Historic Chinese Legends, Tales and Idioms
Beginner - Intermediate
54 Videos

There are dozens of ethnic minority groups in China have their own folklore: much of which contains valuable historical and cultural information as well as many unique myths.

Showing 16 of 16 videos
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4:32

This story is about Han Prime Minister Cao Cao's six-year-old son, Cao Chong (196 to 208 B.C.). The theory this little boy used to weigh an elephant is similar to Archimedes' Principle (287 to 212 B.C.), which is that the weight of an object submerged in fluid is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid.

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3:05

This well-known story commonly used to educate children on the values of courtesy and fraternal love involves four-year-old Kong Rong giving up some larger pears to his older and younger brothers. Still employed in current times, this text has been used for elementary education since the Song Dynasty.

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3:10

This idiom indicates that something seemingly bad may turn out to have been a good thing in the end, a blessing in disguise. The story in the video explains it quite well. And, while the idiom can also have the opposite meaning (a good thing becoming something bad), the former is more frequently used.

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2:37

There are many different Chinese idioms out there that people use today in modern Chinese. "Dui Niu Tan Qin" literally means, "Playing the Zither for a Cow." It means that some people will just never understand or appreciate certain things.

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2:13
difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate
China

Lang Tun Hu Yan

This video concerns one of the stories from the very famous Chinese novel, "Journey to the West." It informs us from where the idiom, "to wolf down your food," originates.

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3:19
difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate
China

Chu Er Fan Er

This Chinese legend sheds light on the origin of the famous saying, "How you treat others is how you will be treated." It involves the famous and influential Chinese philosopher, Mencius, giving sage advice to a king during the Warring States period.

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1:51
difficulty - Beginner Beginner
China

Sha Ji Jing Hou

This idiom is used as a metaphor for the punishment of a person to alert others to correct their behavior.

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2:06
difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate
China

Yi Jian Shuang Diao

Learn the story behind the saying, "To kill two birds with one stone."

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1:30
difficulty - Beginner Beginner
China

Hun Shui Mo Yu

Hear the story from which the saying, "Hun Shui Mo Yu" came about. It means to take advantage of a chaotic time or deliberately create confusion to obtain benefits.

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1:38
difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate
China

Bo Le Shi Ma

Learn the story of Bole and the idiom derived from his tale.

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1:37
difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate
China

Hua Bin Chong Ji

Find out how a passage from Cao Pi inspired the saying "to draw cakes to allay hunger" (To comfort oneself with illusions).

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1:50
difficulty - Beginner Beginner
China

Ban Tu Er Fei

This Chinese idiom advises people not to give up halfway through or leave something unfinished.

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3:07
difficulty - Beginner Beginner
China

Shou Zhu Dai Tu

"Shou Zhu Dai Tu" means, "Sitting by a stump, waiting for a careless rabbit to hit the stump." Originally, it referred to the routineer in an ironic way. Later, the metaphor came to mean one does not take the initiative to work hard and wants to get a windfall.

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1:32

Where does the term "Tui Qiao" (literally to "Push and knock") come from?

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1:38

By chance, Jia Dao meets a scholar who convinces him to aspire to a bureaucratic position.

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1:45

Jia Dao's tragic life was revered after his death.

Showing 16 of 16 videos
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