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As 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.
<h5>Character Breakdown</h5>
南 - [pinyin]nan2[/pinyin] - South
辕 - [pinyin]yuan2[/pinyin] - Shafts on a cart between which a draft animal is harnessed
北 - [pinyin]bei3[/pinyin] - North
辙 - [pinyin]zhe2[/pinyin] - Rut, wheel tracks
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<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>
盘缠 - [pinyin]pan2 chan5[/pinyin] - Traveling money
骏马 - [pinyin]jun4 ma3[/pinyin] - Steed
不问青红皂白 - [pinyin]bu4 wen4 qing1 hong2 zao4 bai2[/pinyin] - Doesn't distinguish between right and wrong, or between obvious differences
满不在乎 - [pinyin]man3 bu4 zai4 hu5[/pinyin] - Unconcernedly
阻止 - [pinyin]zu3 zhi3[/pinyin] - Prevent
醒悟 - [pinyin]xing3 wu4[/pinyin] - Come to realize
劝阻 -  [pinyin]quan4 zu3[/pinyin] - Dissuade
无奈 - [pinyin]wu2 nai4[/pinyin] - For lack of a better option
劝告 - [pinyin]quan4 gao4[/pinyin] - Urge, exhort
一意孤行 - [pinyin]yi1 yi4 gu4 xing2[/pinyin] - Obstinately stick to, dogmatic

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冰心是中国现代著名女作家，全国人大代表。　她姓谢，冰心是她的笔名，所以也有人叫她谢冰心。

冰心是南方人，1900年出生，上小学时就已经读了不少中国古代dewenxue
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Bing Xin is a famous modern Chinese writer who represents all her countrymen. Her last name is Xie, BingXin is her pen name, so there are still some people that call her Xie BingXin. 

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