shen chai gui shi" can become "gui shi shen chai." However, these changes are conditional and not arbitrary; they are variations of idioms, and such transformations do not affect the meaning of the idiom. It can be said that regardless of how many characters an idiom consists of, it has a fixed structural form and cannot be arbitrarily changed. This is the structural stability of idioms. One of the main criteria for determining whether a word is an idiom is its stable and specific form. The structural stability of idioms means that idioms are complete linguistic units, and this completeness is reflected not only in form but also in content. That is to say, every idiom has a specific and complete meaning and cannot be understood merely by looking at the words. For example, "san ren cheng hu" would be misunderstood as "three people turn into tigers" if interpreted literally. However, as an idiom, it originates from a historical story recorded in the ancient Chinese historical work "Zhan Guo Ce," which describes a historical event during the Warring States period. It tells of a minister from the State of Wei who, fearing that the king would listen to biased reports, deliberately told the king that if three people in a row reported that a tiger had eaten people in the street, would the king believe it? The king indeed said he would believe it. The minister used this example to advise the king not to believe rumors. This specific historical story contains a universal meaning: "Repetitive rumors or false reports can make people believe them." As an idiom, "san ren cheng hu" expresses this meaning. Another example is the idiom "xiang you cheng zhu," which some foreigners translated as "having a bamboo stick in the chest," becoming a laughingstock, because they did not understand the specific meaning of "xiang you cheng zhu." Even if some idioms have a relatively direct and close relationship between their literal meaning and specific meaning, they still cannot be understood solely from the literal meaning. For example, "qian shan wan shui" has a specific meaning of describing the vastness of a country, the magnificence of natural scenery, or the remoteness and hardship of a journey. If interpreted literally as "there are many mountains and rivers," wouldn't that be far off the mark! The specific meaning of an idiom is often an extension or metaphor of its literal meaning, or both. Even the literal meaning itself may be just a brief title of a story, serving only as a symbolic marker. Without understanding its background, one can never grasp its true meaning. Take "luoyang zhi gui" as an example. Its literal meaning is simple, but it is not just to inform people of a market message: paper in Luoyang shops is in short supply and prices have risen. It is also not to say that the paper produced in Luoyang is of high quality, so it is sold at a high price. It actually refers to a distant historical story: the Jin Dynasty litterateur Zuo Si wrote a masterpiece, the "San Du Fu," which caused a sensation in Luoyang. Everyone wanted to see it, but there were no printing presses at the time, so people had to buy paper from shops to copy it. As a result, people rushed to buy paper, causing prices to rise. This is a specific historical fact, but as an idiom, it expresses a universal meaning derived from this specific historical fact: "A good work is widely welcomed and spreads far." Therefore, the true meaning an idiom expresses is the "meaning beyond the words" or the "subtle implication." Whether or not such a "meaning beyond the words" or "subtle implication" exists is another important criterion for distinguishing idioms from non-idioms.