INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2224, 1, '2020-05-02 09:13:18', '2020-05-02 13:13:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis essay is about a kid who takes his father\'s advice a little too literally (with amusing results). <!--more-->\r\n\r\nOnly thing intermediate about this read is the very first sentence, which we\'ll talk about here. After this it\'s pretty easy going. The essay starts out 童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。 Let\'s break this one down word by word:\r\n\r\n童年 - [pinyin]tong2 nian2[/pinyin] - Childhood\r\n仿佛 - [pinyin]fang3 fu2[/pinyin] - seems like\r\n是 - [pinyin]shi4[/pinyin] - [it] is\r\n一条 - [pinyin]yi1 tiao2[/pinyin] - a (literally: the word \"one\" plus the classifier for boats, which is 条)\r\n小船,  - [pinyin]xiao3 chuan2[/pinyin] - boat,\r\n里面  - [pinyin]li3 mian4[/pinyin] - inside\r\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\r\n甜蜜的  - [pinyin]tian2 mi4 de5[/pinyin] - sweet\r\n糖果,  - [pinyin]tang2 guo3[/pinyin] - candy,\r\n也  - [pinyin]ye3[/pinyin] - also\r\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\r\n许多  - [pinyin]xu3 duo1[/pinyin] - much\r\n忧伤 - [pinyin]you1 shang1[/pinyin] - distress.\r\n\r\nPretty straightforward when you look at it that way. A quick note on that: though the word 糖果 (which appears a lot in this text) means \"candy\", it does not mean \"candy fruit\" or \"sweet fruit\", as you might guess from the character 果. This is just a general word for candy, though the Chinese don\'t consider chocolate a \"candy\" - it\'s in its own category. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>童年傻事</h4>\r\n童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。\r\n\r\n我出生在一个幸福的六口之家。有爸爸、妈妈、爷爷、奶奶、姐姐，还有我。\r\n\r\n我四岁时，一个<strong>烈日</strong><strong>炎炎</strong>的中午。爷爷、奶奶、妈妈和姐姐都忙着自己手中的活。爸爸<strong>抱上</strong>我去商店、给我买了很多<strong>糖果</strong>。回到家中，爸爸放下我，就去我们家的后院<strong>种</strong>苹果树去了。我也跟了过去，我问爸爸你在干什么？爸爸说：“我在种苹果树，到了秋天你就有苹果吃了。”爸爸还说：“你种什么<strong>种子</strong>就会长什么。”爸爸说完就回家喝茶去了。当时我<strong>心想</strong>如果把刚刚买的糖果种到土中，秋天不就有很多糖果了吗！\r\n\r\n我说做就做，我<strong>刨</strong>了个<strong>坑</strong>，把刚才剩下的糖果都放在坑里，用土<strong>埋</strong>了。我<strong>默默</strong>的许下愿说：“糖果快长！糖果快长！长成大树，长出很多很多糖果。”我把这个愿望告诉了爸爸，爸爸听了。大笑起来说：“糖果不会长出大树，也更不会长出糖果。”我听了爸爸话坐在地上大哭起来，我的糖果，我的糖果。爸爸赶快跑到我面前，抱起我说：“哦，不哭了小<strong>宝贝</strong>，爸爸给你买很多很多糖果。我听了就不哭了。\r\n\r\n<strong>如今</strong>我已经长大了，种糖果的傻事也不会再做了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nChildhood seems like a boat that is full of sweet candy, but is also laden with grief. \r\n\r\nI was born into a happy six-person family. There\'s father, mother, grandpa, grandma, my elder sister and myself. \r\n\r\n[The story begins] when I was four, on a scorching afternoon. Grandpa, grandma, mother and my elder sister were all busy doing their own thing. Dad picked me up and carried me to the store, and bought me lots of candy. On the way back to the house, dad put me down, and went to our house\'s back garden to plant apple trees. I went with him, and asked him \'what are you doing\'? Father said: \"I\'m planting apple trees, when autumn arrives you\'ll have apples to eat.\" Father continued: \"Whatever seeds you plant will grow.\" Father finished speaking and went back into the house to drink tea. Then I thought to myself, if I take the candy I just bought and plant it in the earth, in autumn I should have lots of candy! \r\n\r\nI did just that, I dug a hole, took my leftover candy and put it all in the hole, using dirt to bury it. In silence I fervently hoped: \"Candy, grow quickly! Candy, grow quickly! Grow into a big tree, and sprout lots and lots of candy.\" I told this wish to my father, and he listened. Laughing heartily he said: \"Candy can\'t grow into a big tree, and it definitely can\'t sprout more candy.\" I heard my father\'s words and I sat down on the grass and started sobbing, my candy, my candy. Father quickly ran up to me, embraced me and said: \"Oh, don\'t cry little darling, daddy will buy you lots and lots of candy.\" I listened to him and stopped crying.\r\n\r\nNowadays I\'ve already grown up, and I won\'t try foolishly planting candy again.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Essay: A Foolish Affair from my Childhood', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1235-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:13:18', '2020-05-02 13:13:18', '', 1235, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/1235-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2225, 1, '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nXu Zhimo was everything you want in a modern poet: he was in love with being in love, treated women like crap under the guise of romantic free-spiritedness, was at times outrageously depressed, and he died tragically in a plane crash. HE ALSO SPENT TIME IN ENGLAND STUDYING AT CAMBRIDGE. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nUnlike China\'s ancient poetic styles which are often hyper-condensed and stripped of grammatical guideposts, this modern poem spoils us with full-fledged sentences and recognizable grammar. \r\n\r\nI didn\'t do the English translation for this piece. It\'s well-known enough in English-speaking lit circles that there are lots of English versions out there, I chose my favorite, which I picked up <a href=\"https://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/xu-zhimo-goodbye-cambridge/\">here</a>, but I did update the translation a smidge where I thought it was not quite right.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《再别康桥》</h4>\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n\r\n软泥上的青荇，\r\n油油的在水底招摇；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Modern Chinese Poetry: 《再别康桥》Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', 'modern-chinese-poetry-saying-goodbye-to-cambridge-again-by-xu-zhimo', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '2020-05-02 13:32:01', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2225', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2226, 1, '2020-05-02 09:31:30', '2020-05-02 13:31:30', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nXu Zhimo was everything you want in a modern poet: he was in love with being in love, treated women like crap under the guise of romantic free-spiritedness, was at times outrageously depressed, and he died tragically in a plane crash. HE ALSO SPENT TIME IN ENGLAND STUDYING AT CAMBRIDGE. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nUnlike China\'s ancient poetic styles which are often hyper-condensed and stripped of grammatical guideposts, this modern poem spoils us with full-fledged sentences and recognizable grammar. \r\n\r\nI didn\'t do the English translation for this piece. It\'s well-known enough in English-speaking lit circles that there are lots of English versions out there, I chose my favorite, which I picked up <a href=\"https://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/xu-zhimo-goodbye-cambridge/\">here</a>, but I did update the translation a smidge where I thought it was not quite right.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《再别康桥》</h4>\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n\r\n软泥上的青荇，\r\n油油的在水底招摇；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Modern Chinese Poety: 《再别康桥》Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2225-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:31:30', '2020-05-02 13:31:30', '', 2225, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2225-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2227, 1, '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '2020-05-02 13:32:01', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nXu Zhimo was everything you want in a modern poet: he was in love with being in love, treated women like crap under the guise of romantic free-spiritedness, was at times outrageously depressed, and he died tragically in a plane crash. HE ALSO SPENT TIME IN ENGLAND STUDYING AT CAMBRIDGE. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nUnlike China\'s ancient poetic styles which are often hyper-condensed and stripped of grammatical guideposts, this modern poem spoils us with full-fledged sentences and recognizable grammar. \r\n\r\nI didn\'t do the English translation for this piece. It\'s well-known enough in English-speaking lit circles that there are lots of English versions out there, I chose my favorite, which I picked up <a href=\"https://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/xu-zhimo-goodbye-cambridge/\">here</a>, but I did update the translation a smidge where I thought it was not quite right.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《再别康桥》</h4>\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n\r\n软泥上的青荇，\r\n油油的在水底招摇；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Modern Chinese Poetry: 《再别康桥》Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2225-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '2020-05-02 13:32:01', '', 2225, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2225-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2232, 1, '2020-05-02 10:28:22', '2020-05-02 14:28:22', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:28:22', '2020-05-02 14:28:22', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2228, 1, '2020-05-02 10:23:24', '2020-05-02 14:23:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian4[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang4 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. With the alternative definitions, we can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:23:24', '2020-05-02 14:23:24', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2229, 1, '2020-05-02 10:24:21', '2020-05-02 14:24:21', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang4 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. With the alternative definitions, we can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:24:21', '2020-05-02 14:24:21', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2230, 1, '2020-05-02 10:26:03', '2020-05-02 14:26:03', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. With the alternative definitions, we can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:26:03', '2020-05-02 14:26:03', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2231, 1, '2020-05-05 11:31:45', '2020-05-05 15:31:45', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\n \n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar words are paired with two other similar words to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 胡思乱想 [pinyin]hu1 si1 luan4 xiang3[/pinyin], literally \"muddled consider messy think\", or \"let one\'s imagination run wild\". \n\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\n\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\n\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \n\n什么 - what?\n也 - also\n帮 - help\n不 - no / not\n上 - up / over / above\n\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\n\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\n帮 - help\n不 - not\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\n\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \n\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-05 11:31:45', '2020-05-05 15:31:45', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2233, 1, '2020-05-02 10:30:16', '2020-05-02 14:30:16', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:30:16', '2020-05-02 14:30:16', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2234, 1, '2020-05-02 10:32:07', '2020-05-02 14:32:07', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:32:07', '2020-05-02 14:32:07', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2235, 1, '2020-05-02 10:35:10', '2020-05-02 14:35:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar words are paired with two other similar words to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 胡思乱想 [pinyin]hu1 si1 luan4 xiang3[/pinyin], literally \"muddled consider messy think\", or \"let one\'s imagination run wild\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:35:10', '2020-05-02 14:35:10', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2236, 1, '2020-05-02 11:34:26', '2020-05-02 15:34:26', '<h3>The Basics</h3>\r\nMy name is: <strong>Kendra Schaefer <a href=\"http://www.kendraschaefer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(My personal site)</a></strong>\r\nFollow on Twitter: <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/chinesereading\">@ChineseReading</a>\r\nEmail me at: me@kendraschaefer.com\r\nI live in: <strong>Beijing</strong>\r\nAge: <strong>37</strong> \r\nIn China since: <strong>2002</strong>\r\nMy day job: <a href=\"http://www.triviumchina.com\">Tech research</a>\r\n\r\n<h3>The Backstory</h3>\r\nI got my BA in Mandarin at a university in Beijing, and though I\'ve been out of school for a while, reading Chinese is one of the few things I never get bored of, probably because no matter how long I study, there\'s always more to learn. \r\n\r\nI originally became interested in learning Chinese primarily because I wanted to read the language. And though reading textbooks is an important, I found the readings outrageously boring. I wanted to read important works of Chinese fiction, Chinese news, Chinese fables and myths - in other words, I wanted real reading, something a Chinese kid might read in school or online.\r\n\r\nBut I soon found that tracking down reading materials was difficult and frustrating. Everything I picked up tended to be too long, too short, too easy, or too hard, and I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. I wanted something challenging, and was willing to work to understand it, but every time I found something new to read, I never knew if I would be able to finish it. I\'d often get through a few paragraphs only to hit a phrase I couldn\'t decipher and, with no one to ask, would have to put the reading aside. \r\n\r\nOnce I did get to a place where my reading level was high enough to get through most pieces, I started this site to keep my own skills fresh, and to pay it forward for those students who are in the same spot I was. \r\n\r\n<h4>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nNothing on this site is truly beginner reading. If you just picked up Chinese yesterday, or if you\'re at HSK 1 or 2, even the beginner stuff is going to be a rough ride for you - I only have found a couple of pieces that HSK 1-2 might be able to tackle. This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually has to have some higher-level grammar or vocabulary mixed in. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs (你好! 你好吗? 我很好!) as opposed to actual stories. And the truth is, truly fluent native readers read at well above HSK 6. And, in the real world, many pieces of writing are mixed-level; the first few paragraphs might be intermediate, with an advanced paragraph thrown in. So, my classifications are the same classifications you might apply to a native speaker, not a learner. I also don\'t classify by HSK level. But, as a general guideline, on this site:\r\n\r\nBeginner: HSK 2-4\r\nIntermediate: HSK 5-6\r\nAdvanced: HSK 6+\r\n\r\nThe idea is not to give you something you can read without difficulty, but something that is an appropriate challenge at your reading level. So, I try to put texts into the lowest level at which someone, with a little work, might be able to figure the text out. So if, for example, you\'re at HSK 4, there are some pieces in the intermediate section you should be able to get through with some work. And if you can\'t figure something out, post in the comments. I\'ll try to answer you.\r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me. I am not a linguist, and I translate for readability. I don\'t post anything unless I\'ve checked it several times, but that doesn\'t mean I haven\'t made a mistake. Do feel free to comment if you see anything that ought to have a better translation - it won\'t be taken amiss. \r\n\r\n<h4>How did you do those pop-up Chinese hover effects?</h4>\r\nThanks to Alex, the coder behind <a href=\"http://mandarinspot.com/\">Mandarinspot.com</a>, Chinese Reading Practice now has pop-up translation on Chinese texts - hover over any mandarin word in the reading text to see the definition. If you\'d like to implement something similar on your own blog, you can head over there and grab his Javascript file / annotations API. \r\n\r\n<h4>Commenting rules</h4>\r\nI try to maintain a pleasant learning environment, so abusive (you idiot!), pointless (I am Groot.),  or unhelpful (Hi.) comments will be deleted. I will also delete links from your comments unless those links are very relevant to the post. For example, it\'s fine to link to a Wikipedia page that\'s relevant to Chinese or to the content of the translation, but if you link to your own site, I sadly don\'t have time to verify if it\'s a phishing link or malware or inappropriate content so I\'m just gonna take it out. I don\'t always manage to catch all the spam that slips through, though, so apologies if there\'s some clutter.\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 11:34:26', '2020-05-02 15:34:26', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2239, 1, '2020-05-07 00:00:18', '2020-05-07 04:00:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, its soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, its wings curled and wrinkled around him, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a peacock wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a sparrow has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-essays-seed-of-a-butterfly-lin-qingxuan', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:46:45', '2020-05-07 21:46:45', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2239', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(2240, 1, '2020-05-02 23:23:42', '2020-05-03 03:23:42', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, it\'s soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, it\'s wings rolled up and wrinkled, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a sparrow wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a peacock has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2239-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 23:23:42', '2020-05-03 03:23:42', '', 2239, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2239-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2241, 1, '2020-05-02 23:30:18', '2020-05-03 03:30:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, it\'s soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, it\'s wings curled and wrinkled around him, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a sparrow wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a peacock has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2239-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 23:30:18', '2020-05-03 03:30:18', '', 2239, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2239-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2243, 1, '2020-05-05 11:44:12', '2020-05-05 15:44:12', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar words are paired with two other similar words to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 胡思乱想 [pinyin]hu1 si1 luan4 xiang3[/pinyin], literally \"muddled consider messy think\", or \"let one\'s imagination run wild\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-05 11:44:12', '2020-05-05 15:44:12', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/05/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2244, 1, '2020-05-05 11:46:51', '2020-05-05 15:46:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nBorn in the early 1900s, Li Yaotang, pen name <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a> was a fervent anarchist and activist, translator, and one of China\'s most beloved writers. He\'s most famous as the author of <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Ba_Jin_novel)\">The Family</a></em>, one of modern Chinese literature\'s most cutting social critiques of traditional Confucian values.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2038\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"350\"]<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/chinese-reading-practice-famous-authors-bajin.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Reading Practice Essays Letters Translated Mandarin Simplified Reading: Author Bajin\" width=\"350\" height=\"457\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2038\" /> Ba Jin in 1938 - <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin#/media/File:Ba_Jin_1938.jpg\">Source</a> [/caption]\r\n\r\nBut this two-part post isn\'t about Ba Jin\'s days as a young socialist crusader and novelist. Ba Jin lived to be 100 years old - he passed away in 2005. And though he was ill with Parkinson\'s for the last decades of his life, he was still writing well into the 1980s. \r\n\r\nThe late 80s were a rough time for China ideologically. The country had just flip-flopped from hard-core Cultural Revolution-era Communism to a budding market economy in just 10 years. Social values were turned on their head, and all the things that were so important in the 1970s – the Party, the Motherland, the socialist struggle – were devalued. Suddenly, what mattered most was making enough  money to survive.\r\n\r\nIn 1987, Ba Jin received a letter from 10 elementary school students confused by the mixed messages they felt society was sending them. What\'s more important: money or ideals? Their letter, which I translate below, is striking... though I have a hard time imagining a bunch of ten-year-olds deciding to convene a committee to draft a plea for moral guidance, so I\'m kind of convinced one kid\'s dad wrote this thing and made them all sign it. \r\n\r\nAnyway, Ba Jin\'s reply, which I\'ll translate in a <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/05/chinese-essay-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-ii/\">Part II</a> sometime soon, is much longer. Taken together, these two letters form a beautiful cross-general dialogue, the young seeking wisdom from the old, the old pushing the young out of the nest and into the sun. The letters were published in 1987 under the title 《寻找理想的少年朋友》<em>Young Friends Seeking Ideals</em>, to much acclaim.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n“三好” [pinyin]san1 hao3[/pinyin] and “品学兼优” [pinyin]pin3 xue2 jian1 you1[/pinyin] - These are the names of well-known awards given to students that excel in several areas. The first, the \"Three Goods\" award, is for students that are of good character, study well, and excel in sports. The second is a general award for good students of high moral virtue. \r\n\r\n三句不离钞票 [pinyin]san1 ju4 bu4 li2 chao1 piao4[/pinyin] - This is a phrase you won\'t find in the dictionary. If you dissect it, it\'s not too hard to sort out what it means, so let\'s do that:\r\n\r\n三句 - Three sentences\r\n不 - Not, no\r\n离 - To leave, to separate from\r\n钞票 - Bank notes, cash money\r\n\r\nSo, you could understand this as \"For every three sentences spoken, not one of them diverges from money\" or in better English, \"to talk about money all the time\" or \"to be overly-focused on money\". \r\n\r\n难道 [pinyin]nan2 dao4[/pinyin] - This is in the dictionary, but it\'s important vocab, so pay attention to how this is used. It indicates a rhetorical question. Like, \"Could it be that... ?\" \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n敬爱的巴金爷爷：\r\n\r\n我们是十个小学五年级的学生，平均年龄不到十一周岁，在学校里都获得了<span class=\"highlightText\">“三好”</span>或<span class=\"highlightText\">“品学兼优”</span>的奖励。但是近年来，我们被一些新的现象迷惑了。爸爸妈妈说话<span class=\"highlightText\">三句不离钞票</span>，社会上常以收入多作为自己的骄傲。\r\n\r\n有位每月工资是三十多元的老师，当我们问她工资多少时，她脸红了。我们有位同学数学考了九十四分，她呜咽起来，原来爸爸答应她，考了九十五分可得五元奖金。许多家长都用金钱、新衣、旅游来鼓励我们取得好成绩。有些同学在谈到将来时，往往把单位好、工资高、奖金多作为自己最好的向往。\r\n\r\n一句话，为金钱工作、为金钱学习，已经成为理所当然的事。这<span class=\"highlightText\">难道</span>就是我们八十年代的少年应该追求的理想吗？作为三好学生，我们可以攻克学习上的重重难关，但是在这里，在理想问题上我们成了十只迷途的羔羊。但是我们不甘沉沦，我们决心探索、寻求，我们十个朋友决定开展一个“寻求理想”的活动。\r\n\r\n巴金爷爷，我们读过您写的很多书。现在您已上了年纪，可是我们还常常在报纸上、电视里看到您在忙碌地工作。我们想您那里一定有一种神奇的力量，有打开我们心灵窗户的神秘钥匙，因此，我们想向您请教。当您伏案写作的时候，您想的是什么？您写了那么多的书，您追求的是什么？\r\n\r\n巴金爷爷，我们知道您很忙，您有很重要的工作，您还需要休息，我们实在不愿意打搅您，但是我们十分需要您的帮助。十只迷途的羔羊向您呼救，请您以最快的速度给我们指点。\r\n\r\n祝您长寿。\r\n\r\n十个寻找理想的孩子\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nRespected Grandfather Ba Jin: \r\n\r\nWe are ten elementary school students, on average not yet 11 years old, and in school we\'ve all received \"Three Goods\" or \"Excellent Student\" awards. But in recent years, we\'ve been puzzled by some new phenomena. Father and mother are always focused on money, and in greater society [people] base their pride on their income.  \r\n\r\nThere\'s a teacher who makes over 30 RMB per month, but when we ask her how much her salary is, she turns red [with embarrassment]. We have a classmate who got 94% on a math test, but she started bawling, turns out her father agreed that if she got 95% she\'d get a prize of 5 RMB. Many parents use money, new clothes, or travel to encourage us to get good grades. When some of our classmates talk about their future, often it\'s a good job, a high salary, or accolades that they most yearn for. \r\n\r\nIn a word, working for [the sole purpose of making] money, and studying for [the purpose of making] money, has already become an expected thing. Could it be that this is the ideal that the youth of the 80s should be chasing? As excellent students, we can overcome any kind of study-related difficulty, but in this, on questions of ideals, we\'ve become ten lost lambs. But we\'re unwilling to sink [down to that level], we\'ve decided to explore, to seek, we ten friends decided to launch an endeavor [centered around] \"seeking ideals\".\r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we\'ve read many books that you\'ve written. Now you\'re already in your later years, be we often see in newspapers and on TV that you\'re still hard at work. We think you certainly must have a kind of mystical power, a mysterious key to unlock the windows of our spirits, and because of this, we want to ask your advice. When you\'re bent over your desk writing, what are you thinking of? You\'ve written so many books, what are you chasing after? \r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we know you\'re very busy, and you have very important work, and you also need to rest, we truly don\'t wish to trouble you, but we really need your help. Ten lost lambs are calling for your aid, please give us direction as quickly as you can. \r\n\r\nWe wish you long life.\r\n\r\nSigned, Ten Youths Seeking Ideals\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part I', 'In the first of a two-part post, we\'ll look at a letter sent in 1987 from a group of elementary school students to the anarchist writer Ba Jin (most famous for his 1931 novel The Family) as they struggle to cope with China\'s changing social values. In Part II, I\'ll translate Ba Jin\'s reply.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2034-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-05 11:46:51', '2020-05-05 15:46:51', '', 2034, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/05/2034-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2245, 1, '2020-05-06 09:24:47', '2020-05-06 13:24:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? A little story that will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n胆子很小 - This is \r\n放\r\n配\r\n咚\r\n抱头乱窜\r\n原来\r\n以为 - I just covered this one in the last beginner post, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what your learned here. If not, go check \r\n\r\nNOTES\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\r\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的胆子很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\r\n\r\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\r\n\r\n\"你放了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\r\n\r\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\r\n\r\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃呀，喝呀，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\r\n\r\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\r\n\r\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱呀，跳呀，在喷香的厨房里喝呀，吃呀，每天都像过节一样。\r\n\r\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你配住吗?\"\r\n\r\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"咚--\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\r\n\r\n\"哦，原来我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \r\n\r\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \r\n\r\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \r\n\r\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \r\n\r\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\r\n \r\n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \r\n\r\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \r\n\r\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\r\n\r\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his left foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</e> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \r\n\r\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"zhi zhi\", and they all ran away.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-06 09:24:47', '2020-05-06 13:24:47', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/06/2006-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2246, 1, '2020-05-07 16:10:51', '2020-05-07 20:10:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThere\'s not much rough grammar here, but there are few words being used in their less common definitions. \r\n\r\n胆子 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - In English, when we want to describe someone who\'s brave, we may say they have \"lots of courage\". In Chinese, they use \"big courage\" (胆子大) and \"small courage\" (胆子小) instead. In Mr. Coward\'s name, this has been shortened to 胆小.\r\n\r\n放 [pinyin]fang4[/pinyin] - The most common usage of this word is \"to put\", but in this case, its alternate meaning is being used: \"to let go\", or \"to set free\", as in birds or captives. \r\n\r\n配 [pinyin]pei4[/pinyin] - One definition for this word is \"match\", as in \"Does this shirt match this blouse?\" But here, it\'s being used as \"deserve\", as in \"You don\'t deserve me!\"\r\n\r\n咚 [pinyin]dong1[/pinyin] - An onomatopoeia describing the sound of a thump\r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Often means \"originally\", as in \"I originally intended to come Monday\", but in this case means \"Turns out\", as in \"Turns out I had something else to do that day.\"\r\n \r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - I just covered this one in <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/chinese-childrens-stories-tomato-girl/\">a recent beginner post</a>, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what you learned here. If not, go check it out.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\r\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的胆子很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\r\n\r\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\r\n\r\n\"你放了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\r\n\r\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\r\n\r\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃呀，喝呀，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\r\n\r\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\r\n\r\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱呀，跳呀，在喷香的厨房里喝呀，吃呀，每天都像过节一样。\r\n\r\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你配住吗?\"\r\n\r\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"咚--\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\r\n\r\n\"哦，原来我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \r\n\r\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \r\n\r\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \r\n\r\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \r\n\r\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\r\n \r\n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \r\n\r\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \r\n\r\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\r\n\r\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his left foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</e> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \r\n\r\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"<em>zhi zhi</em>\", and they all ran away.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', 'Mr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 16:10:51', '2020-05-07 20:10:51', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2006-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2247, 1, '2020-05-07 16:22:05', '2020-05-07 20:22:05', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, its soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, its wings curled and wrinkled around him, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a sparrow wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a peacock has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2239-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 16:22:05', '2020-05-07 20:22:05', '', 2239, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2239-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2248, 1, '2020-05-13 00:00:24', '2020-05-13 04:00:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got a few proper nouns here. We have the name of a painter Zhang Sengyao (张僧繇 - my pinyin generator erroneously translates \"yao\" as \"you\"), a city called Jinling 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and Anle Temple (安乐寺). Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫<span class=\"highlightText\">张僧繇</span>，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao, and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, when suddenly a big wind gusted up, and in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, rose charging towards the sky, and took off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-chengyu-idioms-perfect-words', '', '', '2020-05-13 00:13:29', '2020-05-13 04:13:29', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2248', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2249, 1, '2020-05-07 17:07:10', '2020-05-07 21:07:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nLanguage notes\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在金陵（现在南京）安乐寺的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来。”他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，顷刻间电闪雷鸣。两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起，腾空而去。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n\r\n成语“画龙点睛”就是从这个传说中来的。现在一般用来比喻写作、讲话时，在关键性的地方用上一两句精辟的语言来点明含义，使内容更加生动有力。这种手法也称为“点睛”之笔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nEnglish\r\n\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Put the finishing touch on something', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:07:10', '2020-05-07 21:07:10', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2250, 1, '2020-05-07 17:08:43', '2020-05-07 21:08:43', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nWelp, I swore I would never do this again but I found this (and several other short stories) in Hainan Airlines\' in-flight magazine (I\'m in Prague!) and couldn\'t resist typing it up (as opposed to copy-pasting from an online source). I\'ve checked and checked for typos, but I\'m not always the best at that, so if you run across one, please comment.\r\n\r\nThis is one of those reads where the sentence structure is basic and in parts very repetitive, but quite a few advanced words are used - \"advanced\" only because they\'re not used often in casual conversation, like parts of an animal (hooves, horns, etc.) So beginners, you can give this a go if you\'re feeling very patient but you\'ll be looking up every other word in some paragraphs even though you will be able to predict generally what the next few sentences are about.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI wanted to post a quick comment about the words 一箭一般, because this looks like a typical four-character idiom, but it\'s actually two separate words, 一箭 (an arrow) and 一般 (like, as if). Together this means \"like an arrow\", or in context of this sentence \"to take off (running) like a shot\". \r\n\r\nThere\'s also the phrase 从草丛中闪出. We\'re talking here about a dog that is \"[darting] out in a flash\" (闪出) \"from the middle of a cluster of grasses\" (从草丛中). We can imagine a dog charging out of a field of tall grass and into a clearing. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>沉默的狗</h4>\r\n傍晚，一只羊独自在<strong>山坡</strong>上玩，突然从树木中<strong>窜</strong>出一只狼来，要吃羊，羊跳起来，拼命用角<strong>抵抗</strong>，并大声地向朋友喊救命。\r\n\r\n牛在树丛中向这个地方望了一眼，发现是狼，跑走了。\r\n\r\n马低头一看，发现是狼，一<strong>溜烟</strong>跑了。\r\n\r\n驴停下脚步，发现是狼，悄悄溜下山坡。\r\n\r\n猪经过这里，发现是狼，冲下山坡。\r\n\r\n兔子一听，更是<strong>一箭一般</strong>离去。\r\n\r\n山下的狗听见羊的呼喊，急忙<strong>奔</strong>上坡来，<strong>从草丛中闪出</strong>，一下咬住了狼的脖子，狼疼得直叫唤, 趁够<strong>换气</strong>时，<strong>怆惶</strong>挑走了。\r\n\r\n回到家，朋友都来了，\r\n牛说：你怎么不告诉我？我的角可以<strong>剜出</strong>狼的肠子。\r\n马说：你怎么不告诉我？我的<strong>蹄子</strong>能踢碎狼的脑袋。\r\n驴说：你怎么不告诉我？我一声吼叫，吓破狼的胆。\r\n猪说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我用嘴<strong>一拱</strong>，就让它摔下山去。\r\n兔子说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我跑得快，可以传信呀。\r\n\r\n在这闹嚷嚷的一群中，<strong>唯独</strong>没有狗。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nOne nightfall, a sheep was playing alone on the mountainside, when suddenly a wolf emerged from among the trees, wanting to eat the sheep, so the sheep jumped up, using his horns to defend himself with all his might, and loudly called out for his friends to save his life.\r\n\r\nThe bull looked over from among a cluster of trees, saw there was a wolf, and ran away.\r\n\r\nThe horse lowered its head and looked, discovered there was a wolf, and slipped away in a puff of smoke.\r\n\r\nThe mule stopped walking for a moment, discovered there was a wolf, and quietly slipped down the mountain.\r\n\r\nThe pig passed through there, found out there was a wolf, and rushed down the mountainside.\r\n\r\nThe rabbit listened a moment, then took off like a shot.\r\n\r\nFrom the bottom of the mountain, the dog heard the sheep\'s cry, and ran quickly up the mountainside, came out of the grass in a flash, and in a moment had grabbed the wolf\'s neck in his teeth, the wolf cried out in pain, and taking advantage of the dog\'s intake of breath, ran away full of sorrow and fear.\r\n\r\n[When the sheep] returned home, his friends all came over.\r\n\r\nThe bull said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My horns could have gouged out the wolf\'s intestines.\r\nThe horse said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My hooves could have kicked the wolf\'s skull apart.\r\nDonkey said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could have brayed and startled the wolf so as to break his courage. \r\nPig said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could nuzzle him with my snout, and make him fall down the mountain.\r\nRabbit said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I run fast, I could have spread the word.\r\nIn this noisy group, the only one who wasn\'t present was the dog.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Fable: 《沉默的狗》The Silent Dog', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1432-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:08:43', '2020-05-07 21:08:43', '', 1432, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1432-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2251, 1, '2020-05-07 17:09:02', '2020-05-07 21:09:02', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nI love it when I find a longer story that\'s suitable for beginning readers. This one, which is either a tale that reminds us what happens when you try to be something you\'re not, or a tale that reminds us that men should never be allowed to give each other fashion advice, definitely fits the bill. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe first sentence isn\'t super simple, so push through that one if you can, it gets much easier in the following paragraphs. Four points of grammar: \r\n\r\n能有幸请 [pinyin]neng2 you3 xing4 qing3[/pinyin] - A politely formal phrase of invitation \"May have the pleasure of inviting you ...\" or more specifically, \"May I be so lucky as to...\" (have this dance?) (take you on a date?). \r\n\r\n看上去 [pinyin]kan4 shang4 qu4[/pinyin] - To look like. \r\n\r\n你要是再不走开 [pinyin]ni3 yao4 shi4 zai4 bu4 zou3 kai1[/pinyin] - This one might be a little confusing. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n你 - You\r\n要是 - If\r\n再不 - Otherwise / If not\r\n走开 - Go away\r\n\r\nThe full phrase means \"If you don\'t go away....\"\r\n\r\n他会来收拾你的 [pinyin]ta1 hui4 lai2 shou1 shi5 ni3 de5[/pinyin]. In the story, Miss Pig says this to an unwelcome guest. The \"他\" in this case is Mr. Pig. The Beginners often learn the word \"收拾\", meaning \"to tidy up\". Usually, this means exactly what it sounds like, and applies to cleaning up a room or an apartment. In this case, it\'s being used in kind of an action movie way, meaning \"He\'ll come over and <strong>deal with</strong> you!\" or \"He\'ll come <strong>straighten you out</strong>!\". So Miss Pig is threatening the unwelcome guest, telling him that Mr. Pig will come over and beat him up. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>猪先生去野餐</h4>\r\n今天，真是个<strong>野餐</strong>的好日子。 猪先生精心打扮着自己，他<strong>期待</strong>着猪小姐能与他一起去野餐。\r\n\r\n“呵呵，真希望她会说‘我愿意’啊。 嗯，我再摘朵花送给她，一定能够打<strong>动她</strong>！”\r\n\r\n路上，猪先生<strong>遇到</strong>了他的朋友狐狸。狐狸听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的尾巴<strong>借</strong>去吧。瞧，你<strong>看上去</strong>有多聪明啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\r\n\r\n<strong>接着</strong>，他又遇到了他的朋友狮子。狮子听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的头发借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>威猛</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\r\n\r\n后来，他又遇到他的朋友斑马。斑马听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的条纹借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>英俊</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。他觉得自己从来没有这样英俊过。\r\n\r\n终于来到猪小姐家了，猪先生<strong>激动</strong>地敲了敲门。“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他问。\r\n\r\n猪小姐吓了一大跳：“噢，不行！你是哪儿来的<strong>妖怪</strong>呀？你要是<strong>再不走开</strong>，我就去叫猪先生了，他会来收拾你的！”\r\n\r\n猪先生连忙往回跑。一路上，他把条纹还给了斑马，把头发还给了狮子，把尾巴还给了狐狸。然后，他又赶回到猪小姐的家，再一次摁响了门铃。\r\n\r\n“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他又问。\r\n\r\n“啊呀，猪先生！” 猪小姐叫道，“看到你我真是太高兴啦，我很愿意跟你一起去野餐。刚才来了个<strong>丑八怪</strong>，就站在我的院子里，可把我吓坏啦。”\r\n\r\n一路上，猪小姐把那个丑八怪的故事仔细地讲给了猪先生。她英俊的朋友猪先生，则一直满怀同情地听着。这真是一个去野餐的好日子啊。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nToday, it\'s a great day for a picnic. Mr. Pig dressed himself with care, looking forward to [the possibility of] Miss Pig and himself going on a picnic together.\r\n\r\n\"Heh, I hope she says \'Yes\' [lit: I\'m willing]. Hm, I\'ll also pick some flowers to give her, that will certainly be enough to sway her!\"\r\n\r\nOn the road, Mr. Pig ran into his friend Fox. When fox heard about the picnic, he said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, let me lend you my beautiful tail. See, you look so clever, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. \r\n\r\nContinuing on, he ran into his friend Lion. Lion heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, borrow my beautiful hair for when you go over there. See, you look so powerful, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased.  \r\n\r\nAfter a while, he ran into his friend Zebra. Zebra heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, I\'ll lend you my beautiful stripes. See, you look so handsome. Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. He felt that he\'d never before looked so handsome.\r\n\r\nFinally arriving at Miss Pig\'s house, Mr. Pig excitedly knocked on the door. \"Would you do me the honor of going on a picnic with me?\" he asked. \r\n\r\nMiss Pig was terrified: \"Oh, no way! What kind of monster are you? If you don\'t go away, I\'ll go get Mr. Pig, he\'ll straighten you out!\"\r\n\r\nMr. Pig hurriedly ran away. On the road, he gave the stripes back to Zebra, the hair back to Lion, and the tail back to Fox. AFter that, he hurried back to Miss Pig\'s house, and again pressed the doorbell. \r\n\r\n\"Would you do me the honor of having a picnic with me?\" he asked again. \r\n\r\n\"Goodness, Mr. Pig!\" Miss Pig cried out. \"I\'m so happy to see you, I\'d love to go on a picnic with you. An ugly wretch just came by here, standing in my garden, and scared me so.\" \r\n\r\nOn the way, Miss Pig told Mr. Pig the story of the \'ugly wretch\' in great detail. Her handsome friend Mr. Pig, though, listened with great sympathy. It really was a great day for a picnic.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: 《猪先生去野餐》 Mr. Pig\'s Picnic', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1450-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:09:02', '2020-05-07 21:09:02', '', 1450, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1450-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2252, 1, '2020-05-07 17:09:18', '2020-05-07 21:09:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nHey hey, lookie here, an excellent guest post submitted by native Chinese speaker Yang from <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn Mandarin Now</a>. This story tells us a bit about the Chinese <em>chengyu</em> (idiom),塞翁失马, which can mean \"a blessing in disguise\", or can conversely mean \"bad luck disguised as good\". It\'s used to point out the hidden positives or negatives in a situation, so you might say it means \"there are two sides to every circumstance\". <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'m loving this post for the fable-y language: \"servant\", \"steed\", etc. Plus, I learned a new favorite word in this one: 塞外 [pinyin]sai4 wai4[/pinyin], meaning \"Beyond the Great Wall\". In other words, a remote place near the outskirts or borders of China. Also, don\'t forget, 匹 [pinyin]pi3[/pinyin] is the measure word for Horses, so you\'re gonna see that a few times. \r\n\r\nThere\'s one phrase we should probably get into in greater detail, because I don\'t think it\'s immediately clear what it means: 全国上下的年轻男子都被抓去打仗. Let\'s take a look at this, word by word:\r\n\r\n全国 - The whole country\r\n上下的 - Everywhere\r\n年轻男子 - young men\r\n都 - all\r\n被 - grammar word usually indicating that the subject of the sentence has had something unfortunate happen to them\r\n抓 - grabbed\r\n去 - go out\r\n打仗 - fight \r\n\r\nThe key word here is 抓 [pinyin]zhua1[/pinyin], which usually means to \"catch\" or \"grab\". In this case, the word means \"drafted\", so it still means to \"grab\", but in this case, it\'s the ruling power (probably the king) doing the grabbing up (of potential soldiers). The 被 in this case functions as \"were\", with a negative overtone. So this can be translated as \"All the young men everywhere in the country <strong>were drafted</strong> to go fight a war.\"\r\n\r\nLearn Mandarin Now\'s \"<a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/how-to-read-chinese/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Read Chinese</a>\" page for a basic overview on getting started with Simplified characters, and look at <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/blog/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their new blog</a> for some learning tips. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>塞翁失马</h4>\r\n从前，一位<strong>老翁</strong>和他的儿子住在<strong>塞外</strong>的边境上。他们都非常喜欢骑马。有一天，他们家的<strong>仆人</strong>给老先生报告：\"我们家的一匹骏马走丢了，好像跑去<strong>邻国</strong>了。\"\r\n\r\n老翁的朋友<strong>闻讯</strong>都过来安慰他。但老先生说：“呵呵，这也许不是坏事，谁知道呢！＂\r\n\r\n几个月之后，奇妙的事情发生了，那匹走失了的骏马意外地跑回来了，并且从邻国带来了一匹新的<strong>骏马</strong>。老翁的好友纷纷过来祝贺他。老翁说：“唉，这也许不是什么好事情呢！”\r\n\r\n一天，老翁的儿子正在骑那匹新的骏马，突然不小心从马上掉了下来并摔断了腿。他从今以后都不能正常走路了。老翁的朋友都为老翁感到伤心，但老翁却说：“这个意外以后能为咱们带来好运也不一定。”\r\n\r\n一年后，全国上下的年轻男子都被抓去打仗，大部分去参军的年轻人都死在了<strong>战场</strong>。老翁的儿子因为腿受伤了所以避过了这一次劫难。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nOnce upon a time, there was an old man who lived with his son on the borders of the country. They both very much enjoyed riding horses. One day, a servant reported to the old man, “One of our good horses has gone missing. It seems the horse ran across to the neighboring country.\"\r\n\r\nOld man\'s friends came and comforted him. However, the old man said: \"Well, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Who knows!\"\r\n\r\nCouple of months later, a strange thing happened. The missing horse came back, accompanied by a great steed from the neighboring country. When his friends congratulated him on this great news, the old man said: \"Well, this might bring us bad luck.\"\r\n\r\nOne day, his son was having fun riding on the fine [new] steed. Suddenly, he fell from the hose and broke his leg. His son was never able to walk again. Again, his friends came to comfort the old man. But the old man was not bothered and said: \"This accident might bring us good luck in the future.\"\r\n\r\nA year later, all young men in the country were drafted to join a war. Most young men who fought died on the battlefield. Luckily, his son avoided entering the war because of his broken leg.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Guest Post: Story Behind the Idiom: 塞翁失马 - A blessing in disguise', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1551-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:09:18', '2020-05-07 21:09:18', '', 1551, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1551-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2253, 1, '2020-05-07 17:14:04', '2020-05-07 21:14:04', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nYang over at <a href=\"http://learnmandarinnow.com\">Learn Mandarin Now</a> is spoiling me with all these guest posts. I\'ve been struggling to find something that suitable for beginners lately - everything I stumble across ends up being intermediate. But this is a very good place for beginners to start reading <em>[pinyin]cheng2yu3[/pinyin]</em> (成语 idiom) stories, because you\'ll get an introduction to a few words that you often see in this kind of \"long long ago, far far away\" fable. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn the very first sentence, we run across three words of interest. One, 从前 [pinyin]cong2qian2[/pinyin], means \"a long time ago\", your classic storybook beginning. \r\n\r\nThe second, 楚国人 [pinyin]chu3guo2ren2[/pinyin], means \"a man from the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">State of Chu</a>\". The State of Chu was a Chinese jurisdictional division during the Zhou Dynasty (1046 – 256 BC). In stories that reference pre-1900 China, you\'ll often see references to places that existed in ancient times.  <a href=\"http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/116528/Chu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Encyclopedia Britannica</a> tells us: \"China itself was at the time divided into a series of small duke states, all of which theoretically owed allegiance to the Zhou dynasty, although the Zhou rulers had long since been unable to exercise control over more than their own fiefs.\"  Anyhoo, the third word is 宝剑 [pinyin]bao3jian4[/pinyin], which means \"a double-edged sword\". How fable-y is that, huh?\r\n \r\nI\'d also like to draw your attention to the word 移动 [pinyin]yi4dong4[/pinyin], meaning \"to be moving\" or \"mobile\". This word is quite common - it\'s used to refer to people who move often, and also to \"mobile\" phones (the cell provider \"China Mobile\" has this in their Chinese name: 中国移动).\r\n\r\nOkay, let\'s do this. And thanks again to <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/how-to-learn-chinese-the-easiest-way/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yang</a>! Lots of work for some paltry backlinks. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>刻舟求剑</h4>\r\n<strong>从前</strong>有一位楚国人, 他非常<strong>爱惜</strong>他的宝剑。有一天，他正坐在船上准备过河，<strong>一不小心</strong>他就把宝剑掉进了河里。他马上在宝剑掉落的地方作了<strong>记号</strong>。当他到达对岸的时候，他沿着记号跳进河里去找他的宝剑。当然，他已经找不到了。\r\n \r\n宝剑已经不在原来掉落的地方因为船和水都在<strong>移动</strong>。这个故事形容只会刻板地遵守规则，不懂变通的人。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a man from the State of Chu who loved his sword very much. One day, he was sitting in his boat preparing to cross a river, when he accidentally dropped his sword into the water. He immediately made a notch on the side of the boat at the place where his dear sword fell. When he returned close to shore, he re-entered the water just beneath the notch he made, looking for his sword. Naturally, he wasn\'t able to find it.  \r\n \r\nThe sword was already gone because the boat and the river were in motion. This idiom is used to describe a person who sticks to rigid rules without considering a changing environment [or describes an action made pointless by changing circumstances]. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 刻舟求剑 - Being too rigid in the face of change', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1557-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:14:04', '2020-05-07 21:14:04', '', 1557, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1557-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2255, 1, '2020-05-07 17:17:47', '2020-05-07 21:17:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis short tale addresses the background story behind the Chinese idiom 一暴十寒, which literally translates to \"One day of sun, ten days of frost\", and which means \"to bust butt for a little while and then get lazy\", or \"to only work for a short time and then fail\". The story below really applies to the latter meaning. Though this is categorized as advanced, upper-intermediate readers could surely tackle this. <!--more-->\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>一暴十寒</h4>\r\n<strong>战国</strong>时，有个叫<strong>孟轲</strong>的人，大家称他为<strong>孟子</strong>。孟子<strong>善于</strong>通过打比方来发表议论。\r\n\r\n当时，有人<strong>指责</strong>孟子不尽力帮助齐王。孟子便解释说:“比如说，天下有些易活的植物，假如把它放在太阳下晒一天，然后再把它放在<strong>阴冷</strong>的地方冻十天，即使是<strong>生命力</strong>再强的植物也会死。我见到齐王的机会<strong>少之甚少</strong>，即使给了他些良好的影响与帮助，我一离开，一些和我主张不同的人，又带给他许多不好影响。我怎么能使齐王的思想、品质好起来呢？”\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Warring States Period, there was a man named Meng Ke [Mencius], who everyone called MengZi. Menzi was very good at creating analogies to foster discussion.　\r\n\r\nAt that time, there was a person who criticized Mencius for not trying harder to help the King of Qi. Mencius explained plainly, saying, \"Take this as an example: there are some plants that live well on this earth [lit: under heaven], but if you take them and put them in the sun for a day, then you take them and put them in the gloom and cold to freeze for ten days, even if their vitality is strong they\'re still going to die.  My opportunities to see the King of Qi have been less and less, so even if I give him some good influence and help, as soon as I leave, some people that don\'t advocate the same things I do will influence him negatively. [That being the case,] how can I improve the quality of the King of Qi\'s thinking?\"\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 一暴十寒 - Temporary diligence followed by laziness', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '901-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:17:47', '2020-05-07 21:17:47', '', 901, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/901-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2256, 1, '2020-05-07 17:19:44', '2020-05-07 21:19:44', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nAs you\'re probably aware, most Chinese idioms are 4-character constructs that make little sense unless you know the story behind them. this one,  南辕北辙, means \"to do something that acts against your own best interests\". <!--more--> The story behind this idiom talks about the follies of a man traveling the wrong direction on his way to the Kingdom of Chu, who refuses against all wisdom and advice to go the right way.\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>南辕北辙</h4>\r\n从前有一个人，从魏国到楚国去。他带上很多的<strong>盘缠</strong>，雇了上好的车，驾上<strong>骏马</strong>，请了驾车技术精湛的车夫，就上路了。楚国在魏国的南面，可这个人<strong>不问青红皂白</strong>让驾车人赶着马车一直向北走去。\r\n\r\n路上有人问他的车是要往哪儿去，他大声回答说: “去楚国！”路人告诉他说: “到楚国去应往南方走，你这是在往北走，方向不对。那人<strong>满不在乎</strong>地说:\"没关系，我的马快着呢!\" 路人替他着急，拉住他的马，<strong>阻止</strong>他说, “方向错了，你的马再快，也到不了楚国呀!\" 那人依然毫不<strong>醒悟</strong>地说: “不要紧，我带的路费多着呢!\" 路人极力<strong>劝阻</strong>他说:“虽说你路费多，可是你走的不是那个方向，你路费多也只能白花呀!\" 那个一心只想着要到楚国去的人有些不耐烦地说: “这有什么难的，我的车夫赶车的本领高着呢!\" 路人<strong>无奈</strong>，只好松开了拉住车把子的手，眼睁睁看着那个盲目上路的魏人走了。\r\n\r\n那个魏国人，不听别人的指点<strong>劝告</strong>，仗着自己的马快、钱多、车夫好等优越条件，朝着相反方向<strong>一意孤行</strong>。那么，他条件越好，他就只会离要去的地方越远，因为他的大方向错了。\r\n\r\n这个故事告诉我们，无论做什么事，都要首先看准方向，才能发充分挥自己的有利条件；如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a man traveling from the Kingdom of Wei to the Kingdom of Chu. He took a lot of traveling money with him, hired a good carriage, harnessed it to a strong steed, hired an exquisitely skilled driver, and then began his journey. The Kingdom of Chu was to the south of the Kingdom of Wei, but this man couldn\'t tell the difference when the driver rode away towards the north.\r\n\r\nOn the road, a passing traveler asked where they were going. The man loudly answered, \"We\'re going to the Kindom of Chu!\". The traveler told him, \"If you\'re going to Chu, you should go south. You\'re going north, it\'s the wrong direction.\" The man unconcernedly replied, \"No problem! My horse is very fast.\" Worried for him, the traveler pulled at the horse, and warned, \"You\'re going the wrong way. Even if your horse was even faster than it is, you still won\'t reach the Kingdom of Chu!\" Still not seeing the truth, the man said, \"Don\'t worry, I\'ve brought a lot of money with me.\" Making a concerted effort to dissuade him, the traveler said, \"Though you may have a lot of money, you\'re still going the wrong direction, and your money will be spent in vain.\" Thinking of nothing other than getting to the Kingdom of Chu, the man impatiently said, \"It\'s not a problem, my driver is extremely skilled!\" Out of options, the traveler let go of the carriage and watched helplessly as the aimless man from Wu rode away.\r\n\r\nThe man from Wu didn\'t listen to anyone\'s exhortations, relying on his fast horse, his money, his driver\'s skill and many other favorable conditions, and obstinately continued to go in the opposite direction. Doing this, he could only continue to get further and further away from his goal, because his overall direction was wrong.\r\n\r\nThis story tells us, no matter what the situation is, we\'d better first be sure we\'re going the right way, and only then can we fully employ our other advantages, otherwise those advantages will just cause us pain [lit: have the opposite effect].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'The Story Behind the Idiom: 南辕北辙 - to act against one\'s own best interest', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '123-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:19:44', '2020-05-07 21:19:44', '', 123, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2257, 1, '2020-05-07 17:22:58', '2020-05-07 21:22:58', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nAs you\'re probably aware, most Chinese idioms are 4-character constructs that make little sense unless you know the story behind them. this one,  南辕北辙, means \"to do something that acts against your own best interests\". <!--more--> The story behind this idiom talks about the follies of a man traveling the wrong direction on his way to the Kingdom of Chu, who refuses against all wisdom and advice to go the right way.\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>南辕北辙</h4>\r\n从前有一个人，从魏国到楚国去。他带上很多的<strong>盘缠</strong>，雇了上好的车，驾上<strong>骏马</strong>，请了驾车技术精湛的车夫，就上路了。楚国在魏国的南面，可这个人<strong>不问青红皂白</strong>让驾车人赶着马车一直向北走去。\r\n\r\n路上有人问他的车是要往哪儿去，他大声回答说: “去楚国！”路人告诉他说: “到楚国去应往南方走，你这是在往北走，方向不对。那人<strong>满不在乎</strong>地说:\"没关系，我的马快着呢!\" 路人替他着急，拉住他的马，<strong>阻止</strong>他说, “方向错了，你的马再快，也到不了楚国呀!\" 那人依然毫不<strong>醒悟</strong>地说: “不要紧，我带的路费多着呢!\" 路人极力<strong>劝阻</strong>他说:“虽说你路费多，可是你走的不是那个方向，你路费多也只能白花呀!\" 那个一心只想着要到楚国去的人有些不耐烦地说: “这有什么难的，我的车夫赶车的本领高着呢!\" 路人<strong>无奈</strong>，只好松开了拉住车把子的手，眼睁睁看着那个盲目上路的魏人走了。\r\n\r\n那个魏国人，不听别人的指点<strong>劝告</strong>，仗着自己的马快、钱多、车夫好等优越条件，朝着相反方向<strong>一意孤行</strong>。那么，他条件越好，他就只会离要去的地方越远，因为他的大方向错了。\r\n\r\n这个故事告诉我们，无论做什么事，都要首先看准方向，才能发充分挥自己的有利条件；如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a man traveling from the Kingdom of Wei to the Kingdom of Chu. He took a lot of traveling money with him, hired a good carriage, harnessed it to a strong steed, hired an exquisitely skilled driver, and then began his journey. The Kingdom of Chu was to the south of the Kingdom of Wei, but this man couldn\'t tell the difference when the driver rode away towards the north.\r\n\r\nOn the road, a passing traveler asked where they were going. The man loudly answered, \"We\'re going to the Kindom of Chu!\". The traveler told him, \"If you\'re going to Chu, you should go south. You\'re going north, it\'s the wrong direction.\" The man unconcernedly replied, \"No problem! My horse is very fast.\" Worried for him, the traveler pulled at the horse, and warned, \"You\'re going the wrong way. Even if your horse was even faster than it is, you still won\'t reach the Kingdom of Chu!\" Still not seeing the truth, the man said, \"Don\'t worry, I\'ve brought a lot of money with me.\" Making a concerted effort to dissuade him, the traveler said, \"Though you may have a lot of money, you\'re still going the wrong direction, and your money will be spent in vain.\" Thinking of nothing other than getting to the Kingdom of Chu, the man impatiently said, \"It\'s not a problem, my driver is extremely skilled!\" Out of options, the traveler let go of the carriage and watched helplessly as the aimless man from Wu rode away.\r\n\r\nThe man from Wu didn\'t listen to anyone\'s exhortations, relying on his fast horse, his money, his driver\'s skill and many other favorable conditions, and obstinately continued to go in the opposite direction. Doing this, he could only continue to get further and further away from his goal, because his overall direction was wrong.\r\n\r\nThis story tells us, no matter what the situation is, we\'d better first be sure we\'re going the right way, and only then can we fully employ our other advantages, otherwise those advantages will just cause us pain [lit: have the opposite effect].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'The Story Behind the Idiom: 南辕北辙 - To act against one\'s own best interest', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '123-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:22:58', '2020-05-07 21:22:58', '', 123, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2260, 1, '2020-05-07 17:40:51', '2020-05-07 21:40:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nHere we\'ll cover the back story behind the idiom \"夜郎自大\", or \"Yelang thinks highly of itself\". This idiom one refers to someone who has a high, but misguided, opinion of their own worth. Stick this one in the language bank for when you need to take someone down a peg (preferably while stroking your fu manchu and calmly catching flies with your chopsticks). <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI learned a new word on this one: 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin]. Which brings the total number of \"tongzhi\" words (tonal differences aside) I know up to three. \r\n\r\nWe\'ve got:\r\n同志 - [pinyin]tong2 zhi4[/pinyin] or \"Comrade\" (and in Chinese slang this also means \"a homosexual\", though if you keep an eye on the Chinese news you\'ll see that that one of the more reputable local dictionaries refused to include that definition though it\'s in common use) \r\n\r\n通知 [pinyin]tong1 zhi1[/pinyin] - To notify, give notice\r\n\r\nAnd now, 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin] - To rule over (a kingdom / country)\r\n\r\nLet us hope there aren\'t any more configurations of that sound. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>夜郎自大</h4>\r\n<strong>汉朝</strong>的时候，在西南方有个名叫夜郎的小国家，它虽然是一个独立的国家，可是<strong>国土</strong>很小，百姓也少，物产更是少得可怜。但是由于邻近地区以夜郎这个国家最大，从没离开过国家的夜郎国国王就以为自己<strong>统治</strong>的国家是全天下最大的国家。\r\n\r\n有一天，夜郎国国王与<strong>部下</strong><strong>巡视</strong><strong>国境</strong>的时候，他指着前方问说：“这里哪个国家最大呀？”部下们为了<strong>迎合</strong>国王的心意，于是就说：“当然是夜郎国最大啰！”走着走着，国王又抬起头来、望着前方的高山问说：“天底下还有比这座山更高的山吗？”部下们回答说：“天底下没有比这座山更高的山了。”后来，他们来到河边，国王又问：“我认为这可是世界上最长的河川了。”部下们仍然<strong>异口同声</strong>回答说：“大王说得一点都没错。”从此以后，无知的国王就更相信夜郎是天底下最大的国家。\r\n\r\n有一次，汉朝<strong>派</strong><strong>使者</strong>来到夜郎，<strong>途中</strong>先经过夜郎的邻国滇国，滇王问使者：“汉朝和我的国家比起来哪个大？”使者一听吓了一跳，他没想到这个小国家，竟然无知的自以为能与汉朝相比。却没想到后来使者到了夜郎国，骄傲又无知的国王因为不知道自己统治的国家只和汉朝的一个县差不多大，竟然不知天高地厚也问使者：“汉朝和我的国家哪个大？”\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Han Dynasty, in the southwest there was a small country called Yelang, and although it was an independent nation, its territory was small, there weren\'t many citizens, and its products were pitifully few. Because it was the largest kingdom in the near area, the Yelang king who\'d never left his own country thought the country he ruled was the biggest on earth. \r\n\r\nOne day, the king of Yelang was on a national border inspection tour with his troops, when he pointed in front of him [to neighboring country] and said, \"Which country is bigger?\" In order to serve their own interests and make the king happy, the troops said, \"Of course Yelang is bigger!\" They walked along, and the king once again lifted up his head, gazed at the big mountain in the distance and asked: \"Is there a taller mountain than this anywhere on earth?\" And his men answered: \"No, there\'s no mountain taller than this one on earth.\" After a while, they reached the river side, and the king asked again: \"I think this is the world\'s longest river.\" And all his men said in unison \"The king speaks truly.\" After this, the ignorant king believed even more firmly that Yelang was the world\'s biggest country.\r\n\r\nThen one day, the Han Dynasty dispatched an envoy to Yelang, and en route they encountered the neighboring kingdom DianGuo, and the King of Dian asked the emissary: \"If you compared the Han Dynasty and my Kingdom, which one would be bigger?\" The emissary listened in astonishment, as he\'d never have thought this small a country thought it could compare itself to the Han Dynasty. But he really never could have suspected that when he got to Yelang, the prideful and ignorant king who didn\'t know that the kingdom he ruled was about the size of one Han county, would ask with an exaggerated opinion of his own worth, \"Which is bigger: the Han Dynasty or my country?\"  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 夜郎自大 - Thinking too highly of oneself', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1300-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:40:51', '2020-05-07 21:40:51', '', 1300, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1300-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2261, 1, '2020-05-07 17:41:31', '2020-05-07 21:41:31', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nThis fable describes backstory / origination of the idiom 掩耳盗铃 [pinyin]yan3 er3 dao4 ling2[/pinyin], which literally translates as \"to plug one\'s ears while stealing a bell\", and meaning \"to bury one\'s head in the sand\", or \"to deceive oneself\".<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI understand that this story was taken from the collection 吕氏春秋 (\"Mr. Lu\'s Annals [of the Spring / Autumn Period]\"), which is described as \"a historical miscellany from the point of view of Qin period merchant and politician 吕不韦 Lu BuWei [pinyin]lv3 bu4 wei2[/pinyin]\"\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>掩耳盗铃</h4>\r\n\r\n春秋时侯，晋国<strong>贵族</strong><strong>智伯</strong>灭掉了<strong>范氏</strong>。有人趁机跑到范氏家里想偷点东西，看见院子里吊着一口大钟。钟是用上等青铜<strong>铸成</strong>的，造型和图案都很精美。小偷心里高兴极了，想把这口精美的大钟背回自已家去。可是钟又大又重，怎么也挪不动。他想来想去，只有一个办法，那就是把钟敲碎，然后再分别搬回家。\r\n　　\r\n小偷找来一把大<strong>大锤</strong>，拼命朝钟砸去，咣的一声巨响，把他吓了一大跳。小偷着慌，心想这下糟了，这种声不就等于是告诉人们我正在这里偷钟吗？他心里一急，身子一下子扑到了钟上，张开双臂想<strong>捂住</strong>钟声，可钟声又怎么捂得住呢！钟声依然悠悠地传向远方。\r\n\r\n他越听越害怕，不同自由地抽回双手，使劲捂住自已的耳朵。“咦，钟声变小了，听不见了！”小偷高兴起来，“妙极了！把耳朵捂住不住就听不进钟声了吗！”他立刻找来两个布团，把耳朵塞住，心想，这下谁也听不见钟声了。于是就放手砸起钟来，一下一下，钟声响亮地传到很远的地方。人们听到钟声蜂拥而至把小偷捉住了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Spring and Autumn period, Nobleman ZhiBo of the Jin state eliminated the Fan clan [in battle]. There was a person who sought to take advantage of the defeated [and thus absent] Fan clan to steal some things from their house, and he saw that in their yard dangled a large bell. The bell was molded from the finest bronze, its shape and design were very fine indeed. The thief was extremely happy, thinking to take this refined bell and carry it back to his own house. But the bell was both big and heavy, and howsoever he tried, he couldn\'t move it. He thought and thought, and came up with just one solution, which was to break the bell to bits, then take the pieces separately back to his house. \r\n　　\r\nThe thief found a sledgehammer, and swung at the bell with all his might. A loud \"gong\" sound rang out, startling the thief. The thief panicked, thinking this [enterprise] was spoiled, thinking \"that kind of noise is tantamount to telling people that I\'m here stealing the bell, isn\'t it?\" He was worried, and he flung is body at the bell, stretching his arms around it to try to still the sound, but really how could he stop it? The sound went on and on, ringing far and wide.  \r\n\r\nThe longer he heard it, the more afraid he became, and withdrew his hands to press them against his ears with all his strength. \"Yi, the sound has lessened, I can\'t hear it anymore!\" The thief became happy again, \"How wonderful! If I cover my ears well, the sound can\'t be heard!\" covered his ears well, he couldn\'t hear the sound at all! He immediately found two pieces of cloth and stopped up his ears, thinking that this way, no one else could hear the bell\'s sound either. So he began smashing the bell, hitting it again and again, the ringing of the bell being heard even in far away places. People heard the bells sounds and came in great numbers, catching the thief.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>\r\n', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 掩耳盗铃 - To bury one\'s head in the sand', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '476-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:41:31', '2020-05-07 21:41:31', '', 476, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/476-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2262, 1, '2020-05-07 17:43:09', '2020-05-07 21:43:09', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;>In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“#\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》 is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon. \r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\r\n\r\n滑膛知道他们在看什么：哥哥飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是朱汉杨，他的华软集团的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在福布斯财富500排行的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与齿哥是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的玩艺儿。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\n其实滑膛并没有去注意那枚钻戒，他看的是朱汉杨手上的那三张照片，那显然就是委托加工的工件了。朱汉杨起身越过圆桌，将三张照片推到他面前。\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buy it on Amazon</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nENGLISH\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:43:09', '2020-05-07 21:43:09', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2263, 1, '2020-05-07 17:46:45', '2020-05-07 21:46:45', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, its soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, its wings curled and wrinkled around him, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a peacock wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a sparrow has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2239-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:46:45', '2020-05-07 21:46:45', '', 2239, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2239-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2264, 1, '2020-05-12 00:00:06', '2020-05-12 04:00:06', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>长什么样</strong> [pinyin]zhang3 shen2 me yang4[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). So, 长什么样 means \"what something looks like\". \r\n\r\n<strong>原来</strong> [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>只不过</strong> [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n<strong>才能</strong> [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', 'This story is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, donated to us by the content team over at Du Chinese. A challenge for HSK 2, should be smoother for HSK 3.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-chengyu-idioms-mang-ren-mo-xiang', '', '', '2020-05-13 22:01:38', '2020-05-14 02:01:38', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2264', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(2268, 1, '2020-05-07 19:49:27', '2020-05-07 23:49:27', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang ren mo xiang[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n胆子 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - In English, when we want to describe someone who\'s brave, we may say they have \"lots of courage\". In Chinese, they use \"big courage\" (胆子大) and \"small courage\" (胆子小) instead. In Mr. Coward\'s name, this has been shortened to 胆小.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象长什么样，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” 原来第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它只不过是一根绳子。”原来他摸到的是大象的尾巴。四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样才能真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 19:49:27', '2020-05-07 23:49:27', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2265, 1, '2020-05-07 19:22:47', '2020-05-07 23:22:47', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \n\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\nA few words being used in their less common definitions. \n\n胆子 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - In English, when we want to describe someone who\'s brave, we may say they have \"lots of courage\". In Chinese, they use \"big courage\" (胆子大) and \"small courage\" (胆子小) instead. In Mr. Coward\'s name, this has been shortened to 胆小.\n\n放 [pinyin]fang4[/pinyin] - The most common usage of this word is \"to put\", but in this case, its alternate meaning is being used: \"to let go\", or \"to set free\", as in birds or captives. \n\n配 [pinyin]pei4[/pinyin] - One definition for this word is \"match\", as in \"Does this shirt match this blouse?\" But here, it\'s being used as \"deserve\", as in \"You don\'t deserve me!\"\n\n...呀...呀 [pinyin]ya[/pinyin] - So, this one\'s interesting. The sound 呀 can be used when you\'re listing out similar things. You use it after every item in the list. Take the English sentence: \"They feasted on pies, and cakes, and cookies, and candy... it was a real banquet!\" In Chinese, you\'d add 呀 like this: \"They feasted on pies 呀, and cakes 呀, and cookies 呀 and candy 呀...\". You can do it with actions, too: \"We were at the beach for hours, we played 呀, and swam 呀, and lay in the sun 呀.\" This adds an unspoken sense of happy abundance to your sentence. \n\n咚 [pinyin]dong1[/pinyin] - An onomatopoeia describing the sound of a thump\n\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Often means \"originally\", as in \"I originally intended to come Monday\", but in this case means \"Turns out\", as in \"Turns out I had something else to do that day.\"\n \n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - I just covered this one in <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/chinese-childrens-stories-tomato-girl/\">a recent beginner post</a>, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what you learned here. If not, go check it out.\n\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的<span class=\"highlightText\">胆子</span>很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\n\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\n\n\"你<span class=\"highlightText\">放</span>了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\n\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\n\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，喝<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\n\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\n\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，跳<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，在喷香的厨房里喝<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，吃<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，每天都像过节一样。\n\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你<span class=\"highlightText\">配</span>住吗?\"\n\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"<span class=\"highlightText\">咚</span>\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\n\n\"哦，<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \n\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \n\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \n\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \n\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\n \n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \n\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \n\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\n\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his left foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</e> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \n\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"<em>zhi zhi</em>\", and they all ran away.\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', 'Mr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 19:22:47', '2020-05-07 23:22:47', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2006-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2266, 1, '2020-05-07 19:13:40', '2020-05-07 23:13:40', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThere\'s not much rough grammar here, but there are few words being used in their less common definitions. \r\n\r\n胆子 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - In English, when we want to describe someone who\'s brave, we may say they have \"lots of courage\". In Chinese, they use \"big courage\" (胆子大) and \"small courage\" (胆子小) instead. In Mr. Coward\'s name, this has been shortened to 胆小.\r\n\r\n放 [pinyin]fang4[/pinyin] - The most common usage of this word is \"to put\", but in this case, its alternate meaning is being used: \"to let go\", or \"to set free\", as in birds or captives. \r\n\r\n配 [pinyin]pei4[/pinyin] - One definition for this word is \"match\", as in \"Does this shirt match this blouse?\" But here, it\'s being used as \"deserve\", as in \"You don\'t deserve me!\"\r\n\r\n咚 [pinyin]dong1[/pinyin] - An onomatopoeia describing the sound of a thump\r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Often means \"originally\", as in \"I originally intended to come Monday\", but in this case means \"Turns out\", as in \"Turns out I had something else to do that day.\"\r\n \r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - I just covered this one in <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/chinese-childrens-stories-tomato-girl/\">a recent beginner post</a>, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what you learned here. If not, go check it out.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\r\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的<span class=\"highlightText\">胆子</span>很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\r\n\r\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\r\n\r\n\"你<span class=\"highlightText\">放</span>了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\r\n\r\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\r\n\r\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃呀，喝呀，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\r\n\r\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\r\n\r\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱呀，跳呀，在喷香的厨房里喝呀，吃呀，每天都像过节一样。\r\n\r\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你<span class=\"highlightText\">配</span>住吗?\"\r\n\r\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"<span class=\"highlightText\">咚</span>\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\r\n\r\n\"哦，<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \r\n\r\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \r\n\r\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \r\n\r\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \r\n\r\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\r\n \r\n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \r\n\r\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \r\n\r\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\r\n\r\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his left foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</e> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \r\n\r\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"<em>zhi zhi</em>\", and they all ran away.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', 'Mr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 19:13:40', '2020-05-07 23:13:40', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2006-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2267, 1, '2020-05-07 19:23:10', '2020-05-07 23:23:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n胆子 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - In English, when we want to describe someone who\'s brave, we may say they have \"lots of courage\". In Chinese, they use \"big courage\" (胆子大) and \"small courage\" (胆子小) instead. In Mr. Coward\'s name, this has been shortened to 胆小.\r\n\r\n放 [pinyin]fang4[/pinyin] - The most common usage of this word is \"to put\", but in this case, its alternate meaning is being used: \"to let go\", or \"to set free\", as in birds or captives. \r\n\r\n配 [pinyin]pei4[/pinyin] - One definition for this word is \"match\", as in \"Does this shirt match this blouse?\" But here, it\'s being used as \"deserve\", as in \"You don\'t deserve me!\"\r\n\r\n...呀...呀 [pinyin]ya[/pinyin] - So, this one\'s interesting. The sound 呀 can be used when you\'re listing out similar things. You use it after every item in the list. Take the English sentence: \"They feasted on pies, and cakes, and cookies, and candy... it was a real banquet!\" In Chinese, you\'d add 呀 like this: \"They feasted on pies 呀, and cakes 呀, and cookies 呀 and candy 呀...\". You can do it with actions, too: \"We were at the beach for hours, we played 呀, and swam 呀, and lay in the sun 呀.\" This adds an unspoken sense of happy abundance to your sentence. \r\n\r\n咚 [pinyin]dong1[/pinyin] - An onomatopoeia describing the sound of a thump\r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Often means \"originally\", as in \"I originally intended to come Monday\", but in this case means \"Turns out\", as in \"Turns out I had something else to do that day.\"\r\n \r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - I just covered this one in <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/chinese-childrens-stories-tomato-girl/\">a recent beginner post</a>, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what you learned here. If not, go check it out.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\r\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的<span class=\"highlightText\">胆子</span>很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\r\n\r\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\r\n\r\n\"你<span class=\"highlightText\">放</span>了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\r\n\r\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\r\n\r\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，喝<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\r\n\r\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\r\n\r\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，跳<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，在喷香的厨房里喝<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，吃<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，每天都像过节一样。\r\n\r\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你<span class=\"highlightText\">配</span>住吗?\"\r\n\r\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"<span class=\"highlightText\">咚</span>\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\r\n\r\n\"哦，<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \r\n\r\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \r\n\r\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \r\n\r\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \r\n\r\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\r\n \r\n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \r\n\r\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \r\n\r\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\r\n\r\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his left foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</e> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \r\n\r\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"<em>zhi zhi</em>\", and they all ran away.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', 'Mr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 19:23:10', '2020-05-07 23:23:10', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2006-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2270, 1, '2020-05-09 23:21:18', '2020-05-10 03:21:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nSong dynasty military folk hero Yuefei (岳飞) gets a tattoo to remind himself of his duty to his country. This is an \"advanced\" post for three reasons: one, there are some words in here that can\'t be found in the dictionary, two, there are quite a few proper names, and three, to understand this, you need to know a little bit about Song history. \r\n\r\nLong story sort, The Song dynasty had two main enemies, both on their northern border. The Liao (辽) to the Northeast, and the Jin (金) to the Northwest. The Song bickered with the Liao for 150 years, and then both the Song and Liao were invaded by the Jin who took the Song capital at Kaifeng and forced them to relocate it south, to modern-day Hangzhou. The pre-invasion period is called the \"Northern Song\", because the song capital was in the north, and the post-invasion period the \"Southern Song\", because the capital was moved south. The way history remembers it, the Song Dynasty was corrupt and broken, which is why the Jin were able to take the capital city, and the nation only survived thanks to heroes like Yuefei. \r\n\r\nThe story of Yuefei\'s tattoo is full of machismo and to-the-death loyalty, and gossip is that gangsters or military will sometimes get this same tat. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got a few proper nouns, here: we\'ve got the dynasty names, the Liao (辽), the Jin (金) and the Song (宋); we\'ve got the name of the Song capital Kaifeng (开封), we\'ve got people like Yuefei (岳飞), his mother Madam Yaotai (姚太夫人), and Deputy Marshall Zongze (副元帅宗泽). \r\n\r\nWe\'ve also got some things that no longer exist, such as 醋墨, which is a mix of vinegar and ink paste used to smear on wounds to seal them. There\'s also an official / military rank, 秉义郎, which I\'ve translated as \"Minister of Righteous Justice\", which only existed during the Song Dynasty. \r\n\r\nAnd finally, we have classical-ish Chinese being used in a quote: “智勇才艺，古良将不能过”. Breaking this down word-by-word clears its meaning right up:\r\n\r\n智 - Intelligent\r\n勇 - brave\r\n才 - talented\r\n艺，- artistic\r\n古 - antiquity\r\n良 - Good\r\n将 - general (military)\r\n不能 - cannot\r\n过 - defeat\r\n\r\nIn other words, \"Even the good generals of antiquity couldn\'t have defeated [someone with] so much intelligence, courage, talent and artistry.\"\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B2%B3%E6%AF%8D%E5%88%BA%E5%AD%97/2635978\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>岳飞纹字</h4>\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">岳飞</span>十五六岁时，北方的<span class=\"highlightText\">金</span>人南侵，<span class=\"highlightText\">宋</span>朝当权者腐败无能，节节败退，国家处在生死存亡的关头。岳飞投军抗<span class=\"highlightText\">辽</span>。不久因父丧，退伍还乡守孝。\r\n\r\n1126年，金兵大举入侵中原，岳飞再次投军。临行前，<span class=\"highlightText\">姚太夫人</span>把岳飞叫到跟前，说：\"现在国难当头，你有什么打算？\"\r\n\r\n\"到前线杀敌，精忠报国！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人听了儿子的回答，十分满意，\"精忠报国\"正是母亲对儿子的希望。她决定把这四个字刺在儿子的背上，让他永远铭记在心。\r\n\r\n岳飞解开上衣，露出瘦瘦的脊背，请母亲下针。\r\n\r\n姚太夫人问：\"孩子，针刺是很痛的，你怕吗？\"\r\n\r\n岳飞说：\"母亲，小小钢针算不了什么，如果连针都怕，怎么去前线打仗！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人先在岳飞背上写了字，然后用绣花针刺了起来。但“国”字没有一点，象征国内无首。刺完之后，岳母又涂上<span class=\"highlightText\">醋墨</span>。从此，\"精忠报国\"四个字就永不褪色地留在了岳飞的后背上。 母亲的鼓舞激励着岳飞。岳飞投军后，很快因作战勇敢升<span class=\"highlightText\">秉义郎</span>。这时宋都<span class=\"highlightText\">开封</span>被金军围困，岳飞随<span class=\"highlightText\">副元帅宗泽</span>前去救援，多次打败金军，受到宗泽的赏识，称赞他“<span class=\"highlightText\">智勇才艺，古良将不能过</span>”，后来成为著名的抗金英雄，受历代人民所敬仰。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nWhen Yuefei was fifteen or sixteen, the Northern Jin invaded [across] their southern [border]. Those who held power within the Song Dynasty were corrupt and incompetent, were pushed back through gradual defeats, and the country\'s continued existence hung by a thread. Yuefei joined the army to resist the Liao. But before long his father died, and he left the military to return to his hometown and pay his respects. \r\n\r\nIn 1126, the Jin launched a large-scale incursion into the central plains, and Yuefei once again enlisted. Before he set out, Madam Yaotai [Yuefei\'s mother] called Yuefei before her, and said: \"Right now the country is facing great difficulty, what do you plan to do?\" \r\n\r\n\"Go to the front lines and slaughter the enemy, and serve my country with perfect loyalty.\" \r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai listened to her son\'s answer, and was quite satisfied, as \"serve the country with perfect loyalty\" was precisely what she hoped her son would do. She decided to take these four words and tattoo them onto her son\'s back, so they would be forever engraved on his heart. \r\n\r\nYuefei opened his shirt, exposing his thin back, and invited his mother to begin.\r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai asked, \"Child, tattoos are quite painful, are you afraid?\" \r\n\r\nYuefei said: \"Mother, a little needle is nothing. If I was afraid of a needle, how could I [face] going to war on the front lines?\" \r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai first drew the words on his back, then used an embroidery needle to tattoo him. But she left the dot off the character \"国\", to symbolize that the country had no [real] leader. When she was done, she spread a mix of ink and vinegar [over the wound]. From then on, \"serve the country with perfect loyalty\" [were engrave], never-fading, on his back. His mother\'s encouragement inspired Yuefei. After Yuefei joined the army, he was promoted quickly to the rank of Minister of Righteous Justice due to his courage on the battlefield. During this time, the Song capital of Kaifeng was surrounded by the Jin army, and Yuefei went to Deputy Marshall Zongze\'s rescue, defeating the Jin army many times, and he won Zongze\'s appreciation, who said of him, \"Even the good generals of antiquity couldn\'t have defeated [someone with] so much intelligence, courage, talent and artistry.\" Later he became a famous hero of the anti-Jin resistance, and receive the admiration of later generations.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Folk tales of real people: 《岳飞纹字》Yue Fei\'s Tattoo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2050-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-09 23:21:18', '2020-05-10 03:21:18', '', 2050, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/09/2050-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2271, 1, '2020-05-09 23:22:12', '2020-05-10 03:22:12', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nSong dynasty warrior-poet and folk hero <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Yuefei (岳飞)</a> gets a tattoo to remind himself of his duty to his country. This is an \"advanced\" post for three reasons: one, there are some words in here that can\'t be found in the dictionary, two, there are quite a few proper names, and three, to understand this, you need to know a little bit about Song history. \r\n\r\nLong story sort, The Song dynasty had two main enemies, both on their northern border. The Liao (辽) to the Northeast, and the Jin (金) to the Northwest. The Song bickered with the Liao for 150 years, and then both the Song and Liao were invaded by the Jin who took the Song capital at Kaifeng and forced them to relocate it south, to modern-day Hangzhou. The pre-invasion period is called the \"Northern Song\", because the song capital was in the north, and the post-invasion period the \"Southern Song\", because the capital was moved south. The way history remembers it, the Song Dynasty was corrupt and broken, which is why the Jin were able to take the capital city, and the nation only survived thanks to heroes like Yuefei. \r\n\r\nThe story of Yuefei\'s tattoo is full of machismo and to-the-death loyalty, and gossip is that gangsters or military will sometimes get this same tat. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got a few proper nouns, here: we\'ve got the dynasty names, the Liao (辽), the Jin (金) and the Song (宋); we\'ve got the name of the Song capital Kaifeng (开封), we\'ve got people like Yuefei (岳飞), his mother Madam Yaotai (姚太夫人), and Deputy Marshall Zongze (副元帅宗泽). \r\n\r\nWe\'ve also got some things that no longer exist, such as 醋墨, which is a mix of vinegar and ink paste used to smear on wounds to seal them. There\'s also an official / military rank, 秉义郎, which I\'ve translated as \"Minister of Righteous Justice\", which only existed during the Song Dynasty. \r\n\r\nAnd finally, we have classical-ish Chinese being used in a quote: “智勇才艺，古良将不能过”. Breaking this down word-by-word clears its meaning right up:\r\n\r\n智 - Intelligent\r\n勇 - brave\r\n才 - talented\r\n艺，- artistic\r\n古 - antiquity\r\n良 - Good\r\n将 - general (military)\r\n不能 - cannot\r\n过 - defeat\r\n\r\nIn other words, \"Even the good generals of antiquity couldn\'t have defeated [someone with] so much intelligence, courage, talent and artistry.\"\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B2%B3%E6%AF%8D%E5%88%BA%E5%AD%97/2635978\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>岳飞纹字</h4>\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">岳飞</span>十五六岁时，北方的<span class=\"highlightText\">金</span>人南侵，<span class=\"highlightText\">宋</span>朝当权者腐败无能，节节败退，国家处在生死存亡的关头。岳飞投军抗<span class=\"highlightText\">辽</span>。不久因父丧，退伍还乡守孝。\r\n\r\n1126年，金兵大举入侵中原，岳飞再次投军。临行前，<span class=\"highlightText\">姚太夫人</span>把岳飞叫到跟前，说：\"现在国难当头，你有什么打算？\"\r\n\r\n\"到前线杀敌，精忠报国！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人听了儿子的回答，十分满意，\"精忠报国\"正是母亲对儿子的希望。她决定把这四个字刺在儿子的背上，让他永远铭记在心。\r\n\r\n岳飞解开上衣，露出瘦瘦的脊背，请母亲下针。\r\n\r\n姚太夫人问：\"孩子，针刺是很痛的，你怕吗？\"\r\n\r\n岳飞说：\"母亲，小小钢针算不了什么，如果连针都怕，怎么去前线打仗！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人先在岳飞背上写了字，然后用绣花针刺了起来。但“国”字没有一点，象征国内无首。刺完之后，岳母又涂上<span class=\"highlightText\">醋墨</span>。从此，\"精忠报国\"四个字就永不褪色地留在了岳飞的后背上。 母亲的鼓舞激励着岳飞。岳飞投军后，很快因作战勇敢升<span class=\"highlightText\">秉义郎</span>。这时宋都<span class=\"highlightText\">开封</span>被金军围困，岳飞随<span class=\"highlightText\">副元帅宗泽</span>前去救援，多次打败金军，受到宗泽的赏识，称赞他“<span class=\"highlightText\">智勇才艺，古良将不能过</span>”，后来成为著名的抗金英雄，受历代人民所敬仰。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nWhen Yuefei was fifteen or sixteen, the Northern Jin invaded [across] their southern [border]. Those who held power within the Song Dynasty were corrupt and incompetent, were pushed back through gradual defeats, and the country\'s continued existence hung by a thread. Yuefei joined the army to resist the Liao. But before long his father died, and he left the military to return to his hometown and pay his respects. \r\n\r\nIn 1126, the Jin launched a large-scale incursion into the central plains, and Yuefei once again enlisted. Before he set out, Madam Yaotai [Yuefei\'s mother] called Yuefei before her, and said: \"Right now the country is facing great difficulty, what do you plan to do?\" \r\n\r\n\"Go to the front lines and slaughter the enemy, and serve my country with perfect loyalty.\" \r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai listened to her son\'s answer, and was quite satisfied, as \"serve the country with perfect loyalty\" was precisely what she hoped her son would do. She decided to take these four words and tattoo them onto her son\'s back, so they would be forever engraved on his heart. \r\n\r\nYuefei opened his shirt, exposing his thin back, and invited his mother to begin.\r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai asked, \"Child, tattoos are quite painful, are you afraid?\" \r\n\r\nYuefei said: \"Mother, a little needle is nothing. If I was afraid of a needle, how could I [face] going to war on the front lines?\" \r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai first drew the words on his back, then used an embroidery needle to tattoo him. But she left the dot off the character \"国\", to symbolize that the country had no [real] leader. When she was done, she spread a mix of ink and vinegar [over the wound]. From then on, \"serve the country with perfect loyalty\" [were engrave], never-fading, on his back. His mother\'s encouragement inspired Yuefei. After Yuefei joined the army, he was promoted quickly to the rank of Minister of Righteous Justice due to his courage on the battlefield. During this time, the Song capital of Kaifeng was surrounded by the Jin army, and Yuefei went to Deputy Marshall Zongze\'s rescue, defeating the Jin army many times, and he won Zongze\'s appreciation, who said of him, \"Even the good generals of antiquity couldn\'t have defeated [someone with] so much intelligence, courage, talent and artistry.\" Later he became a famous hero of the anti-Jin resistance, and receive the admiration of later generations.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Folk tales of real people: 《岳飞纹字》Yue Fei\'s Tattoo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2050-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-09 23:22:12', '2020-05-10 03:22:12', '', 2050, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/09/2050-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2272, 1, '2020-05-10 19:34:26', '2020-05-10 23:34:26', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang ren mo xiang[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n长什么样 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). \r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n只不过 [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n才能 [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:34:26', '2020-05-10 23:34:26', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2273, 1, '2020-05-10 19:42:54', '2020-05-10 23:42:54', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believe to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a>, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n长什么样 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). \r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n只不过 [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n才能 [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:42:54', '2020-05-10 23:42:54', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2274, 1, '2020-05-10 19:50:03', '2020-05-10 23:50:03', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \n\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \n\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\n\n<strong>长什么样</strong> [pinyin]zhang3 shen2 me yang4[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). So, 长什么样 means \"what something looks like\". \n\n<strong>原来</strong> [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\n\n<strong>只不过</strong> [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \n\n才能 [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\n\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\n\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\n\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\n\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\n\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\n\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \n\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \n\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \n\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \n\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \n\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\n\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', 'It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, donated to us by the content team over at Du Chinese. Appropriate for HSK 2-3.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:50:03', '2020-05-10 23:50:03', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2275, 1, '2020-05-10 19:44:42', '2020-05-10 23:44:42', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believe to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n长什么样 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). \r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n只不过 [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n才能 [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:44:42', '2020-05-10 23:44:42', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2276, 1, '2020-05-10 19:45:17', '2020-05-10 23:45:17', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n长什么样 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). \r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n只不过 [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n才能 [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:45:17', '2020-05-10 23:45:17', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2277, 1, '2020-05-10 19:48:06', '2020-05-10 23:48:06', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n长什么样 [pinyin]zhang3 shen2 me yang4[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). So, 长什么样 means \"what something looks like\". \r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n只不过 [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n才能 [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', 'It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, donated to us by the content team over at Du Chinese. Appropriate for HSK 2-3.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:48:06', '2020-05-10 23:48:06', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2278, 1, '2020-05-10 19:50:06', '2020-05-10 23:50:06', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>长什么样</strong> [pinyin]zhang3 shen2 me yang4[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). So, 长什么样 means \"what something looks like\". \r\n\r\n<strong>原来</strong> [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>只不过</strong> [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n<strong>才能</strong> [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', 'It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, donated to us by the content team over at Du Chinese. Appropriate for HSK 2-3.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:50:06', '2020-05-10 23:50:06', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2279, 1, '2020-05-10 19:51:06', '2020-05-10 23:51:06', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>长什么样</strong> [pinyin]zhang3 shen2 me yang4[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). So, 长什么样 means \"what something looks like\". \r\n\r\n<strong>原来</strong> [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>只不过</strong> [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n<strong>才能</strong> [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', 'It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, donated to us by the content team over at Du Chinese. A challenge for HSK 2, should be smoother for HSK 3.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 19:51:06', '2020-05-10 23:51:06', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2280, 1, '2020-05-14 00:00:05', '2020-05-14 04:00:05', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to comply or go along with something.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>酒反正你是喝不成了</strong> - Gonna break this one down:\r\n酒 - Wine\r\n反正 - in any case\r\n你 - you\r\n是 - are\r\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\r\n了 - grammar word.\r\n\r\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together, as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But \"coming together\" is used figuratively here, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t necessarily be done.\" \r\n\r\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\r\n\r\nThe person drawing feet on the snake wasn\'t having any of that, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \r\n\r\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \r\n\r\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [he was full of] regret. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'story-behind-the-idiom-%e7%94%bb%e8%9b%87%e6%b7%bb%e8%b6%b3-the-dangers-of-showing-off', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:55:22', '2020-05-14 01:55:22', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2280', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2281, 1, '2020-05-10 20:23:12', '2020-05-11 00:23:12', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nxxxx\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n谁 - not \"who\". It\'s \"whoever\". \r\nXXXX\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，还不如给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？于是，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。正待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他十分得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也未必画完。” 边说边给画好的蛇画脚。\r\n\r\n不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, donated to us by the content team over at Du Chinese. A challenge for HSK 2, should be smoother for HSK 3.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 20:23:12', '2020-05-11 00:23:12', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2282, 1, '2020-05-10 20:31:18', '2020-05-11 00:31:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nxxxx\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n谁 - not \"who\". It\'s \"whoever\". \r\nXXXX\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，还不如给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？于是，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。正待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他十分得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也未必画完。” \r\n\r\n不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\n不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-10 20:31:18', '2020-05-11 00:31:18', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/10/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2283, 1, '2020-05-11 20:58:06', '2020-05-12 00:58:06', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nSong dynasty warrior-poet and folk hero <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Yuefei (岳飞)</a> gets a tattoo to remind himself of his duty to his country. This is an \"advanced\" post for three reasons: one, there are some words in here that can\'t be found in the dictionary, two, there are quite a few proper names, and three, to understand this, you need to know a little bit about Song history. \r\n\r\nLong story sort, The Song dynasty had two main enemies, both on their northern border. The Liao (辽) to the Northeast, and the Jin (金) to the Northwest. The Song bickered with the Liao for 150 years, and then both the Song and Liao were invaded by the Jin who took the Song capital at Kaifeng and forced them to relocate it south, to modern-day Hangzhou. The pre-invasion period is called the \"Northern Song\", because the song capital was in the north, and the post-invasion period the \"Southern Song\", because the capital was moved south. The way history remembers it, the Song Dynasty was corrupt and broken, which is why the Jin were able to take the capital city, and the nation only survived thanks to heroes like Yuefei. \r\n\r\nThe story of Yuefei\'s tattoo is full of machismo and to-the-death loyalty, and gossip is that gangsters or military will sometimes get this same tat. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got a few proper nouns, here: we\'ve got the dynasty names, the Liao (辽), the Jin (金) and the Song (宋); we\'ve got the name of the Song capital Kaifeng (开封), we\'ve got people like Yuefei (岳飞), his mother Madam Yaotai (姚太夫人), and Deputy Marshall Zongze (副元帅宗泽). \r\n\r\nWe\'ve also got some things that no longer exist, such as 醋墨, which is a mix of vinegar and ink paste used to smear on wounds to seal them. There\'s also an official / military rank, 秉义郎, which I\'ve translated as \"Minister of Righteous Justice\", which only existed during the Song Dynasty. \r\n\r\nAnd finally, we have classical-ish Chinese being used in a quote: “智勇才艺，古良将不能过”. Breaking this down word-by-word clears its meaning right up:\r\n\r\n智 - Intelligent\r\n勇 - brave\r\n才 - talented\r\n艺，- artistic\r\n古 - antiquity\r\n良 - Good\r\n将 - general (military)\r\n不能 - cannot\r\n过 - defeat\r\n\r\nIn other words, \"Even the good generals of antiquity couldn\'t have defeated [someone with] so much intelligence, courage, talent and artistry.\"\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B2%B3%E6%AF%8D%E5%88%BA%E5%AD%97/2635978\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>岳飞纹字</h4>\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">岳飞</span>十五六岁时，北方的<span class=\"highlightText\">金</span>人南侵，<span class=\"highlightText\">宋</span>朝当权者腐败无能，节节败退，国家处在生死存亡的关头。岳飞投军抗<span class=\"highlightText\">辽</span>。不久因父丧，退伍还乡守孝。\r\n\r\n1126年，金兵大举入侵中原，岳飞再次投军。临行前，<span class=\"highlightText\">姚太夫人</span>把岳飞叫到跟前，说：\"现在国难当头，你有什么打算？\"\r\n\r\n\"到前线杀敌，精忠报国！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人听了儿子的回答，十分满意，\"精忠报国\"正是母亲对儿子的希望。她决定把这四个字刺在儿子的背上，让他永远铭记在心。\r\n\r\n岳飞解开上衣，露出瘦瘦的脊背，请母亲下针。\r\n\r\n姚太夫人问：\"孩子，针刺是很痛的，你怕吗？\"\r\n\r\n岳飞说：\"母亲，小小钢针算不了什么，如果连针都怕，怎么去前线打仗！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人先在岳飞背上写了字，然后用绣花针刺了起来。但“国”字没有一点，象征国内无首。刺完之后，岳母又涂上<span class=\"highlightText\">醋墨</span>。从此，\"精忠报国\"四个字就永不褪色地留在了岳飞的后背上。 母亲的鼓舞激励着岳飞。岳飞投军后，很快因作战勇敢升<span class=\"highlightText\">秉义郎</span>。这时宋都<span class=\"highlightText\">开封</span>被金军围困，岳飞随<span class=\"highlightText\">副元帅宗泽</span>前去救援，多次打败金军，受到宗泽的赏识，称赞他“<span class=\"highlightText\">智勇才艺，古良将不能过</span>”，后来成为著名的抗金英雄，受历代人民所敬仰。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nWhen Yuefei was fifteen or sixteen, the Northern Jin invaded [across] their southern [border]. Those who held power within the Song Dynasty were corrupt and incompetent, were pushed back through gradual defeats, and the country\'s continued existence hung by a thread. Yuefei joined the army to resist the Liao. But before long his father died, and he left the military to return to his hometown and pay his respects. \r\n\r\nIn 1126, the Jin launched a large-scale incursion into the central plains, and Yuefei once again enlisted. Before he set out, Madam Yaotai [Yuefei\'s mother] called Yuefei before her, and said: \"Right now the country is facing great difficulty, what do you plan to do?\" \r\n\r\n\"Go to the front lines and slaughter the enemy, and serve my country with perfect loyalty.\" \r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai listened to her son\'s answer, and was quite satisfied, as \"serve the country with perfect loyalty\" was precisely what she hoped her son would do. She decided to take these four words and tattoo them onto her son\'s back, so they would be forever engraved on his heart. \r\n\r\nYuefei opened his shirt, exposing his thin back, and invited his mother to begin.\r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai asked, \"Child, tattoos are quite painful, are you afraid?\" \r\n\r\nYuefei said: \"Mother, a little needle is nothing. If I was afraid of a needle, how could I [face] going to war on the front lines?\" \r\n\r\nMadam Yaotai first drew the words on his back, then used an embroidery needle to tattoo him. But she left the dot off the character \"国\", to symbolize that the country had no [real] leader. When she was done, she spread a mix of ink and vinegar [over the wound]. From then on, \"serve the country with perfect loyalty\" [were engrave], never-fading, on his back. His mother\'s encouragement inspired Yuefei. After Yuefei joined the army, he was promoted quickly to the rank of Minister of Righteous Justice due to his courage on the battlefield. During this time, the Song capital of Kaifeng was surrounded by the Jin army, and Yuefei went to Deputy Marshall Zongze\'s rescue, defeating the Jin army many times, and he won Zongze\'s appreciation, who said of him, \"Even the good generals of antiquity couldn\'t have defeated [someone with] so much intelligence, courage, talent and artistry.\" Later he became a famous hero of the anti-Jin resistance, and receive the admiration of later generations.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Folk tales of real people: 《岳飞纹字》Yue Fei\'s Tattoo', 'Song dynasty warrior-poet and folk hero <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Yuefei (岳飞)</a> gets a tattoo to remind himself of his duty to his country. This is an \"advanced\" post for three reasons: one, there are some words in here that can\'t be found in the dictionary, two, there are quite a few proper names, and three, to understand this, you need to know a little bit about Song history. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2050-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-11 20:58:06', '2020-05-12 00:58:06', '', 2050, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/11/2050-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2284, 1, '2020-05-12 09:20:39', '2020-05-12 13:20:39', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThe idiom \"画龙点睛\" comes from this legend. Now it\'s usually used to describe the use of a couple of perfectly incisive language added a critical moment when writing or speaking to illuminate a deeper meaning, and give the content more power. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在金陵（现在南京）安乐寺的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，顷刻间电闪雷鸣。两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n\r\n成语“画龙点睛”就是从这个传说中来的。现在一般用来比喻写作、讲话时，在关键性的地方用上一两句精辟的语言来点明含义，使内容更加生动有力。这种手法也称为“点睛”之笔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao，and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The logs were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, suddenly a big wind gusted up, in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant twisting dragons with beams of light radiating from their eyes charged towards the sky, taking off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 09:20:39', '2020-05-12 13:20:39', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2285, 1, '2020-05-12 22:16:40', '2020-05-13 02:16:40', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got the names of a few places here, notably 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n顷刻间 [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n腾空而去 [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起 - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. This is difficult because it\'s hard to break out which parts of the sentence go with which, so I\'m going to put this here again, with spacing to show how the sentence is grouped: 两条巨龙  转动着光芒四射的眼睛  冲天而起. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao，and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, suddenly a big wind gusted up, in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, charged towards the sky, taking off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:16:40', '2020-05-13 02:16:40', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2286, 1, '2020-05-12 22:19:01', '2020-05-13 02:19:01', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got the names of a few places here, notably 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n顷刻间 [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n腾空而去 [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起 - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. This is difficult because it\'s hard to break out which parts of the sentence go with which, so I\'m going to put this here again, with spacing to show how the sentence is grouped: 两条巨龙  转动着光芒四射的眼睛  冲天而起. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao，and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, suddenly a big wind gusted up, in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, charged towards the sky, taking off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:19:01', '2020-05-13 02:19:01', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2288, 1, '2020-05-12 22:20:02', '2020-05-13 02:20:02', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got the names of a few places here, notably 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao，and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, suddenly a big wind gusted up, in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, charged towards the sky, taking off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:20:02', '2020-05-13 02:20:02', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2287, 1, '2020-05-12 22:19:35', '2020-05-13 02:19:35', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got the names of a few places here, notably 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. This is difficult because it\'s hard to break out which parts of the sentence go with which, so I\'m going to put this here again, with spacing to show how the sentence is grouped: 两条巨龙  转动着光芒四射的眼睛  冲天而起. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao，and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, suddenly a big wind gusted up, in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, charged towards the sky, taking off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:19:35', '2020-05-13 02:19:35', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2289, 1, '2020-05-12 22:22:57', '2020-05-13 02:22:57', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got the names of a few places here, notably 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao, and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, suddenly a big wind gusted up, in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, charged towards the sky, taking off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:22:57', '2020-05-13 02:22:57', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2290, 1, '2020-05-12 22:23:50', '2020-05-13 02:23:50', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got the names of a few places here, notably 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao, and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, when suddenly a big wind gusted up, and in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, rose charging towards the sky, and took off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:23:50', '2020-05-13 02:23:50', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2291, 1, '2020-05-12 22:26:21', '2020-05-13 02:26:21', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \n\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\nWe\'ve got the names of a few places here, notably 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \n\nAlso, the character \n\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\n\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\n\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\n传说古时候有个画家叫<span class=\"highlightText\">张僧繇</span>，他画龙画得特别好。\n\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\n\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\n\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao, and he drew dragons very well.\n\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \n\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \n\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, when suddenly a big wind gusted up, and in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, rose charging towards the sky, and took off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\n\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:26:21', '2020-05-13 02:26:21', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2292, 1, '2020-05-12 22:27:52', '2020-05-13 02:27:52', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got a few proper nouns here. We have the name of a painter Zhang Sengyao (张僧繇 - my pinyin generator erroneously translates \"yao\" as \"you\"), a city called Jinling 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and 安乐寺, Anle Temple. Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫<span class=\"highlightText\">张僧繇</span>，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao, and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, when suddenly a big wind gusted up, and in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, rose charging towards the sky, and took off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:27:52', '2020-05-13 02:27:52', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2293, 1, '2020-05-12 22:28:43', '2020-05-13 02:28:43', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got a few proper nouns here. We have the name of a painter Zhang Sengyao (张僧繇 - my pinyin generator erroneously translates \"yao\" as \"you\"), a city called Jinling 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and Anle Temple (安乐寺). Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫<span class=\"highlightText\">张僧繇</span>，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao, and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, when suddenly a big wind gusted up, and in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, rose charging towards the sky, and took off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-12 22:28:43', '2020-05-13 02:28:43', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/12/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2295, 1, '2020-05-13 21:26:02', '2020-05-14 01:26:02', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to give way to another.\r\n\r\n属(谁) [pinyin]shu3 (谁3)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n不过... 而已。 [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\n不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:26:02', '2020-05-14 01:26:02', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2296, 1, '2020-05-13 21:26:34', '2020-05-14 01:26:34', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to give way to another.\r\n\r\n属(谁) [pinyin]shu3 (谁3)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n不过... 而已。 [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\n不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:26:34', '2020-05-14 01:26:34', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2297, 1, '2020-05-13 21:52:56', '2020-05-14 01:52:56', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\n\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\n\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\n\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to comply or go along with something.\n\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \n\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\n\n<strong>酒反正你是喝不成了</strong> - Gonna break this one down:\n酒 - Wine\n反正 - in any case\n你 - you\n是 - are\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\n了 - grammar word.\n\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But \"coming together\" here isn\'t literal, it\'s more figurative, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\n\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \n\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\n\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\n\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\n\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\n\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\n\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \n\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \n\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\n\nThe person drawing feet on the snake wasn\'t having any of that, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\n\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \n\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \n\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\n\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [was full of] regret. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:52:56', '2020-05-14 01:52:56', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2298, 1, '2020-05-13 21:27:58', '2020-05-14 01:27:58', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to give way to another.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\n不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:27:58', '2020-05-14 01:27:58', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2299, 1, '2020-05-13 21:28:47', '2020-05-14 01:28:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to give way to another.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\n不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:28:47', '2020-05-14 01:28:47', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2300, 1, '2020-05-13 21:49:24', '2020-05-14 01:49:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to give way to another.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n\r\n酒反正你是喝不成了 - Gonna break this one down:\r\n酒 - Wine\r\n反正 - in any case\r\n你 - you\r\n是 - are\r\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\r\n了 - grammar word.\r\n\r\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But not \"coming together\" here isn\'t literal, it\'s more figurative, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\r\n\r\nThe person drawing feet on the snake was unwilling to concede, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \r\n\r\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \r\n\r\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [was full of] regret. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:49:24', '2020-05-14 01:49:24', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2301, 1, '2020-05-13 21:50:32', '2020-05-14 01:50:32', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to give way to another.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>酒反正你是喝不成了</strong> - Gonna break this one down:\r\n酒 - Wine\r\n反正 - in any case\r\n你 - you\r\n是 - are\r\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\r\n了 - grammar word.\r\n\r\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But not \"coming together\" here isn\'t literal, it\'s more figurative, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\r\n\r\nThe person drawing feet on the snake was unwilling to concede, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \r\n\r\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \r\n\r\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [was full of] regret. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:50:32', '2020-05-14 01:50:32', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2303, 1, '2020-05-13 21:53:18', '2020-05-14 01:53:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to comply or go along with something.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>酒反正你是喝不成了</strong> - Gonna break this one down:\r\n酒 - Wine\r\n反正 - in any case\r\n你 - you\r\n是 - are\r\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\r\n了 - grammar word.\r\n\r\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together, as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But \"coming together\" is used figuratively here, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\r\n\r\nThe person drawing feet on the snake wasn\'t having any of that, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \r\n\r\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \r\n\r\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [was full of] regret. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:53:18', '2020-05-14 01:53:18', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2302, 1, '2020-05-13 21:51:49', '2020-05-14 01:51:49', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to comply or go along with something.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>酒反正你是喝不成了</strong> - Gonna break this one down:\r\n酒 - Wine\r\n反正 - in any case\r\n你 - you\r\n是 - are\r\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\r\n了 - grammar word.\r\n\r\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But not \"coming together\" here isn\'t literal, it\'s more figurative, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t be done.\" \r\n\r\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\r\n\r\nThe person drawing feet on the snake wasn\'t having any of that, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \r\n\r\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \r\n\r\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [was full of] regret. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:51:49', '2020-05-14 01:51:49', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2304, 1, '2020-05-13 21:54:24', '2020-05-14 01:54:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to comply or go along with something.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>酒反正你是喝不成了</strong> - Gonna break this one down:\r\n酒 - Wine\r\n反正 - in any case\r\n你 - you\r\n是 - are\r\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\r\n了 - grammar word.\r\n\r\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together, as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But \"coming together\" is used figuratively here, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t necessarily be done.\" \r\n\r\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\r\n\r\nThe person drawing feet on the snake wasn\'t having any of that, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \r\n\r\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \r\n\r\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [was full of] regret. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:54:24', '2020-05-14 01:54:24', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2305, 1, '2020-05-13 21:55:22', '2020-05-14 01:55:22', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuess it\'s idiom week over here. I realized how many of the classic 成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin] I hadn\'t gotten to yet, and started rolling through them. This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis piece in an exercise not in learning nouns and verbs, but in sentence-supporting words, like 还不如 [pinyin]hai2 bu4 ru2[/pinyin], \"might as well\", 于是 [pinyin]yu2 shi4[/pinyin], \"and so\", 十分 [pinyin]shi2 fen1[/pinyin] \"quite / rather\", 未必 [pinyin]wei4 bi4[/pinyin], \"not necessarily\", and 不料 [pinyin]bu4 liao4[/pinyin], \"unexpectedly\". A couple other points:\r\n\r\n<strong>谁</strong> [pinyin]shei2[/pinyin] - This usually means \"who\", but in this case, it\'s more like \"whoever\".\r\n\r\n<strong>不依</strong> [pinyin]bu4 yi1[/pinyin] - To be unwilling to concede a point, to be unwilling to comply or go along with something.\r\n\r\n<strong>属(谁)</strong> [pinyin]shu3 (shei2)[/pinyin] - 属 means \"to belong to\", in many of the same senses it does in English. \"I belong in this family\", \"This book belongs to me\", \"I belong to this land\"... you can use 属 to express all those concepts. But in this case, it\'s referring to an object belonging to a person. \r\n\r\n<strong>不过... 而已。</strong> [pinyin]bu2 guo4 ... er2 yi3[/pinyin] - This sentence structure is similar to \"Was only....., that\'s all.\" As in, \"I was only trying to help, that\'s all.\" Or, \"I was just here to grab my stuff is all.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>酒反正你是喝不成了</strong> - Gonna break this one down:\r\n酒 - Wine\r\n反正 - in any case\r\n你 - you\r\n是 - are\r\n喝不成 - unsuitable to drink it / shouldn\'t be allowed to drink it\r\n了 - grammar word.\r\n\r\nWe can see from this that 喝不成 is the hard part here. The character 成 by itself can have broad connotations of something coalescing, or coming together, as in 变成 \"to become\"，合成 \"to compound\", 造成 \"to create\". In this case, 你是喝不成 could be understood as \"It doesn\'t come together that you should drink this\". But \"coming together\" is used figuratively here, in that an idea which isn\'t correct or proper doesn\'t \"come together\". In English we might say, \"It doesn\'t square that you should drink this\". \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画蛇添足</h4>\r\n有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，<span class=\"highlightText\">还不如</span>给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？<span class=\"highlightText\">于是</span>，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>先画完了这壶酒就给<span class=\"highlightText\">谁</span>喝。大家都同意这个办法。\r\n\r\n每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。<span class=\"highlightText\">正</span>待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他<span class=\"highlightText\">十分</span>得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也<span class=\"highlightText\">未必</span>画完。” \r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">不料</span>，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。\r\n\r\n这个给蛇画脚的人<span class=\"highlightText\">不依</span>，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”\r\n\r\n那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”\r\n\r\n画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，<span class=\"highlightText\">不过</span>是给蛇添几只脚<span class=\"highlightText\">而已</span>。”\r\n\r\n那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒<span class=\"highlightText\">反正</span>你是<span class=\"highlightText\">喝不成</span>了！”\r\n\r\n那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本<span class=\"highlightText\">属自己</span>而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn\'t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that\'s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution. \r\n\r\nEvery guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn\'t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, \"Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won\'t necessarily be done.\" \r\n\r\nUnexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person\'s snake was finished.\r\n\r\nThe person drawing feet on the snake wasn\'t having any of that, and said, \"I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person said, smiling: \"You\'re still drawing, but I\'ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!\" \r\n\r\nThe man drawing feet on the snake said: \"I finished early, now I\'m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I\'m only giving the snake a few feet is all.\" \r\n\r\nThe [other] person said: \"Snake don\'t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn\'t be for you!\"\r\n\r\nThe [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [he was full of] regret. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 画蛇添足 - The dangers of showing off', 'This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It\'s about a guy who can\'t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2280-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 21:55:22', '2020-05-14 01:55:22', '', 2280, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2280-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2306, 1, '2020-05-13 22:01:38', '2020-05-14 02:01:38', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGuest post! The story behind the classic Chinese idiom (成语 [pinyin]cheng2 yu3[/pinyin]) \"Blind People Touch an Elephant\" (\"盲人摸象\" [pinyin]mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4[/pinyin]), was contributed by the content team over at <a href=\"http://duchinese.net\">Du Chinese</a> - thank you guys. As I say often, I always struggle to find Mandarin reading appropriate for newbies, as most writing won\'t come together without some higher-level words, but if you\'re just getting started and these posts are too hard for you, Du Chinese has more HSK 1 and 2 materials than I\'ll ever have, since they write their own Chinese content, so they can control the difficulty level. \r\n\r\nThe idiom 盲人摸象 refers to only having a surface-level understanding of something, or to only understand part of something but think you have the whole story. It is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, to be precise, which is over 1500 years old. This is not the original text of the sutra - the original Sanskrit version was lost, and this story has been re-told a zillion times in a zillion ways, but it\'s still cool to get a glimpse into what is essentially a Buddhist story from antiquity. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>长什么样</strong> [pinyin]zhang3 shen2 me yang4[/pinyin] - The character 长 has many meanings and two pronunciations. The one we usually learn first is [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin], which means \"long\", as in the opposite of \"short\". But pronounced [pinyin]zhang3[/pinyin], it also means \"appearance\", or \"what something looks like\" (and about a billion other things, so don\'t get married to that definition). So, 长什么样 means \"what something looks like\". \r\n\r\n<strong>原来</strong> [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - I just went over this in a recent post, but again, this means \"turns out that\", as in, \"Turns out she was here to see someone else.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>只不过</strong> [pinyin]zhi3 bu guo4[/pinyin] - Is nothing more than / is nothing but. \r\n\r\n<strong>才能</strong> [pinyin]cai2 neng2[/pinyin] - My dictionary pop-up generator has this wrong, it displays the definition as \"ability\" or \"talent\". As a noun, that is indeed what 才能 means. However, this is actually not a single noun made up of two characters, but two separate characters, 才 and 能, which together mean \"only then can one _____\". I always found 才 to be a pain-in-the-butt character, because it has so many amorphous meanings that don\'t translate well into English, and you can only really figure out which one is being used in context, and some of those meaning are direct opposites. Blogger Jenna Wang does a good job of explaining all of them <a href=\"http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/cai-in-chinese-grammar\">here</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>盲人摸象</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，有四个盲人很想知道大象<span class=\"hightlightText\">长什么样</span>，可他们看不见，只能用手摸。\r\n\r\n第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙齿。他就说：“我知道了，大象就像一个大萝卜。”\r\n\r\n第二个盲人摸到的是大象的耳朵，他大叫起来：“不对，不对，大象就像一把大扇子！”\r\n\r\n“你们说的都不对，大象只是一根大柱子。” <span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>第三个盲人摸到的是大象的腿。\r\n\r\n第四个盲人却不同意，他说：“大象哪有那么大，它<span class=\"highlightText\">只不过</span>是一根绳子。”<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>他摸到的是大象的尾巴。\r\n\r\n四个盲人争吵不休，都说自己摸到的才是大象真正的样子。而实际上呢？他们一个也没说对。\r\n\r\n“盲人摸象”告诉人们看问题不能只看一部分，要看全部，那样<span class=\"highlightText\">才能</span>真正地了解问题。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA long long time ago, four blind people wanted to know what an elephant looks like. But they couldn\'t see it, and could only touch it with their hands. \r\n\r\nThe first blind person touched the elephant\'s teeth. He said: “I know! An elephant looks like a big radish.” \r\n\r\nThe second blind person touched the elephant\'s ears. He yelled out: “No no, the elephant looks like a big fan!” \r\n\r\n“You\'re both wrong, the elephant is just a large pillar.” Turns out the  third blind person was touching the elephant\'s leg. \r\n\r\nThe fourth blind person disagreed, and said: “The elephant isn\'t that big at all, it\'s just a rope.” He was touching the elephant\'s tail. \r\n\r\nThe four blind people argued endlessly, and they all said that the part they touched was the elephant\'s true appearance. And in reality? None of them were correct.\r\n\r\n“Blind people touch an elephant” teaches us that we shouldn\'t just look at one part of a problem. We should look at all of it, and only then can we truly understand the problem. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 盲人摸象 - To only partially understand something', 'This story is believed to have originated from a Buddhist sutra, the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra</a> 《大般涅槃经》, donated to us by the content team over at Du Chinese. A challenge for HSK 2, should be smoother for HSK 3.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2264-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 22:01:38', '2020-05-14 02:01:38', '', 2264, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/2264-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2307, 1, '2020-05-13 22:34:30', '2020-05-14 02:34:30', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;>In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“#\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》 is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon. \r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\r\n\r\n滑膛知道他们在看什么：哥哥飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是朱汉杨，他的华软集团的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在福布斯财富500排行的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与齿哥是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的玩艺儿。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\n其实滑膛并没有去注意那枚钻戒，他看的是朱汉杨手上的那三张照片，那显然就是委托加工的工件了。朱汉杨起身越过圆桌，将三张照片推到他面前。\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buy it on Amazon</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nWork is just work, doesn\'t mean anything. This was the principle by which Smoothbore abided, but this time, the client had left him feeling puzzled.\r\n\r\nFirst of all, the way the client commissioned him was off, he wanted to meet him face-to-face, and in this business, that was a curious matter. Three years earlier, Smoothbore had heard his drillmaster say more than once, their relationship with their clients was like the relationship between the forehead and the back of the head, never to see one another in this world, and this of course was out of consideration for the interests of both parties. The meeting place surprised Smoothbore even more, it was in the most luxurious presidential suite of the city\'s most luxurious five-star hotel, which was the least suitable place in the world for commissioning this type of work. According to what the client let slip, this job had three parts, though that was no big deal, even if it was a few more [Smoothbore] wouldn\'t have minded.\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\r\n\r\n滑膛知道他们在看什么：哥哥飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是朱汉杨，他的华软集团的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在福布斯财富500排行的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与齿哥是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的玩艺儿。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\n其实滑膛并没有去注意那枚钻戒，他看的是朱汉杨手上的那三张照片，那显然就是委托加工的工件了。朱汉杨起身越过圆桌，将三张照片推到他面前。\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 22:34:30', '2020-05-14 02:34:30', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2308, 1, '2020-05-13 22:47:08', '2020-05-14 02:47:08', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;>In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“#\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》 is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon. \r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\r\n\r\n滑膛知道他们在看什么：哥哥飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是朱汉杨，他的华软集团的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在福布斯财富500排行的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与齿哥是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的玩艺儿。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\n其实滑膛并没有去注意那枚钻戒，他看的是朱汉杨手上的那三张照片，那显然就是委托加工的工件了。朱汉杨起身越过圆桌，将三张照片推到他面前。\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buy it on Amazon</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nWork is just work, doesn\'t mean anything. This was the principle by which Smoothbore abided, but this time, the client had left him feeling puzzled.\r\n\r\nFirst of all, the way the client commissioned him was off, he wanted to meet him face-to-face, and in this business, that was a curious matter. Three years earlier, Smoothbore had heard his drillmaster say more than once, their relationship with their clients was like the relationship between the forehead and the back of the head, never to see one another in this world, and this of course was out of consideration for the interests of both parties. The meeting place surprised Smoothbore even more, it was in the most luxurious presidential suite of the city\'s most luxurious five-star hotel, which was the least suitable place in the world for commissioning this type of work. According to what the client let slip, this job had three parts, though that was no big deal, even if it was a few more [Smoothbore] wouldn\'t have minded.\r\n\r\nThe server pulled open the gold-inlayed door of the presidential suite, and before Smoothbore walked in, he surreptitiously hid his hands in his jacket, lightly flicking open the snap of the gun holster beneath his left armpit. In truth this was unnecessary, no one would do anything too untoward to him in a place like this.\r\n\r\nThe suit was magnificent, as if it had no connection to the outside world, the huge crystal chandellier was this world\'s sun, and the crimson carpet was this world\'s grass. At first glance the place was open and spacious, but Smoothbore quickly discovered the people, they gathered around the floor-to-ceiling windows in one corner of the suite, pushing aside the thick curtains to look at the sky outside, and Smoothbore swept his gaze around [the room], quickly counting that there were 13 people there. That the clients were many and not just one was also unexpected, as the drillmaster had said, the relationship between themselves and their clients was like the relationship between lovers - though there may be several, at each meeting you only have contact with one.\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\r\n\r\n滑膛知道他们在看什么：哥哥飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是朱汉杨，他的华软集团的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在福布斯财富500排行的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与齿哥是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的玩艺儿。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\n其实滑膛并没有去注意那枚钻戒，他看的是朱汉杨手上的那三张照片，那显然就是委托加工的工件了。朱汉杨起身越过圆桌，将三张照片推到他面前。\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-13 22:47:08', '2020-05-14 02:47:08', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/13/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2309, 1, '2020-05-14 00:56:29', '2020-05-14 04:56:29', '<h3>The Basics</h3>\r\nMy name is: <strong>Kendra Schaefer <a href=\"http://www.kendraschaefer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(My personal site)</a></strong>\r\nFollow on Twitter: <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/chinesereading\">@ChineseReading</a>\r\nEmail me at: me@kendraschaefer.com\r\nI live in: <strong>Beijing</strong>\r\nAge: <strong>37</strong> \r\nIn China since: <strong>2002</strong>\r\nMy day job: <a href=\"http://www.triviumchina.com\">Tech research</a>\r\n\r\n<h3>The Backstory</h3>\r\nI got my BA in Mandarin at a university in Beijing, and though I\'ve been out of school for a while, reading Chinese is one of the few things I never get bored of, probably because no matter how long I study, there\'s always more to learn. \r\n\r\nI originally became interested in learning Chinese primarily because I wanted to read the language. And though reading textbooks is important, I found the readings outrageously boring. I wanted to read important works of Chinese fiction, Chinese news, Chinese fables and myths - in other words, I wanted real reading, something a Chinese kid might read in school or online.\r\n\r\nBut I soon found that tracking down reading materials was difficult and frustrating. Everything I picked up tended to be too long, too short, too easy, or too hard, and I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. I wanted something challenging, and was willing to work to understand it, but every time I found something new to read, I never knew if I would be able to finish it. I\'d often get through a few paragraphs only to hit a phrase I couldn\'t decipher and, with no one to ask, would have to put the reading aside. \r\n\r\nOnce I did get to a place where my reading level was high enough to get through most pieces, I started this site to keep my own skills fresh, and to pay it forward for those students who are in the same spot I was. \r\n\r\n<h4>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nNothing on this site is truly beginner reading. If you just picked up Chinese yesterday, or if you\'re at HSK 1 or 2, even the beginner stuff is going to be a rough ride for you - I only have found a couple of pieces that HSK 1-2 might be able to tackle. This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually has to have some higher-level grammar or vocabulary mixed in. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs (你好! 你好吗? 我很好!) as opposed to actual stories. And the truth is, truly fluent native readers read at well above HSK 6. And, in the real world, many pieces of writing are mixed-level; the first few paragraphs might be intermediate, with an advanced paragraph thrown in. So, my classifications are the same classifications you might apply to a native speaker, not a learner. I also don\'t classify by HSK level. But, as a general guideline, on this site:\r\n\r\nBeginner: HSK 2-4\r\nIntermediate: HSK 5-6\r\nAdvanced: HSK 6+\r\n\r\nThe idea is not to give you something you can read without difficulty, but something that is an appropriate challenge at your reading level. So, I try to put texts into the lowest level at which someone, with a little work, might be able to figure the text out. So if, for example, you\'re at HSK 4, there are some pieces in the intermediate section you should be able to get through with some work. And if you can\'t figure something out, post in the comments. I\'ll try to answer you.\r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me. I am not a linguist, and I translate for readability. I don\'t post anything unless I\'ve checked it several times, but that doesn\'t mean I haven\'t made a mistake. Do feel free to comment if you see anything that ought to have a better translation - it won\'t be taken amiss. \r\n\r\n<h4>How did you do those pop-up Chinese hover effects?</h4>\r\nThanks to Alex, the coder behind <a href=\"http://mandarinspot.com/\">Mandarinspot.com</a>, Chinese Reading Practice now has pop-up translation on Chinese texts - hover over any mandarin word in the reading text to see the definition. If you\'d like to implement something similar on your own blog, you can head over there and grab his Javascript file / annotations API. \r\n\r\nUnfortunately, the pinyin and definitions generated by the script is not always right. It can\'t be - it\'s trying its best, but it can\'t understand the context of the sentence, so sometimes when a character has more than one pronunciation, it\'ll choose the wrong one. Sorry! \r\n\r\n<h4>Commenting rules</h4>\r\nI try to maintain a pleasant learning environment, so abusive (you idiot!), pointless (I am Groot.),  or unhelpful (Hi.) comments will be deleted. I will also delete links from your comments unless those links are very relevant to the post. For example, it\'s fine to link to a Wikipedia page that\'s relevant to Chinese or to the content of the translation, but if you link to your own site, I sadly don\'t have time to verify if it\'s a phishing link or malware or inappropriate content so I\'m just gonna take it out. I don\'t always manage to catch all the spam that slips through, though, so apologies if there\'s some clutter.\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-14 00:56:29', '2020-05-14 04:56:29', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/14/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(2310, 1, '2020-05-14 03:12:13', '2020-05-14 07:12:13', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;>In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》<em>Support Human Beings</em> is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon (<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">kindle</a>). China actually has a great tradition of novella-length fiction in a way that the West seems to lack. Modern authors often put out works longer than a short story but shorter than a full-length novel, and \r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nFirst, the proper nouns: We\'ve got the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛), a wealthy tech magnate named Zhu Hanyang (朱汉杨), who owns Huaruan Group (华软集团), we\'ve got some guy named Yage (齿哥), and we\'ve got a mention of the Forbes Fortune 500 list (福布斯财富500排行). There\'s also mention of a person only named 哥哥, Big Brother, who\'s a central character in the rest of the book, but only comes up for a second in this passage. \r\n\r\n玩艺儿 [pinyin]wan2 yi4 er[/pinyin] - Another pretty useful and commonly-used word. When the you add the 儿, 玩艺 does not mean \"toy\", it becomes the colloquial equivalent to 东西, \"thing\". It\'s often used derogatorily, like \"Ew, what is that thing you\'re wearing?\", or dismissively, as in, \"Hand me that thing.\" In this passage, Smoothbore uses this word to describe some ostentatious jewelry that a flashy rich guy wears, so the use of 玩艺儿 adds a note of contempt to the sentence.\r\n\r\nParagraph five highlights the essential difficulty of reading sci-fi in a foreign language: it\'s hard to know if you got right when what is being described is a made-up thing, so you can\'t gut-check your understanding against reality. You may have to check the translation here. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n[SCI-FI PART]滑膛知道他们在看什么：<span class=\"highlightText\">哥哥</span>飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是<span class=\"highlightText\">朱汉杨</span>，他的<span class=\"highlightText\">华软集团</span>的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在<span class=\"highlightText\">福布斯财富500排行</span>的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与<span class=\"highlightText\">齿哥</span>是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的<span class=\"highlightText\">玩艺儿</span>。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\nBy <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">Kindle</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nBusiness is business, and nothing else. This was the principle by which Smoothbore abided, but this time, the client had left him feeling puzzled.\r\n\r\nFirst of all, the way the client commissioned him was off, he wanted to meet him face-to-face, and in this business, that was a curious matter. Three years earlier, as Smoothbore had heard his drillmaster say more than once, their relationship with their clients was like the relationship between the forehead and the back of the head, never to see one another in this world, and this of course was out of consideration for the interests of both parties. The meeting place surprised Smoothbore even more, it was in the most luxurious presidential hall of the city\'s most luxurious five-star hotel, which was the least suitable place in the world for commissioning this type of work. According to what the client let slip, this job had three parts, though that was no big deal, even if it had been a few more [Smoothbore] wouldn\'t have minded.\r\n\r\nThe server pulled open the gold-inlayed door of the presidential hall, and before Smoothbore walked in, he surreptitiously moved his hands inside his jacket, lightly flicking open the snap of the gun holster beneath his left armpit. In truth this was unnecessary, no one would do anything too untoward to him in a place like this.\r\n\r\nThe hall was magnificent, as if it had no connection to the outside world, the huge crystal chandelier was this world\'s sun, and the crimson carpet was this world\'s grass. At first glance the place was open and spacious, but Smoothbore quickly found the people [inside], they gathered around the floor-to-ceiling windows in one corner of the hall, pushing aside the thick curtains to look at the sky outside, and Smoothbore swept his gaze around [the room], quickly counting that there were 13 people there. That the clients were many and not just one was also unexpected, as the drillmaster had said, the relationship between themselves and their clients was like the relationship between lovers - though there may be several, at each meeting you only have contact with one.\r\n\r\nSmoothbore knew what they were looking at: Big Brother\'s spaceship had taken off to move to the southern hemisphere again, and now it could be seen clearly. It had already been three years since the gods left Earth, and that big visit from outer space [lit: the universe] greatly strengthened mankind\'s psychological acceptance of alien civilizations, besides, the gods\' civilization had 20,000 spaceships that blanketed the sky, and this time Big Brother only had one. [The spaceship\'s] shape also wasn\'t as peculiar as the ones the gods had, it was just a big pillar rounded at both ends, like a big cold [medicine] capsule [out there] in the universe.\r\n\r\nWhen they saw Smoothbore enter, those 13 people all left the window, and came back to the big round table in the center of the hall. Smoothbore recognized most of them, and immediately felt that the resplendent hall had become shabby [in comparison to them]. The most interesting person among them was Zhu Hanyang, his Huaruan Group\'s \"Oriental 3000\" operating system had already replaced decrepit WINDOWS the world over. As for everyone else, they were all in the Forbes Fortune 500 Top 50, and their annual profits were probably equal to a middling country\'s GDP, so Smoothbore was [standing] in a small forum of world\'s wealthy.\r\n\r\nThese people were completely different from Yage, Smoothbore thought to himself, Yage was <em>nouveau riche</em>, but these guys were from three generations of nobility, and although the timeline [probably] wasn\'t really that long, they were nobility indeed, for them riches had transformed into a reserved moral elevation, just like the diamond ring on Zhu Hanyang\'s hand, fine and exquisite, understated on his slender finger, occasionally glinting with a soft, gentle light, but it was worth several of the gaudily-glittering walnut-sized things [that] Yage [wore on his] hand. \r\n\r\nBut right now, these thirteen noble magnates were collected here to hire an assassin to commit murder, moreover to kill three people, and according to his first contact, that was just the first part [of the job].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', 'Assassins and spaceships and evil doings! Start reading Chapter One of the novel <em>Support Human Beings</em> by Liu Cixin, author of China\'s most famous sci-fi <em>Three Body Problem</em>. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-14 03:12:13', '2020-05-14 07:12:13', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/14/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2311, 1, '2020-05-14 03:12:40', '2020-05-14 07:12:40', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》<em>Support Human Beings</em> is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon (<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">kindle</a>). China actually has a great tradition of novella-length fiction in a way that the West seems to lack. Modern authors often put out works longer than a short story but shorter than a full-length novel, and \r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nFirst, the proper nouns: We\'ve got the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛), a wealthy tech magnate named Zhu Hanyang (朱汉杨), who owns Huaruan Group (华软集团), we\'ve got some guy named Yage (齿哥), and we\'ve got a mention of the Forbes Fortune 500 list (福布斯财富500排行). There\'s also mention of a person only named 哥哥, Big Brother, who\'s a central character in the rest of the book, but only comes up for a second in this passage. \r\n\r\n玩艺儿 [pinyin]wan2 yi4 er[/pinyin] - Another pretty useful and commonly-used word. When the you add the 儿, 玩艺 does not mean \"toy\", it becomes the colloquial equivalent to 东西, \"thing\". It\'s often used derogatorily, like \"Ew, what is that thing you\'re wearing?\", or dismissively, as in, \"Hand me that thing.\" In this passage, Smoothbore uses this word to describe some ostentatious jewelry that a flashy rich guy wears, so the use of 玩艺儿 adds a note of contempt to the sentence.\r\n\r\nParagraph five highlights the essential difficulty of reading sci-fi in a foreign language: it\'s hard to know if you got right when what is being described is a made-up thing, so you can\'t gut-check your understanding against reality. You may have to check the translation here. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n[SCI-FI PART]滑膛知道他们在看什么：<span class=\"highlightText\">哥哥</span>飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是<span class=\"highlightText\">朱汉杨</span>，他的<span class=\"highlightText\">华软集团</span>的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在<span class=\"highlightText\">福布斯财富500排行</span>的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与<span class=\"highlightText\">齿哥</span>是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的<span class=\"highlightText\">玩艺儿</span>。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\nBy <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">Kindle</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nBusiness is business, and nothing else. This was the principle by which Smoothbore abided, but this time, the client had left him feeling puzzled.\r\n\r\nFirst of all, the way the client commissioned him was off, he wanted to meet him face-to-face, and in this business, that was a curious matter. Three years earlier, as Smoothbore had heard his drillmaster say more than once, their relationship with their clients was like the relationship between the forehead and the back of the head, never to see one another in this world, and this of course was out of consideration for the interests of both parties. The meeting place surprised Smoothbore even more, it was in the most luxurious presidential hall of the city\'s most luxurious five-star hotel, which was the least suitable place in the world for commissioning this type of work. According to what the client let slip, this job had three parts, though that was no big deal, even if it had been a few more [Smoothbore] wouldn\'t have minded.\r\n\r\nThe server pulled open the gold-inlayed door of the presidential hall, and before Smoothbore walked in, he surreptitiously moved his hands inside his jacket, lightly flicking open the snap of the gun holster beneath his left armpit. In truth this was unnecessary, no one would do anything too untoward to him in a place like this.\r\n\r\nThe hall was magnificent, as if it had no connection to the outside world, the huge crystal chandelier was this world\'s sun, and the crimson carpet was this world\'s grass. At first glance the place was open and spacious, but Smoothbore quickly found the people [inside], they gathered around the floor-to-ceiling windows in one corner of the hall, pushing aside the thick curtains to look at the sky outside, and Smoothbore swept his gaze around [the room], quickly counting that there were 13 people there. That the clients were many and not just one was also unexpected, as the drillmaster had said, the relationship between themselves and their clients was like the relationship between lovers - though there may be several, at each meeting you only have contact with one.\r\n\r\nSmoothbore knew what they were looking at: Big Brother\'s spaceship had taken off to move to the southern hemisphere again, and now it could be seen clearly. It had already been three years since the gods left Earth, and that big visit from outer space [lit: the universe] greatly strengthened mankind\'s psychological acceptance of alien civilizations, besides, the gods\' civilization had 20,000 spaceships that blanketed the sky, and this time Big Brother only had one. [The spaceship\'s] shape also wasn\'t as peculiar as the ones the gods had, it was just a big pillar rounded at both ends, like a big cold [medicine] capsule [out there] in the universe.\r\n\r\nWhen they saw Smoothbore enter, those 13 people all left the window, and came back to the big round table in the center of the hall. Smoothbore recognized most of them, and immediately felt that the resplendent hall had become shabby [in comparison to them]. The most interesting person among them was Zhu Hanyang, his Huaruan Group\'s \"Oriental 3000\" operating system had already replaced decrepit WINDOWS the world over. As for everyone else, they were all in the Forbes Fortune 500 Top 50, and their annual profits were probably equal to a middling country\'s GDP, so Smoothbore was [standing] in a small forum of world\'s wealthy.\r\n\r\nThese people were completely different from Yage, Smoothbore thought to himself, Yage was <em>nouveau riche</em>, but these guys were from three generations of nobility, and although the timeline [probably] wasn\'t really that long, they were nobility indeed, for them riches had transformed into a reserved moral elevation, just like the diamond ring on Zhu Hanyang\'s hand, fine and exquisite, understated on his slender finger, occasionally glinting with a soft, gentle light, but it was worth several of the gaudily-glittering walnut-sized things [that] Yage [wore on his] hand. \r\n\r\nBut right now, these thirteen noble magnates were collected here to hire an assassin to commit murder, moreover to kill three people, and according to his first contact, that was just the first part [of the job].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', 'Assassins and spaceships and evil doings! Start reading Chapter One of the novel <em>Support Human Beings</em> by Liu Cixin, author of China\'s most famous sci-fi <em>Three Body Problem</em>. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-14 03:12:40', '2020-05-14 07:12:40', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/14/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2316, 1, '2020-05-14 06:24:01', '2020-05-14 10:24:01', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》<em>Support Human Beings</em> is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon (<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">kindle</a>). China actually has a great tradition of novella-length fiction in a way that the West seems to lack. Modern authors often put out works longer than a short story but shorter than a full-length novel, which lowers the barrier to entry nicely.\r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nFirst, the proper nouns: We\'ve got the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛), a wealthy tech magnate named Zhu Hanyang (朱汉杨), who owns Huaruan Group (华软集团), we\'ve got some guy named Yage (齿哥), and we\'ve got a mention of the Forbes Fortune 500 list (福布斯财富500排行). There\'s also mention of a person only named 哥哥, Big Brother, who\'s a central character in the rest of the book, but only comes up for a second in this passage. \r\n\r\n玩艺儿 [pinyin]wan2 yi4 er[/pinyin] - Another pretty useful and commonly-used word. When the you add the 儿, 玩艺 does not mean \"toy\", it becomes the colloquial equivalent to 东西, \"thing\". It\'s often used derogatorily, like \"Ew, what is that thing you\'re wearing?\", or dismissively, as in, \"Hand me that thing.\" In this passage, Smoothbore uses this word to describe some ostentatious jewelry that a flashy rich guy wears, so the use of 玩艺儿 adds a note of contempt to the sentence.\r\n\r\nParagraph five highlights the essential difficulty of reading sci-fi in a foreign language: it\'s hard to know if you got it right when what is being described is a made-up thing, so you can\'t gut-check your understanding against reality. You may have to check the translation here. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n[SCI-FI PART]滑膛知道他们在看什么：<span class=\"highlightText\">哥哥</span>飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是<span class=\"highlightText\">朱汉杨</span>，他的<span class=\"highlightText\">华软集团</span>的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在<span class=\"highlightText\">福布斯财富500排行</span>的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与<span class=\"highlightText\">齿哥</span>是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的<span class=\"highlightText\">玩艺儿</span>。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\nBy <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">Kindle</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nBusiness is business, and nothing else. This was the principle by which Smoothbore abided, but this time, the client had left him feeling puzzled.\r\n\r\nFirst of all, the way the client commissioned him was wrong, he wanted to meet face-to-face, and in this business, that was a curious matter. Three years earlier, Smoothbore had heard his drillmaster say more than once, their relationship with their clients was like the relationship between the forehead and the back of the head, never to see one another in this world, and this of course was out of consideration for the interests of both parties. The meeting place surprised Smoothbore even more, it was in the most luxurious presidential hall of the city\'s most luxurious five-star hotel, which was the least suitable place in the world for commissioning this type of work. According to what the client let slip, this job had three parts, though that was no big deal, even if it had been a few more [Smoothbore] wouldn\'t have minded.\r\n\r\nThe server pulled open the gold-inlayed door of the presidential hall, and before Smoothbore walked in, he surreptitiously moved his hands inside his jacket, lightly flicking open the snap of the gun holster beneath his left armpit. In truth this was unnecessary, no one would do anything too untoward to him in a place like this.\r\n\r\nThe hall was magnificent, as if it had no connection to the outside world, the huge crystal chandelier was this world\'s sun, and the crimson carpet was this world\'s grass. At first glance the place was open and spacious, but Smoothbore quickly found the people [inside], they gathered around the floor-to-ceiling windows in one corner of the hall, pushing aside the thick curtains to look at the sky outside, and Smoothbore swept his gaze around [the room], quickly counting that there were 13 people there. That the clients were many and not just one was also unexpected, as the drillmaster had said, the relationship between themselves and their clients was like the relationship between lovers - though there may be several, at each meeting you only have contact with one.\r\n\r\nSmoothbore knew what they were looking at: Big Brother\'s spaceship had taken off to move to the southern hemisphere again, and now it could be seen clearly. It had already been three years since the gods left Earth, and that big visit from outer space [lit: the universe] greatly strengthened mankind\'s psychological acceptance of alien civilizations, besides, the gods\' civilization had 20,000 spaceships that blanketed the sky, and this time Big Brother only had one. [The spaceship\'s] shape also wasn\'t as peculiar as the ones the gods had, it was just a big pillar rounded at both ends, like a big cold [medicine] capsule [out there] in the universe.\r\n\r\nWhen they saw Smoothbore enter, those 13 people all left the window, and came back to the big round table in the center of the hall. Smoothbore recognized most of them, and immediately felt that the resplendent hall had become shabby [in comparison to them]. The most interesting person among them was Zhu Hanyang, his Huaruan Group\'s \"Oriental 3000\" operating system had already replaced decrepit WINDOWS the world over. As for everyone else, they were all in the Forbes Fortune 500 Top 50, and their annual profits were probably equal to a middling country\'s GDP, so Smoothbore was [standing] in a small forum of world\'s wealthy.\r\n\r\nThese people were completely different from Yage, Smoothbore thought to himself, Yage was <em>nouveau riche</em>, but these guys were from three generations of nobility, and although the timeline [probably] wasn\'t really that long, they were nobility indeed, they transformed riches into a reserved moral elevation, just like the diamond ring on Zhu Hanyang\'s hand, fine and exquisite, understated on his slender finger, occasionally glinting with a soft, gentle light, but it was worth several of the gaudily-glittering walnut-sized things [that] Yage [wore on his] hand. \r\n\r\nBut right now, these thirteen noble magnates were collected here to hire an assassin to commit murder, moreover to kill three people, and according to his first contact, that was just the first part [of the job].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', 'Assassins and spaceships and evil doings! Start reading Chapter One of the novel <em>Support Human Beings</em> by Liu Cixin, author of China\'s most famous sci-fi <em>Three Body Problem</em>. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-14 06:24:01', '2020-05-14 10:24:01', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/14/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2312, 1, '2020-05-14 03:13:43', '2020-05-14 07:13:43', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》<em>Support Human Beings</em> is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon (<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">kindle</a>). China actually has a great tradition of novella-length fiction in a way that the West seems to lack. Modern authors often put out works longer than a short story but shorter than a full-length novel, which lowers the barrier to entry nicely.\r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nFirst, the proper nouns: We\'ve got the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛), a wealthy tech magnate named Zhu Hanyang (朱汉杨), who owns Huaruan Group (华软集团), we\'ve got some guy named Yage (齿哥), and we\'ve got a mention of the Forbes Fortune 500 list (福布斯财富500排行). There\'s also mention of a person only named 哥哥, Big Brother, who\'s a central character in the rest of the book, but only comes up for a second in this passage. \r\n\r\n玩艺儿 [pinyin]wan2 yi4 er[/pinyin] - Another pretty useful and commonly-used word. When the you add the 儿, 玩艺 does not mean \"toy\", it becomes the colloquial equivalent to 东西, \"thing\". It\'s often used derogatorily, like \"Ew, what is that thing you\'re wearing?\", or dismissively, as in, \"Hand me that thing.\" In this passage, Smoothbore uses this word to describe some ostentatious jewelry that a flashy rich guy wears, so the use of 玩艺儿 adds a note of contempt to the sentence.\r\n\r\nParagraph five highlights the essential difficulty of reading sci-fi in a foreign language: it\'s hard to know if you got right when what is being described is a made-up thing, so you can\'t gut-check your understanding against reality. You may have to check the translation here. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n[SCI-FI PART]滑膛知道他们在看什么：<span class=\"highlightText\">哥哥</span>飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是<span class=\"highlightText\">朱汉杨</span>，他的<span class=\"highlightText\">华软集团</span>的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在<span class=\"highlightText\">福布斯财富500排行</span>的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与<span class=\"highlightText\">齿哥</span>是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的<span class=\"highlightText\">玩艺儿</span>。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\nBy <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">Kindle</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nBusiness is business, and nothing else. This was the principle by which Smoothbore abided, but this time, the client had left him feeling puzzled.\r\n\r\nFirst of all, the way the client commissioned him was off, he wanted to meet him face-to-face, and in this business, that was a curious matter. Three years earlier, as Smoothbore had heard his drillmaster say more than once, their relationship with their clients was like the relationship between the forehead and the back of the head, never to see one another in this world, and this of course was out of consideration for the interests of both parties. The meeting place surprised Smoothbore even more, it was in the most luxurious presidential hall of the city\'s most luxurious five-star hotel, which was the least suitable place in the world for commissioning this type of work. According to what the client let slip, this job had three parts, though that was no big deal, even if it had been a few more [Smoothbore] wouldn\'t have minded.\r\n\r\nThe server pulled open the gold-inlayed door of the presidential hall, and before Smoothbore walked in, he surreptitiously moved his hands inside his jacket, lightly flicking open the snap of the gun holster beneath his left armpit. In truth this was unnecessary, no one would do anything too untoward to him in a place like this.\r\n\r\nThe hall was magnificent, as if it had no connection to the outside world, the huge crystal chandelier was this world\'s sun, and the crimson carpet was this world\'s grass. At first glance the place was open and spacious, but Smoothbore quickly found the people [inside], they gathered around the floor-to-ceiling windows in one corner of the hall, pushing aside the thick curtains to look at the sky outside, and Smoothbore swept his gaze around [the room], quickly counting that there were 13 people there. That the clients were many and not just one was also unexpected, as the drillmaster had said, the relationship between themselves and their clients was like the relationship between lovers - though there may be several, at each meeting you only have contact with one.\r\n\r\nSmoothbore knew what they were looking at: Big Brother\'s spaceship had taken off to move to the southern hemisphere again, and now it could be seen clearly. It had already been three years since the gods left Earth, and that big visit from outer space [lit: the universe] greatly strengthened mankind\'s psychological acceptance of alien civilizations, besides, the gods\' civilization had 20,000 spaceships that blanketed the sky, and this time Big Brother only had one. [The spaceship\'s] shape also wasn\'t as peculiar as the ones the gods had, it was just a big pillar rounded at both ends, like a big cold [medicine] capsule [out there] in the universe.\r\n\r\nWhen they saw Smoothbore enter, those 13 people all left the window, and came back to the big round table in the center of the hall. Smoothbore recognized most of them, and immediately felt that the resplendent hall had become shabby [in comparison to them]. The most interesting person among them was Zhu Hanyang, his Huaruan Group\'s \"Oriental 3000\" operating system had already replaced decrepit WINDOWS the world over. As for everyone else, they were all in the Forbes Fortune 500 Top 50, and their annual profits were probably equal to a middling country\'s GDP, so Smoothbore was [standing] in a small forum of world\'s wealthy.\r\n\r\nThese people were completely different from Yage, Smoothbore thought to himself, Yage was <em>nouveau riche</em>, but these guys were from three generations of nobility, and although the timeline [probably] wasn\'t really that long, they were nobility indeed, for them riches had transformed into a reserved moral elevation, just like the diamond ring on Zhu Hanyang\'s hand, fine and exquisite, understated on his slender finger, occasionally glinting with a soft, gentle light, but it was worth several of the gaudily-glittering walnut-sized things [that] Yage [wore on his] hand. \r\n\r\nBut right now, these thirteen noble magnates were collected here to hire an assassin to commit murder, moreover to kill three people, and according to his first contact, that was just the first part [of the job].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', 'Assassins and spaceships and evil doings! Start reading Chapter One of the novel <em>Support Human Beings</em> by Liu Cixin, author of China\'s most famous sci-fi <em>Three Body Problem</em>. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-14 03:13:43', '2020-05-14 07:13:43', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/14/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2313, 1, '2020-05-14 03:15:05', '2020-05-14 07:15:05', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》<em>Support Human Beings</em> is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon (<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">kindle</a>). China actually has a great tradition of novella-length fiction in a way that the West seems to lack. Modern authors often put out works longer than a short story but shorter than a full-length novel, which lowers the barrier to entry nicely.\r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nFirst, the proper nouns: We\'ve got the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛), a wealthy tech magnate named Zhu Hanyang (朱汉杨), who owns Huaruan Group (华软集团), we\'ve got some guy named Yage (齿哥), and we\'ve got a mention of the Forbes Fortune 500 list (福布斯财富500排行). There\'s also mention of a person only named 哥哥, Big Brother, who\'s a central character in the rest of the book, but only comes up for a second in this passage. \r\n\r\n玩艺儿 [pinyin]wan2 yi4 er[/pinyin] - Another pretty useful and commonly-used word. When the you add the 儿, 玩艺 does not mean \"toy\", it becomes the colloquial equivalent to 东西, \"thing\". It\'s often used derogatorily, like \"Ew, what is that thing you\'re wearing?\", or dismissively, as in, \"Hand me that thing.\" In this passage, Smoothbore uses this word to describe some ostentatious jewelry that a flashy rich guy wears, so the use of 玩艺儿 adds a note of contempt to the sentence.\r\n\r\nParagraph five highlights the essential difficulty of reading sci-fi in a foreign language: it\'s hard to know if you got right when what is being described is a made-up thing, so you can\'t gut-check your understanding against reality. You may have to check the translation here. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n[SCI-FI PART]滑膛知道他们在看什么：<span class=\"highlightText\">哥哥</span>飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是<span class=\"highlightText\">朱汉杨</span>，他的<span class=\"highlightText\">华软集团</span>的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在<span class=\"highlightText\">福布斯财富500排行</span>的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与<span class=\"highlightText\">齿哥</span>是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的<span class=\"highlightText\">玩艺儿</span>。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\nBy <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">Kindle</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nBusiness is business, and nothing else. This was the principle by which Smoothbore abided, but this time, the client had left him feeling puzzled.\r\n\r\nFirst of all, the way the client commissioned him was off, he wanted to meet him face-to-face, and in this business, that was a curious matter. Three years earlier, as Smoothbore had heard his drillmaster say more than once, their relationship with their clients was like the relationship between the forehead and the back of the head, never to see one another in this world, and this of course was out of consideration for the interests of both parties. The meeting place surprised Smoothbore even more, it was in the most luxurious presidential hall of the city\'s most luxurious five-star hotel, which was the least suitable place in the world for commissioning this type of work. According to what the client let slip, this job had three parts, though that was no big deal, even if it had been a few more [Smoothbore] wouldn\'t have minded.\r\n\r\nThe server pulled open the gold-inlayed door of the presidential hall, and before Smoothbore walked in, he surreptitiously moved his hands inside his jacket, lightly flicking open the snap of the gun holster beneath his left armpit. In truth this was unnecessary, no one would do anything too untoward to him in a place like this.\r\n\r\nThe hall was magnificent, as if it had no connection to the outside world, the huge crystal chandelier was this world\'s sun, and the crimson carpet was this world\'s grass. At first glance the place was open and spacious, but Smoothbore quickly found the people [inside], they gathered around the floor-to-ceiling windows in one corner of the hall, pushing aside the thick curtains to look at the sky outside, and Smoothbore swept his gaze around [the room], quickly counting that there were 13 people there. That the clients were many and not just one was also unexpected, as the drillmaster had said, the relationship between themselves and their clients was like the relationship between lovers - though there may be several, at each meeting you only have contact with one.\r\n\r\nSmoothbore knew what they were looking at: Big Brother\'s spaceship had taken off to move to the southern hemisphere again, and now it could be seen clearly. It had already been three years since the gods left Earth, and that big visit from outer space [lit: the universe] greatly strengthened mankind\'s psychological acceptance of alien civilizations, besides, the gods\' civilization had 20,000 spaceships that blanketed the sky, and this time Big Brother only had one. [The spaceship\'s] shape also wasn\'t as peculiar as the ones the gods had, it was just a big pillar rounded at both ends, like a big cold [medicine] capsule [out there] in the universe.\r\n\r\nWhen they saw Smoothbore enter, those 13 people all left the window, and came back to the big round table in the center of the hall. Smoothbore recognized most of them, and immediately felt that the resplendent hall had become shabby [in comparison to them]. The most interesting person among them was Zhu Hanyang, his Huaruan Group\'s \"Oriental 3000\" operating system had already replaced decrepit WINDOWS the world over. As for everyone else, they were all in the Forbes Fortune 500 Top 50, and their annual profits were probably equal to a middling country\'s GDP, so Smoothbore was [standing] in a small forum of world\'s wealthy.\r\n\r\nThese people were completely different from Yage, Smoothbore thought to himself, Yage was <em>nouveau riche</em>, but these guys were from three generations of nobility, and although the timeline [probably] wasn\'t really that long, they were nobility indeed, for them riches had transformed into a reserved moral elevation, just like the diamond ring on Zhu Hanyang\'s hand, fine and exquisite, understated on his slender finger, occasionally glinting with a soft, gentle light, but it was worth several of the gaudily-glittering walnut-sized things [that] Yage [wore on his] hand. \r\n\r\nBut right now, these thirteen noble magnates were collected here to hire an assassin to commit murder, moreover to kill three people, and according to his first contact, that was just the first part [of the job].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', 'Assassins and spaceships and evil doings! Start reading Chapter One of the novel <em>Support Human Beings</em> by Liu Cixin, author of China\'s most famous sci-fi <em>Three Body Problem</em>. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-14 03:15:05', '2020-05-14 07:15:05', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/14/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
