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Sāi Wēng lived on the border and he raised horses for a living. One day he lost a horse
and his neighbor felt sorry for him, but Sāi Wēng didn’t care about the horse, because
he thought it wasn’t a bad thing to lose a horse. After a while the horse returned with
another beautiful horse, and the neighbor congratulated him on his good luck. But Sāi
Wēng thought that maybe it wasn’t a good thing to have this new horse.
His son liked the new horse a lot and often took it riding. One day his son fell off the
horse and broke his leg. Because of his broken leg, he couldn’t go off to the war, as
was expected of all the young men in the area. Most of them died.
This proverb is said when bad luck turns to good, or when good luck turns to bad.
and his neighbor felt sorry for him, but Sāi Wēng didn’t care about the horse, because
he thought it wasn’t a bad thing to lose a horse. After a while the horse returned with
another beautiful horse, and the neighbor congratulated him on his good luck. But Sāi
Wēng thought that maybe it wasn’t a good thing to have this new horse.
His son liked the new horse a lot and often took it riding. One day his son fell off the
horse and broke his leg. Because of his broken leg, he couldn’t go off to the war, as
was expected of all the young men in the area. Most of them died.
This proverb is said when bad luck turns to good, or when good luck turns to bad.
During the Warring States Period (475 BC - 221 BC), a prince of the country of Wèi
was required to go to the country of Zhào as a peace hostage. King Wèi ordered his
councilor Páng Cōng to accompany the Prince.
Páng Cōng knew he would be away for a long time, and he was afraid that his enemies
would spread rumors about him.
So Páng Cōng went to the king and asked him, "If someone came to you and said that
there was a tiger in the street, would you believe him?"
The king replied, "I would find that very hard to believe."
Páng Cōng continued, "What if two men told you the same thing?"
The king said that he would still find it hard to believe.
"What about three men?" Páng Cōng asked.
"With three men," said the king, "I would have to believe it."
Then Páng Cōng said these words: "It is impossible for a tiger to be in a busy street,
this fact is obvious. Yet when three men say it is so, we become convinced of the
impossible. This is how terrible rumors are spread. I am about to go to the country of
Zhào, much further than the street. While I am away, if you hear bad things about me,
remember that I am your faithful servant to you. Do not believe rumors."
The king assured Páng Cōng that he had nothing to fear, but sure enough, as soon as
he was gone, the rumors began to spread. At first, the king paid them no attention, but
as he kept on hearing bad things about Páng Cōng, his opinion was gradually swayed.
After the hostage period was over, Páng Cōng and the prince returned to the country of
Wèi. But by then, the king did not trust Páng Cōng, and would not see him.
From this story we can see that the more people talk about something, even if it is not
true, the more likely we are to believe it.
Sān Rén Chéng Hǔ. Three people create a tiger. This expression is said to express
doubt about a widely-held idea.
was required to go to the country of Zhào as a peace hostage. King Wèi ordered his
councilor Páng Cōng to accompany the Prince.
Páng Cōng knew he would be away for a long time, and he was afraid that his enemies
would spread rumors about him.
So Páng Cōng went to the king and asked him, "If someone came to you and said that
there was a tiger in the street, would you believe him?"
The king replied, "I would find that very hard to believe."
Páng Cōng continued, "What if two men told you the same thing?"
The king said that he would still find it hard to believe.
"What about three men?" Páng Cōng asked.
"With three men," said the king, "I would have to believe it."
Then Páng Cōng said these words: "It is impossible for a tiger to be in a busy street,
this fact is obvious. Yet when three men say it is so, we become convinced of the
impossible. This is how terrible rumors are spread. I am about to go to the country of
Zhào, much further than the street. While I am away, if you hear bad things about me,
remember that I am your faithful servant to you. Do not believe rumors."
The king assured Páng Cōng that he had nothing to fear, but sure enough, as soon as
he was gone, the rumors began to spread. At first, the king paid them no attention, but
as he kept on hearing bad things about Páng Cōng, his opinion was gradually swayed.
After the hostage period was over, Páng Cōng and the prince returned to the country of
Wèi. But by then, the king did not trust Páng Cōng, and would not see him.
From this story we can see that the more people talk about something, even if it is not
true, the more likely we are to believe it.
Sān Rén Chéng Hǔ. Three people create a tiger. This expression is said to express
doubt about a widely-held idea.
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King Midas <==> Goldfinger Who would have thought? Submitted by Judy Pfaff |
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| Quiz #455 Results |
| Answers to Quiz #455 - November 16, 2014 |
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| A couple of websites you may find useful: www.nciku.com www.mobilefish.com |
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Congratulations to Our Winners Carol Gene Farrant Rebecca Bare Collier Smith Judy Pfaff Tynan Peterson Arthur Hartwell Ida Sanchez Marcelle Comeau Dianne Abbott Margaret Paxton Daniel Dean Gar Watson Grace Hertz and Mary Turner The Fabulous Fletchers! |
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| If you have a picture you'd like us to feature a picture in a future quiz, please email it to us at CFitzp@aol.com. If we use it, you will receive a free analysis of your picture. You will also receive a free Forensic Genealogy CD or a 10% discount towards the purchase of the Forensic Genealogy book. |
| If you enjoy our quizzes, don't forget to order our books! Click here. |
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| This task proved to be a challenge. I first started by googling "chinese symbols" and going to the images, hoping to see if I could identify one of them by being a very common one. I succeeded with the last symbol, which, attached to another one, meant "money". So started looking for "chinese symbols money" and then I found it again, but this time it meant "metal" (also attached). So I searched for "chinese symbols metal" and that allowed me to find the second symbol in "gem". By searching for that, I could find that it meant "stone" by itself. Then, in another site that I could translate things, I translated "metal" and that lead me to the symbol by itself that I translated back. It meant "gold". So having "stone" and "gold", I thought of King Midas, but no search gave me anything. Given that no trace of the other 2 symbols ever appeared, I tried googling "chinese character reader" hoping to find an app that would allow me to draw them and identify them. Bingo! That way I could find the whole phrase and copy and paste it together. But I googled it and still had no luck. The missing piece in my puzzle was the word "proverb". Found it in the image's name (cheater!!!!). So I googled "chinese proverb" and that led me to a site that provided the proverb and the story of King Midas in all possible chinese representations (mandarin.about.com/od/chineseproverbs/a/Chinese-Proverb-Dian-Shi-Cheng-Jin.htm) It also explained what the whole phrase meant (because point stone army gold didn' exactly ring any bells). Googling "chinese proverb Dian Shi Cheng Jin" gave me the answer to the second question (www.windsorchineseacademy.com/chinese-proverb-dian-shi-cheng-jin/). Funny thing, I still can't find the image. Ida Sanchez ***** N.B. It is AMAZING what you did to solve the puzzle. Excellent job! There's no such thing as cheating! Any way you get to the answer is just fine. I created the image for the quiz by taking a screenshot of the Chinese characters I had on my screen, and the posting them as a jpg so that readers would have to wor for the answer, and not just copy and paste into Google. Don't feel bad about not finding the image. There is no image to find. - Q. Gen. |
How Ida Solved the Puzzle |
Stroke order for the proverb characters Contributed by Marcelle Comeau chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?getstrokes=... |
| Goldfinger He's the man, the man with the Midas touch A spider's touch Such a cold finger Beckons you to enter his web of sin But don't go in Golden words he will pour in your ear But his lies can't disguise what you fear For a golden girl knows when he's kissed her It's the kiss of death from Mr. Goldfinger Pretty girl, beware of this heart of gold This heart is cold Golden words he will pour in your ear For his lies can't disguise what you fear For a golden girl knows when he's kissed her It's the kiss of death from Mr. Goldfinger Pretty girl, beware of this heart of gold This heart is cold He loves only gold Only gold He loves gold He loves only gold He loves gold *** I have my doubts about my answers for this one. Oh, Colleen, I confess I somewhat cheated. My daughter lived in Japan for about 4 years and speaks and writes Japanese very well. She runs the language lab at Gettysburg College. I emailed her the link and asked her what the characters meant. She gave me the literal meaning and I took it from there. I didn't think I did very well, but submitted the best I had. I love the Goldfinger song and movie. I am going to try something with those characters. If it works, I will send it to you. Judy Pfaff ***** I did it!!! Google: 点石成金 I used this website in reverse: www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php Got the symbols by entering point, stone, become and gold and translate from English to Chinese. Of course, this wouldn't work if I didn't know the meaning of the symbols first. Great Google images for this set of characters. Judy Pfaff |
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| Chinese Proverbs |
Chinese proverbs are short sayings (usually 4 characters) that summarize a story that
teaches a moral. They have been passed down for hundreds of years, and their
continued relevance speak of their ability to reflect on the human condition. Here are a
few you will enjoy.
teaches a moral. They have been passed down for hundreds of years, and their
continued relevance speak of their ability to reflect on the human condition. Here are a
few you will enjoy.
| 東食西宿 East Eat West Sleep |
A long time ago there was a beautiful girl, whom her parents adored. As she was of an
age to get married, there came two suitors. From the east came a very wealthy man,
but he was very ugly. From the west came a handsome studious man, but he was very
poor.
The girl was asked which of the two men she preferred. She was very shy and did not
want to say anything.
So her parents told her, "Raise your right hand if you prefer the man from the west, or
raise your left hand if you prefer the man from the east."
The girl raised both hands.
The parents asked her why, and the girl replied, "I can go to the east for food and
clothing, and I can go to the west for sleeping."
Dōng shí xī sù is said when commenting on greedy people.
age to get married, there came two suitors. From the east came a very wealthy man,
but he was very ugly. From the west came a handsome studious man, but he was very
poor.
The girl was asked which of the two men she preferred. She was very shy and did not
want to say anything.
So her parents told her, "Raise your right hand if you prefer the man from the west, or
raise your left hand if you prefer the man from the east."
The girl raised both hands.
The parents asked her why, and the girl replied, "I can go to the east for food and
clothing, and I can go to the west for sleeping."
Dōng shí xī sù is said when commenting on greedy people.
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| 覆水難收 Spilled Water is Hard to Retrieve |
Zhu Mai Chen was a very diligent scholar. He spent all his time studying, and never
earned money, so his family was very poor. They were so poor that they could not buy
lamp oil, so Zhu Mai Chen used pine oil when he studied at night.
His wife could not stand this hard life, and asked for a divorce. Zhu Mai Chen tried to
comfort her by saying, “One day I will achieve a high status, and we will be rich, and
we will have everything we desire. Our lives are long, so be patient and things will get
better.”
However, his wife would not be swayed, and Zhu Mai Chen had no choice but to give
her a divorce.
After several years, Zhu Mai Chen achieved the rank of Prefecture. He returned to his
home town, and all the people came to greet him. His ex-wife was also there, and when
she saw Zhu Mai Chen in his splendid clothing, she approached him and said, “Sire, I
am your wife, do you remember me? I know I have done wrong, can you forgive me?”
Zhu Mai Chen replied, “Our marriage is like water poured on the floor, it cannot be
retrieved. What is done is done.”
覆水難收 is said to show that things cannot go back as they were.
earned money, so his family was very poor. They were so poor that they could not buy
lamp oil, so Zhu Mai Chen used pine oil when he studied at night.
His wife could not stand this hard life, and asked for a divorce. Zhu Mai Chen tried to
comfort her by saying, “One day I will achieve a high status, and we will be rich, and
we will have everything we desire. Our lives are long, so be patient and things will get
better.”
However, his wife would not be swayed, and Zhu Mai Chen had no choice but to give
her a divorce.
After several years, Zhu Mai Chen achieved the rank of Prefecture. He returned to his
home town, and all the people came to greet him. His ex-wife was also there, and when
she saw Zhu Mai Chen in his splendid clothing, she approached him and said, “Sire, I
am your wife, do you remember me? I know I have done wrong, can you forgive me?”
Zhu Mai Chen replied, “Our marriage is like water poured on the floor, it cannot be
retrieved. What is done is done.”
覆水難收 is said to show that things cannot go back as they were.
| 塞翁失馬 Sāi Wēng Lost his Horse |
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| 点 Point 石 Stone 成 Become 金 Gold |
A long time ago there was a king who had a room for all his gold. But he was not
satisfied. One day he was in the room and he touched the gold and sighed. He said "I
wish this house was made from gold."
After he said that, a long-haired old man appeared in front of him. The king was
shocked, but the old man said, "I am a spirit who has come to help."
Then the king said, "Can you make everything I touch turn to gold?"
The old man said, "Tomorrow morning, after you see the first light of day, your finger
will have the power to turn everything it touches turn to gold." Then the old man
disappeared.
The next morning, the king woke up, and saw the first light of day, and thought of this
power he was to have. So he got out of bed, and touched his blanket, which turned to
gold. He was very happy, and touched everything in his room - the chairs, the walls,
the tables and the windows, and everything turned to gold.
When his servant came to his room with his bath towels and washing dish, the king
touched them and they all turned to gold.
But when his breakfast arrived, and the king tried to eat it, it also turned to gold. The
king began to grow frustrated.
He walked through the garden and saw beautiful roses, but when he touched them they
turned to gold.
The king's young daughter was nearby and saw the gold roses. She began crying,
saying "Where are my beautiful red roses?"
The king tried to comfort his daughter by giving her a hug, but she turned into a gold
statue.
The king was very sad, and regretted his new power. He called the spirit and said
"Where are you? I don't want this magic power."
The old man appeared, and asked the king, "Does this power make you happy?"
The king shook his head and said, "No, please help me get rid of it."
The old man told the king to bathe in the spring behind the garden, and to use the water
to wash everything he had touched, and everything would return to normal.
The king followed these instructions, and everything returned to normal, including his
daughter. The king was so happy he shared all his gold with his people.
satisfied. One day he was in the room and he touched the gold and sighed. He said "I
wish this house was made from gold."
After he said that, a long-haired old man appeared in front of him. The king was
shocked, but the old man said, "I am a spirit who has come to help."
Then the king said, "Can you make everything I touch turn to gold?"
The old man said, "Tomorrow morning, after you see the first light of day, your finger
will have the power to turn everything it touches turn to gold." Then the old man
disappeared.
The next morning, the king woke up, and saw the first light of day, and thought of this
power he was to have. So he got out of bed, and touched his blanket, which turned to
gold. He was very happy, and touched everything in his room - the chairs, the walls,
the tables and the windows, and everything turned to gold.
When his servant came to his room with his bath towels and washing dish, the king
touched them and they all turned to gold.
But when his breakfast arrived, and the king tried to eat it, it also turned to gold. The
king began to grow frustrated.
He walked through the garden and saw beautiful roses, but when he touched them they
turned to gold.
The king's young daughter was nearby and saw the gold roses. She began crying,
saying "Where are my beautiful red roses?"
The king tried to comfort his daughter by giving her a hug, but she turned into a gold
statue.
The king was very sad, and regretted his new power. He called the spirit and said
"Where are you? I don't want this magic power."
The old man appeared, and asked the king, "Does this power make you happy?"
The king shook his head and said, "No, please help me get rid of it."
The old man told the king to bathe in the spring behind the garden, and to use the water
to wash everything he had touched, and everything would return to normal.
The king followed these instructions, and everything returned to normal, including his
daughter. The king was so happy he shared all his gold with his people.
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| For more Chinese proverbs, please see: mandarin.about.com/od/chineseproverbs/ |
| 三人成虎 Three People Create a Tiger |
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| Thanks for the tip from Gar Watson - You can draw the characters for translation on Goggle too. See translate.google.com/#zh-CN/en/%E7%... |
