CDK Idiom Lookup Quick

Author: Chen Le
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Publish Date: 2004-01-01
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In ancient times, there was a monk named Fayan in Qingliang Temple. One day, Fayan asked everyone, "Who can remove the bell tied around the tiger's neck?" None of the monks could answer. After a long while, one monk replied, "The one who tied the bell around the tiger's neck can remove it."
"Removing the bell requires the one who tied it" means that the person who caused the problem should also be the one to solve it.
During the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Mian Bo'gao who was sent to the capital to present swans to the emperor as tribute. Halfway there, he saw that the swans' feathers were dirty, so he took them to the river to bathe. Unexpectedly, after letting them out of the cage, all the swans flew away. Mian Bo'gao had no choice but to pick up a swan feather and hurry to the capital. Before the emperor, he held up the feather and recited a poem, meaning, "Although I only bring you a single feather, the deep affection I carried all the way here is immense!"
"The phrase 'sending a swan feather over a thousand miles' originally referred to bringing a very light gift from a distant place. Its that the gift is light but the sentiment is heavy."
Xiang Yu and Liu Bang fought fiercely for the throne. Liu Bang adopted the strategies of Zhang Liang and others, mobilized a large army to attack Xiang Yu, and trapped Xiang Yu's forces at Gaixia. At this time, Xiang Yu's army had dwindled, and their food supply was nearly exhausted. One night, Xiang Yu heard the sound of Chu songs coming from the camps of the Han army around him. The songs were mournful and sorrowful, and Xiang Yu was greatly shocked, believing that the entire Chu region had been occupied by the Han army, so there were many people from Chu in the Han army.
"The phrase 'singing Chu songs on all four sides's being trapped in a difficult situation and surrounded by enemies on all sides."