Chinese Idiom Rally II.

[Guest Barbara]

(lets start with a new page, ok?)

@Riding a horse is even faster, so let's jump on horseback 飞身上马 fei1 shen1 shang4 ma3

ohoh, careful that you won't 马革裹尸 。。。

[roddy 5,157]

Will lock the old one then.

Roddy

[nnt 3]

Is such glorious fate more enviable than just eating white rice (or bread )at public expense without doing anything: 尸位素餐 shi1 wei4 su4 can1 ? ( Nowadays, according to the laws of productivity, profit/work is infinite if work = 0 , so is highly praised by economists...)

[Guest Barbara]

I'm not sure, but it's certainly more enviable than 餐风沐雨

[nnt 3]

Never mind, after the rain the sun shines again 雨过天靑 yu2 gua4 tian qing1

[Guest Barbara]

yes, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the unexpected 青天霹雳

[nnt 3]

...So unexpected that I dropped my chopsticks, for it's a pretty dead end.

So let's begin anew, from the beginning, for the flow must go on : 一而再,再而三 yi1 er2 zai4, zai4 er2 san1

[Guest Barbara]

and lets straightaway lay down the most important rule 三纲五常 。。。

(sorry about that dead-end!)

[nnt 3]

...as usual 常规俗例 chang2 gui1 su2 li4

[Guest Barbara]

a mere formality 例行公事

[nnt 3]

But everything has a cause 事出有因 shi4 chu1 you3 yin1

[Guest Barbara]

still, it won't hurt to 因陋就简。。。

[nnt 3]

in a nutshell: 简而言之jian3 er2 yan2 zhi1

[Guest Barbara]

I'll never love anyone else until I die 之死靡它

汎彼柏舟，

在彼河侧。

髧彼两髦，

实维我特，

之死矢靡慝。

母也天只，

不谅人只。

《诗经 鄘风 柏舟》

[nnt 3]

The last character should be 慝 or 他 instead of 它, shouldn't it ?

[Guest Barbara]

yeah, I was wondering about that, 诗经, after all clearly says 之死矢靡慝。According to my 《中国成语大辞典》上海辞书出版社 (1986), though, the proverb goes 之死靡它 and as 慝 (also according to my 辞典) would be a dead-end again ...

[nnt 3]

I've checked in the 诗经 again, and in my edddition, there are two poems under the same name. The other and first one says:

汎彼柏舟，

在彼中河。

髧彼两髦，

实维我儀，

之死矢靡它。

母也天只，

不谅人只。

《诗经 鄘风 柏舟》

The second is identical to the one you cited.

But either way, it's a dead end, because I don't know what idiom can begin with 它...

[Guest Barbara]

it is and it isn't a dead end, my 辞典 says: "他山之石" 见 "它山之石"

诗经 彤弓之什 鹤鸣

鹤鸣于九皋，

声闻于野。

鱼潜在渊，

或在于渚。

乐彼之园，

爰有树檀，

其下维萚。

他山之石，

可以为错。

[nnt 3]

(Is your 辞典 the 易经 ? )

You're right: the 辞源 says, "它" is an old form of "他". We're now shifting to the Litterature/History sections...

Never mind, let's go on, after using you're stone (石) to mend my own dictionary, that great weight being lifted off my mind : 石头落地 shi2 tou2 luo4 di4

[Guest Barbara]

"I feel the earth move ..." (Carole King) 地动山摇