中文典故翻译.doc

粗枝大叶 thick branches and large leaves; (in doing things,) do not take due care; careless or carelessly 闻所未闻 hearing what has never been heard before; rarely or seldom heard of盛气凌人 so arrogant as to impose oneself upon others; arrogant or domineering in manner洋洋得意 extremely pleased as to be too proud; pleased and too proud; pleased to the extent of being too proud 小心翼翼 particularly careful, extremely cautious 见异思迁 change ones mind upon seeing something new; be inconsistent in inclination剜肉补疮 cut flesh to patch an ulcerate; take short-term measures to do something which requires long-term measures to be taken; to pull through a light crisis or solve a problem at the expenses of the future调虎离山 lure the tiger so that it will leave the mountain where it lives; lure somebody to leave his advantageous location so as to overwhelm him脍炙人口 sliced and roast meat is pleasant to everybodys taste; poems and pieces of prose are so excellent as to please every reader昂首阔步 march with head raised stiffly; stride proudly ahead半途而废 stop halfway; give up halfway不学无术 one is not skilled with anything due to the fact that he does not study well; be incompetent due to ones ignorance; incompetent and ignorant触类旁通 knowledge of an example enables one to understand the relevant category; comprehend something by analogy; understand things of a kind upon touching an example奋不顾身 (in charging the enemy or accomplishing a risky task,) pay no attention to ones life security; regardless of ones security or life泰然处之 behavior with composure; not slightly affected 想入非非 indulge in fantasy; be unrealistic or illusory 心怀叵测 harbor evil intentions at heart that are not predictable; ill-intentioned 无地自容 feel so ashamed as to find no place to hide oneself in; feel too ashamed to see others 忠心耿耿 be whole-heartedly loyal; be extremely loyal自惭形秽 be ashamed of ones inferior appearance; feel inferior汉语典故英译百步穿杨 典出战国策.西周策，有关情节可大致简述如下。楚国有个叫养由基的，十分善射，在百步之外能射中杨柳的叶子，百发百中。后来用百步穿杨来形容人们善射。To shoot an arrow through a willow leaf at the distance of 100 steps; extremely good at shootingNote: The allusion goes back to Yang Youji, an excellent shooter in the Zhou Dynasty, who could shoot an arrow at a willow leaf one hundred steps away and never missed the target.班女之才 典出后汉书.列女传，有关情节可大致简述如下。班女名班昭，班彪之妹。班彪编著汉书，剩下八表和天文志没有写完就去世了。班昭接替其兄，完成了他的未竟之业，她还是皇后与贵人的老师，被认为是极富才学的女性。班女之才多用于描写才高的女性。(of a female) as capable as Ban Zhao; talented Note: Historic records have it that Ban N, whose name is Ban Zhao, the younger sister of Ban Biao, a historian famous for his monumental work of A History of the Han Dynasty. However, the historian died leaving the writing unfinished. Then Ban Zhao was assigned the task and completed the writing. For her talent, Ban Zhao was also appointed tutor for the empress and the emperors concubines. 伯乐相马 典出屈原怀沙，有关情况可大致简述如下。伯乐姓孙名阳，善于相马。后来经常用伯乐比喻善于发现人才的人。Bo Le is very capable of discovering best horses; as capable as Bo Le in discovering talentsNote: Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet of the State of Chu in the Warring State period, believed it that Bo Le was very capable of discovering best horses. The allusion is now often used to refer to persons capable of discovering and fostering talents. 东施效颦典出庄子.天运，有关情节可大致简述如下。古代著名美女西施因患有心痛病，经常颦额或者说皱眉头。村里有个丑女看见觉得很美，于是也学着颦额，结果反而更丑了。后来多用东施效颦比喻胡乱模仿，结果反而不美。An ugly girl follows the suit of the pretty lady Xishi by knitting her eyebrows; imitate awkwardly Note: Legend has it that Xi Shi, a lady living in the State of Yue in the late years of Spring and Autumn period and famous for her beauty in ancient China, often knitted her eyebrows due to her illness. An ugly girl in the village saw this, believing that the behavior added much to her beauty. Then she followed Xi Shis suit by knitting her own brows the way Xi Shi did. However, it turned out that she became all the more ugly.董狐直笔典出左传.宣公二年，有关情节可大致简述如下。春秋时晋灵公欲杀赵盾，赵盾逃亡。他的从弟赵穿起兵攻打晋灵公并在桃园将他杀死。史官董狐认为，此举是赵盾弑君，并不畏赵盾的权势，冒着生命危险将这件事载入了史册。后来多用此典比喻人们不为权者讳、不为贤者讳，在史册或其他书籍中，实事求是地记载或谈论他们的过失。Dong Hu, a historian in Spring and Autumn period, recorded historic facts as they were without any distortion to appease officials for their vanity; (in recording historic events) call a spade a spade as Dong Hu didNote: Historic records have it that during the Spring and Autumn period, when Duke Ling of Jin was going to kill Zhao Dun, who then escaped by running away, Zhao Duns distant brother Zhao Chuan took armed forces to attack the duke and killed him in a peach garden. Dong Hu, the historian, believed that it was an act of regicide on the part of Zhao Dun and recorded the act in history this way despite Zhao Duns overwhelming power that might threaten his life. The allusion is later used to refer to speaking frankly. 负荆请罪典出史记.廉颇蔺相如列传，有关情节可大致简述如下。廉颇和蔺相如都是赵国人，廉颇是赵国大将，蔺相如出身低微，但在对秦国的斗争中多次建立功勋，被拜为上卿，官位高于廉颇。廉颇不服，屡屡找茬子羞辱蔺相如。蔺相如为国家计，顾全大局，总是退让。后来廉颇知道了，蔺相如屡屡退让，不是怕他，而是担心将相不和，秦国会乘机侵略赵国。那样，赵国就会灭亡，老百姓就会遭殃。此事感动了廉颇，于是他身背荆杖到蔺相如府上请罪。后来多用此典指犯了错误又主动承认错误、改正错误的举动。To make apology by carrying a twig of the chaste tree and asking the one to whom the apology is made to beat him or her; making an active apologyNote: Historic records have it that Lian Po and Ling Xiangru were courtiers of the State of Zhao. Lian Po was the famous general at the time. Born humbly, Ling Xiangru was promoted to the position higher than Lian Pos for his outstanding contributions in the struggles against the State of Qin. This made Lian Po jealous and tried to slight Ling Xiangru, who thought that if he and Lian Po were in discord or conflict, then the State of Qin would take the opportunity to invade the State of Zhao. Therefore, Ling Xiangru always tried to avoid any possible conflict with the general. Having learned of this, Lian Po realized that he was wrong and went to Ling Xiangrus mansion to make apology by carrying a twig and asking Ling Xiangru to beat him for his wrong doings.风声鹤唳典出晋书.苻坚载记。这个典故也常常说成风声鹤唳，草木皆兵。有关情节可大致简述如下。东晋时期，国家分裂，南北对峙，北方的前秦主苻坚率兵攻打南方的东晋，结果被东晋打得惨败而归。苻坚等人站在城楼上观望对方，见东晋军容整齐，将八公山上的草木也当成晋军。此前，在淝水被击败而逃亡之时，将风声与鹤声也当成了追兵的呐喊声。淝水之战是我国历史上有名的以少胜多的战例，后来常用风声鹤唳或风声鹤唳，草木皆兵来形容人们由于非常害怕，便捕风捉影，将不是那回事也当成那回事了。To take the moan of wind and the cry of cranes for enemys shouting; fearful at any slight omen; very apprehensiveNote: Historic records have it that when Qian Qin, a state on the north, was utterly defeated by Dong Jin, a state on the south, on their way of escaping, Qian Qins generals and soldiers took the moan of wind and the cry of cranes for enemys shouting, and grass and trees for enemys chasing forces. This allusion is now used to refer to peoples groundless fears. 邯郸学步典出庄子.秋水，有关情节可大致简述如下。古代燕国有一个少年看到邯郸人走路姿态很优美，就学他们的样子走路，结果没有学会，反而将自己原来的走路方法也忘了，只好爬着回去。后来用这个典故形容人们盲目地模仿他人，结果反而弄糟了。To walk as people of Handan do; to imitate awkwardlyNote: Legend has it that a youngster from the State of Yan saw that the Handans walk was very graceful and then tried to acquire the walking manner but only to find that he did not learn anything at all and had forgotten how he originally walked. Therefore, he had to crawl all the way back home. The allusion is now used to ridicule those who imitate blindly.惊弓之鸟典出战国策.楚策四，有关情节可大致简述如下。有一天，更羸和魏王在一起，看见有一只鸟从天空飞过。更羸对魏王说，我将弓拉开，不搭箭虚射出去，鸟会应声而落。魏王不信。更羸果然拉虚弓而使飞鸟落地。其实，那是一只受了伤的鸟，听到弓弦响就吓得坠落下来。后来用这个典故形容人遭受打击后，心理非常脆弱，常产生不必要的恐慌。A bird that fell down at the sound of an arrowless shooting; a deadly frightened personNote: Tradition has it that Geng Lei and the king of the State of Wei were once together, seeing a bird flying across the sky. Geng Lei said to the king that if he shot without an arrow, the bird would also fall down. The king did not believe it and Geng Lei did as he had said and the bird really fell down. It turned out that the bird had been wounded by a previous shooting and was frightened down at the sound of Geng Leis arrowless shooting. The allusion is now used to refer to people who, having experienced a crisis or danger, are still affected by the lingering fear. 劳燕分飞典出乐府诗集.东飞伯劳歌，有关诗文的细节可大致简述如下。劳为伯劳鸟，它和燕子一个飞到东，一个飞到西，两下分开了。后来用之比喻夫妻或情侣两离分。The bird of Bo Lao and the sparrow fly apart; be separatedNote: In a poem, it was said that the bird of Bo Lao and the sparrow flew separately one eastward and the other westward. The allusion is now used to refer to separation of a couple or lovers.孟母三迁典出烈女传，有关情节可大致简述如下。为了孟子和其他孩子有一个良好的成长环境，孟母（孟子的母亲）三次搬家以避免不好的成长环境。后来人们常用此典褒奖那些教子有方的女性，有时也用以指好邻居。The mother of Mencius moved their home three times; moving ones home for the desired environment for the education of ones childrenNote: Tradition has it that Mrs Meng, mother of Mencius, moved her home three times for an ideal neighborhood for the education of her son Mencius and his brothers. The allusion is now used to give praise to those who are good at educating their young. 女娲补天典出淮南子.览冥训，有关情节可大致简述如下。古代天的四极是残缺的，神人伏羲的妹妹女娲炼五色石以补天，斩断巨鳌的足来支撑四极。后来人们常用此典来褒奖人们救国救难、匡正乾坤的壮举，也用于指治理灾难。N Wa patches the sky; to save the populace by patching the sky or doing a great deedNote: Legend has it that when the sky and the earth began to separate, the four corners of the sky were fragmentary. Then N Wa, Fu Xis sister, fostered stones of color to patch the sky and cut the four legs from a giant tortoise as poles to support the sky. In this way, she contributed a great deal to the mankind. The allusion is now used to such heroic deeds as salvation of the nation or pulling the people through crisis or natural disasters.杞人忧天典出列子.天瑞，有关情节可大致简述如下。古代杞国有个人害怕天崩地陷，无处安身，终日忧愁，以致寝食俱废。后来多用此典指有些人对有些事产生不必要的担心与害怕。A certain person from the State of Qi worries that the sky would fall down and he would have no place to harbor himself; groundless worryNote: Legend has it that a certain person from the State of Qi worried that the sky would some day fall down and he then would have no place to shelter himself from the disaster. He worried day and night as to neglect his meal and sleep. The allusion now applies to the case of groundless worry.绕梁三日也有说成余音绕梁的，典出列子.汤问，有关情节可大致简述如下。古代有个叫韩娥的歌手，在去齐国的路上没有办法，在雍门卖唱乞食。唱得很好，走了之后三天之内人们仍感到余音未散，仿佛还在梁间回绕。后来用此典形容优美的歌曲。Whirling around the beam for three days; (of a song) so excellent as to let the audience feel it lingering for a long timeNote: Legend has it that in ancient time, Han E once on the way to the State of Qi had no food but to beg by singing. She sang so beautifully that three days after she left, the audience still felt that the song was lingering in the hall. The allusion now applies to the description of excellent songs or music.塞翁失马也有说成塞翁失马，焉知非福的，典出淮南子.人间训，有关情节可大致简述如下。古代边塞有位老翁丢了马，人们都来安慰他。他却说，马丢了，说不定还是一种福气呢。后来那匹马回来了，还引回了胡人的一匹马。此时人们又来向他贺喜。他说，说不定是一种祸事呢。正如所言，不久他的儿子因为骑那匹马摔断了腿。后来人们用此典形容祸福相依，相互转化，难以逆料。The frontiersman loses his horse; a loss may turn out to be a blessingNote: Legend has it that a frontiersman once lost his horse and his neighbors came to comfort him. However, he said to the neighbors that the loss might turn out to be a blessing. Later, the horse came back with another horse of the Tartars and then his neighbors came to extend their congratulations. However, he said on the occasion that the blessing might turn out to be a misfortune. It really so happened that his son rode the horse, fell down from it and had his leg broken. And the story continues in that line. The allusion now applies to comforting others when they have a bad fortune. 闻鸡起舞典出晋书.祖逖传，有关情节可大致简述如下。祖逖与刘琨都做司州主簿，非常要好，经常一起睡觉。有一次半夜听到鸡叫，祖逖将刘琨踢醒说，半夜听到鸡叫并非坏事，于是两人起床舞练。后来多用此典形容人们立志发奋图强。To get out of bed to exercise oneself when the cock crows in the middle night; diligent and self-disciplinedNote: Historic records have it that Zu Di and Liu Kun were good friends on their posts as secretaries and spent their nights on the same bed. Once they heard cocks crow in the middle night. Then Zu Di woke up Liu Kun and said to him that cocks crowing in the middle night wasnt a bad thing and they rose to exercise themselves. 相濡以沫 典出庄子.大宗师，有关意思可大简述如下。水干了，鱼被困于干地，亟需水来维持生命，于是相互吐沫以湿润对方。后来多用此典指在困境中相互救助，也指老年夫妻或一般夫妇相依为命。To moisten each other with pit when water becomes dry; to help each other in the time of need; (of an aging couple or a couple in general) to help each other in their remaining life or life in generalNote: Legend has it that when water became dry, fish were in difficulty on the dry land so that they pitted to moisten each other. The allusion is now used to mean help each other in the time of need though the helper is also involved in difficulty or to describe an aging couple who help each other in their remaining time or any couple who help each other in their life.一饭千金 典出史记.淮阴侯列传，有关情节可大致简述如下。东汉开国功臣韩信年轻时穷困潦倒，经常在城边的河里钓鱼。有位漂纱的老夫人见到韩信饥饿就将自己的饭分给他吃，一连吃了几十天。韩信非常感激，离开那儿时他对漂母说，今后如果有出息，一定要用千金报答她。后来韩信帮助刘邦建立了帝业，被封为楚王。他招来这位漂母，赐给她千金。后来多用此典说明人们知恩图报。A meal in give, a thousand taels of gold in return; to cherish others kindness at heart and repay itNote: Historic records have it that when young, Han Xin was in poverty and often went fishing by the river near a town. He had no food to support himself and on seeing this, a yarn rinsing old lady gave him half of her own meal. She had done this for tens of days on end. Appreciative of her kindness, Han Xin said to the lady on his departure that if he could climb high, he would return her kindness by giving her a thousand taels of gold. Then Han Xin helped Liu Bang in utterly defeating Xiang Yu and establishing the Han Dynasty. For his contribution, Han Xin was appointed King of the Kingdom of Chu. Then calling the lady to his official mansion, Han Xin gave her a thousand taels of gold as he had promised. The allusion is now used to mean repaying others kindness.张耳陈余典出史记.张耳陈余列传，有关情节可大致简述如下。张耳陈余都是秦末汉初人，起初为刎颈之交，后来起兵反秦，因产生嫌隙，积怨日深，相互交恶，乃至兵戎相见。后来用此典指势利之交，不能永远。Not devoted to each other throughout like Zhang Er and Chen Yu; disloyal friendsNote: Historic records have it that Zhang Er and Chen Yu were great figures by the end of the Qin Dynasty or at the beginning of the Han Dynasty. At first, they were bosom friends and took armies to overthrow the Qin Dynasty. For reasons, discords developed between them and finally they became enemies and attacked each others by resorting to armed forces. The allusion is now used to refer to disloyal friends.煮豆燃萁典出世说新语.文学，有关故事可大致简述如下。三国期间，魏文帝曹丕妒忌其弟曹植的才能，经常找茬子整他。有一天，他限令曹植在七步之内口吟一首诗，否则就要杀他的头。曹植果然有才，踱到第七步口吟五言诗一首。大意是说，用豆秸煮豆子，豆子在锅中哭泣着对豆秸说，我们本是同根生的，你何苦苦苦相逼呢？后人多用这个典故指手足相残，有时也用之指才思敏捷。To boil beans by burning beanstalks; to do harm to ones own brothers or sisters Note: Tradition has it that during the Three Kingdom period, Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of the Kingdom of Wei, was jealous of his brother Cao Zhis talent. Then he often tried to find excuse to kill Cao Zhi. Once Cao Pi ordered Cao Zhi to pace seven steps and within the duration of time he should compose a poem. Otherwise, he would impose capital punishment on Cao Zhi. Really talented, on finishing the seventh step, he composed a poem, which roughly reads: Being boiled by the beanstalks burning, the bean in the wok cried, saying: Stalks and beans are kin though, why should you burn me hard so? This allusion is now used to describe the act of doing harm to ones brother or any other blood relative.不看僧面看佛面 dont blame the monk for the Buddha sake; dont blame the inferior or the young for the sake of his superior or the old; forgive one person for anothers sake不怕官，只怕管 not afraid of an official but afraid of an administrator; it is not the official but the person directly in charge that matters不听老人言，吃苦在眼前 dont listen to your old people and you will suffer very soon; taking the advice for the old generation will save you from trouble or suffering不撞南墙不回头 he will not turn back until he bumps onto the southern wall; he will go ahead until blocked; he will go ahead until reaching the dead end不做亏心事，不怕鬼敲门 if you dont commit any sin, you will not be afraid of the devil knocking at your door; an upright man isnt afraid of anything财大气粗 a wealthy man speaks louder; money talks差之毫厘，失之千里 an error the breadth of a single hair can lead you a thousand li astray; a slightest error can lead to a greatest deviation; a slight carelessness can lead to a severe mistake成事不足，败事有余 unable to accomplish anything but likely to spoil everything; impossible to achieve but possible to ruin胜者为王，败者为寇 victorious, you will be a king, but defeated, you will be a bandit; victory makes a king of the winner while defeat makes a bandit of the loser; whether you will be a king or a bandit depends on whether you can win or not吃不了兜着走 if you cant eat it up, you have to take it away; get more than one has bargained for; you will have to take full responsibility if you are over-engaged痴心女子负心郎 a heart-devoted lady meets a heartless man; a heart-devoted lady but a heartless man船到码头车到站 a boat reaches its harbor and a bus its station; one who has completed his work will retire like a boat reaching its harbor or a bus reaching its station春雨贵如油 the spring rain is as dear as vegetable oil; the spring rain is dearer than oil聪明一世，糊涂一时 intelligent for life but muddled for a moment; confused for the time being for that intelligent man打狗要看主人面 when you are beating a dog, you have to take the owner into consideration; dont beat the dog for the owners sake; love me, love my dog打人休打脸，骂人休揭短 in beating a person, dont slap his face, and in condemning a person, dont disclose his weakness; be careful with his dignity in criticizing a person; be careful with their dignity even in conflict with others打是亲，骂是爱 beating is affection and abusing is love; superficial beating and abusing reveal profound affection and true love打肿脸充胖子 pretending to be a fat man by slapping his own face swollen; pretending to be a wealthy man大人不记小人过 man of high position dont care about the mistake of a per