Category: Cultural Notes

The phrase mingqiang yiduo, anjian nanfang 明槍易躲, 暗箭難防 [It is easy to avoid overt shafts, but the covert arrows are the hardest to escape from], also in short form mingqiang anjian 明槍暗箭 [overt shafts and covert arrows], is an analogy to express that it is relatively easy to…

The original text is chunjian 春尖 [tea leaves in the spring]. It means the tea leaves picked before Grain Rain, which are now mostly found in Pu’er tea, and can…

The original text is yishou jia’e 以手加額 [touching foreheads with hands]. Historically, people used to put their hands on their foreheads to express their joy and happiness.

The original text is qiubo 秋波 [autumn ripples]. Autumn water ripples are a metaphor for the eyes of a beautiful woman, describing them as clear, bright, and…

The original text is luanfeng 鸞鳳 [luan and phoenix]. Luan is a mythical bird like the phoenix. Luan and the phoenix are both divine birds from myths. Luan and…

The original text is shou gudeng 守孤燈 [stay up late at night with a lonely light]. A lonely light describes a person who is alone and without a partner, so they have to spend…

The original text is yulu 玉露 [jade dew]. The term yulu xiongjiang 玉露瓊漿 [jade dew and fine jade liquid] is a byword for wine. It is a mythical belief that drinking this jade liquid…

The original text is hubao 虎豹 [tigers and leopards]. Tigers and leopards represent cruel people, meaning that he is not deserving of their courtesies and treatment that follows…

The original text is qingyun 青雲 [cyan clouds]. Cyan clouds are high-altitude clouds, referring to the high altitude. Therefore, cyan clouds represent great ambitions, and the way to…