to put one's hands behind one's head, fingers interlaced / to hold one's head in one's hands (in dismay, fright etc) / to cover one's head with one's hands (for protection)
Huaihai Campaign (Nov 1948-Jan 1949), one of the three major campaigns by the People's Liberation Army near the end of the Chinese Civil War, considered the determining battle of the war
Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), decisive battle of Second World War and one of the bloodiest battles in history, when the Germans failed to take Stalingrad, were then trapped and destroyed by Soviet forces
to erect (a tent etc) / to prick up (one's ears) / to raise (one's eyebrows) / to stick up (one's thumb) / to turn up (one's collar) / (of a bird) to puff up (one's feathers)
to change one's tune / to modify one's previous remark / to change the way one addresses sb (as when one marries and starts to call one's husband's parents 爸爸[ba4 ba5] and 媽媽|妈妈[ma1 ma5])
one's age, according to the traditional Chinese method of reckoning (i.e. the number of Chinese calendar years in which one has lived) – In this system, a person's age at birth is one, and increases by one at the beginning of the first solar term 立春[Li4 chun1] each year, rather than on one's birthday. / contrasted with 實歲|实岁[shi2 sui4]
(a line from a poem by the Tang poet Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫|刘禹锡[Liu2 Yu3 xi1]) one gains very little insight into one's enemy from a hundred victories, but he who breaks his arm three times will be a good doctor / (fig.) one learns more from one's failures than from one's successes
céng jīng cāng hǎi nán wéi shuǐ , chú què wū shān bù shì yún
there are no rivers to one who has crossed the ocean, and no clouds to one who has passed Mount Wu (idiom) / one who has seen the world doesn't stop at small things
to regard the four corners of the world all as home (idiom) / to feel at home anywhere / to roam about unconstrained / to consider the entire country, or world, to be one's own
Xiao Qian (1910-1999), Mongolian-born, Cambridge-educated journalist active during Second World War in Europe, subsequently famous author and translator
only have ... / there is only ... / (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if one ... (that one can ...) (Example: 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 quan2 yu4] "the only way to cure it is with therapy") / it is only ... (who ...) (Example: 只有男性才有此需要[zhi3 you3 nan2 xing4 cai2 you3 ci3 xu1 yao4] "only men would have such a requirement") / (used to indicate that one has no alternative) one can only (do a certain thing) (Example: 只有屈服[zhi3 you3 qu1 fu2] "the only thing you can do is give in")
to belong to / to be affiliated to / to fall under the jurisdiction of / a place where one feels that one belongs / one's final destination (where one need look no further)
(of alcohol, love etc) to go to one’s head / (of an idea, a song etc) to get into one's head / to capture one's attention / (old) (of a girl on her wedding day) to start wearing one's hair in a bun (rather than a plait)
lit. to hope one's son becomes a dragon (idiom) / fig. to long for one' s child to succeed in life / to have great hopes for one's offspring / to give one's child the best education as a career investment
Confucian moral injunctions of fidelity / piety to one's parents, respect to one's older brother, loyalty to one's monarch, faith to one's male friends
lit. viewing the sky with a basin on one's head / it is hard to get a clear view of the sky while carrying a platter on one's head / fig. it is hard to get on in one's career while encumbered by family obligations / one can't perform a major task while bothered by other duties
four Confucian injunctions 孝悌忠信 (for men), namely: piety 孝 to one's parents, respect 悌 to one's older brother, loyalty 忠 to one's monarch, faith 信 to one's male friends / the four Confucian virtues for women of morality 德[de2], physical charm 容, propriety in speech 言 and efficiency in needlework 功
(idiom) as one climbs higher on the path of righteousness, one faces ever greater challenges from evil / no sooner does one overcome one obstacle than another arises
to bend to a task and spare no effort unto one's dying day (idiom) / striving to the utmost one's whole life / with every breath in one's body, unto one's dying day
lit. only one end of the barber's pole is hot (idiom) / fig. one-sided enthusiasm / one party is interested, but the other, not so much / (Note: In former days, street barbers carried their equipment on a pole, with tools and a stool at one end and a brazier at the other.)
lit. to eat meat from one's bowl, then put down one's chopsticks and scold one's mother (idiom) / fig. to complain despite being privileged / to be ungrateful for what one has been given
Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Wu 孫武|孙武[Sun1 Wu3] (c. 500 BC, dates of birth and death uncertain), general, strategist and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period (700-475 BC), believed to be the author of the “Art of War” 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3], one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China 武經七書|武经七书[Wu3 jing1 Qi1 shu1]
Sun Wu, also known as Sun Tzu 孫子|孙子[Sun1 zi3] (c. 500 BC, dates of birth and death uncertain), general, strategist and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period (700-475 BC), believed to be the author of the “Art of War” 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3], one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China 武經七書|武经七书[Wu3 jing1 Qi1 shu1]
(idiom based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1zi3 Bing1fa3]) to deploy one's troops in such a way that there is no possibility of retreat, so that they will fight for their lives and win the battle / to fight desperately when confronted with mortal danger / to find a way to emerge from a dire situation
“Methods of Sima”, also called “Sima Rangju’s Art of War”, one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China 武經七書|武经七书[Wu3 jing1 Qi1 shu1], written by Sima Rangju 司馬穰苴|司马穰苴[Si1 ma3 Rang2 ju1]
The four tones
Your cookie choices
This site is funded by advertising. With your agreement, Google AdSense sets cookies to display personalised ads and Google Analytics measures traffic. Until you agree, neither script is loaded and nothing is stored on your device. You can change your mind at any time from the footer.
This site is funded by advertising. Google AdSense and Google Analytics set cookies to display ads and measure traffic. You can refuse them — now, or later from the footer.
This site is funded by advertising. Google AdSense and Google Analytics set cookies to display ads and measure traffic. You may opt out of the sale and sharing of your personal information at any time.
This site uses Google cookies — AdSense for advertising, Analytics for traffic measurement. You can refuse them.
