Why you should care

为何需要关心

Because you probably don’t know as much as you should about one of the biggest countries on the planet. Yet.

因为你可能对地球上最大国之一的了解还没有你应该知道得多。

What do you think when you think of China? A repressive government, human rights abuse, corruption scandals, terrible pollution? Admit it, I’m right.

当你想到中国你会联想到什么？一个专政的政府，人权践踏，贪污丑闻，糟糕污染问题？我猜对了吧。

Here’s what you probably don’t know: China is as rich in language as it is in engineers.

你可能不知道的是：中国在语言上的和它在工程上一样颇有建树。

Many modern, everyday Chinese idioms have their roots in ancient poetry. These idioms, which are each composed of four Chinese characters, are totally unique to the language. Chinese has 20,000 such idioms in total; only one or two thousand are commonly used. But Chinese schoolkids often spend their days reciting them in class.

很多现代日常中国成语都留有古代诗词的基础。这些成语由四个中文字组成，形成了独特的语言。中国总计有20,000个成语；只有1000或2000常用。但中国学生常会在课堂上背诵它们。

Chinese poetry “is a window to a world that is very foreign and advanced,” says Ron Egan, a professor of Chinese literature at Stanford University. “By the 7th and 8th century, the Chinese [had] mastered the art of expressing themselves, which didn’t happen in any other place in the world.”

美国斯坦福大学汉学家艾朗诺教授曾说中国诗词”是一扇打开未知先进世界的窗户“，”早在7、8世纪，中国就（已经）掌握了表述自己的艺术，而其他地方都没萌芽。“

This is no esoteric idea. There’s even a hot television program called China Idiom Convention. This show, which aired Sundays from April to June, tested competitors’ knowledge of idioms. More than 30,000 people signed up to compete. Videos netted nearly 2 million clicks on Youku, one of China’s biggest online video sites.

这个并不深奥。甚至有栏很火的电视节目《中国成语大会》这档栏目从四月至六月每周日播放，考验竞争者的成语知识。超过30,000群众报名参加，视频在优酷——中国最大的在线视频网站之— ——的点击率将近200万。

So if you’re trying to understand the Asian giant, boning up on your Chinese idioms might help.

所以如果你想试着了解亚洲巨人，突击学习一下中国诗词可能有所帮助。

A SHADE OF A WILLOW AND BRIGHT FLOWERS

柳暗花明

Hillary Clinton quoted the Chinese poem “A Trip to Mountain West Village” by Lu You at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo to celebrate the hard work in building the USA pavilion, which Clinton financed by raising $60 million in private cash.

希拉里·克林顿曾在2010年上海世博会上引言中国诗人陆游《游山西村》的诗句来祝贺在建设美国馆时的努力工作，克林顿为此以私人名义筹集了6000万美元的资金。

“There is a poem from the Southern Song dynasty that reads: ‘After endless mountains and rivers that leave doubt whether there is a path out, suddenly one encounters the shade of a willow, bright flowers and a lovely village.’”

“这是一首南宋时代的诗句“‘山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村。'”

The original meaning? “A favorable turn of fortune will often appear just when there seems to be no way out of trouble.”

其实质意思是说”看起来陷入危机无法逃脱，突然事情出现了转机“

 Lotus and Green Birds by Wang Zhen
Clinton implied that difficulties came with establishing the U.S. pavilion. The Chinese use the same idiom in less vaunted settings, such as: “My new job is a lot of hard work; I haven’t found that feeling of ‘the shade of a willow and bright flowers.’”

克林顿暗指建立美国馆所带来的困难。中国人也使用同样成语在不吹嘘的情况下，如”我的新工作充满挑战，我还没有找到'柳暗花明'的感觉“

HEARTS WITH MAGICAL RHINOCEROS

心有灵犀

Rhinoceros horns are powerful, supernatural objects in old Chinese sayings.

在中国古籍上记载犀牛角是强大而又神圣的事物。

“Even though my body is not a colorful phoenix with two wings to fly [to my lover], we have hearts that understand each other immediately as though connected with a magical rhinoceros.”

“身无彩凤双飞翼，心有灵犀一点通。”

So wrote Li Shangyin, a famous male poet from the Tang dynasty (7th–10th B.C.) in an untitled poem.

出自李商隐，唐朝（公元前7、8年）著名女诗人的《无题》

Today in China, people often say, “You get me — we really [have] hearts with ‘magical rhinoceros.’”

如今在中国人们常说”你跟我——咱两真是‘心有灵犀‘。“

LEAVING [YOUR] NAME ON LIGHT-GREEN HISTORY

名垂青史

Sure, you want to make your mark on history — but why “light-green” history? Before paper was invented in 105 B.C. in China, events were recorded on light-green bamboo slips, which involved “sweating” bamboo over a fire to get the moisture out.

当然，你想在历史上留下你的标记——但是为什么是“青色”历史？在纸张于公元前105年在中国发明以前，事件都是记录在青色的竹简上，竹简都先用火烤干使其出“汗”。

In the 13th century, ages after Sun-Tzu penned The Art of War, Chinese poets were using literature to document military ambitions.

在13世纪，孙子兵法问世之后，中国诗人通过著作来证明军事野心。

This idiom comes from the poem “Passing by Lingdingyang” (also known as “Crossing the Lonely Ocean”) by the great politician and poet Wen Tianxiang. The poem, which Tianxiang wrote while leading an army to fight for the fate of the Song dynasty, reads:

该成语出自伟大政治家、诗人文天祥的《过伶仃洋》（也称《过零丁洋》）的诗句、文天祥写此诗词时正带领军队为宋朝的命运而奋斗，写到：

“In history, what man does not die? [I’d rather] leave my red heart to shine on light-green sweat.”

“人生自古谁无死，留取丹心照汗青。”

A RED APRICOT BLOSSOM PEEKS OVER THE YARD FENCE

红杏出墙

A pretty plant, but so much more.

一株美丽的植物，但是太过艳丽了。

“[The] whole garden can no longer confine the lively energy of spring; a spray of red apricot blossom [already] peeks over the fence.”

“春色满园关不住 一枝红杏出墙来。”

So wrote Song dynasty poet Ye Shaoweng in “On Visiting a Garden, When Its Master Is Absent.”

出自宋朝诗人叶绍翁的《游园不值》。

Modern readers see this as symbolizing a woman’s infidelity to her husband. The “red apricot blossom” symbolizes a young and attractive woman, while “peeking over the fence” shows her sneaking out.

现代读者常用这个指代妻子对丈夫不忠。“红杏”象征年轻有诱惑力的少妇，而“出墙”表示她偷偷溜出去。

Even today, Chinese people will say, behind gossipy hands: “Behind her husband’s back, she [is like] ‘a red apricot blossom peeking over the yard fence.’”

即使如今，中国人会在背后窃谈时说：“那个女人背着她的丈夫，'红杏出墙'。”

REACH A HIGHER LEVEL ON THE TOWER

更上一层楼

The idiom comes from the poem “On the Yellow Crane Tower” by Wang Zhihuan of the Tang dynasty. After climbing the famous tower, Zhihuan writes:

成语出自唐朝王之涣的诗词《登鹳雀楼》。在登上著名的塔楼之后，之涣写道：

“[I ] desire to see thousands of miles [from this tower], [so I need to] climb to a higher level.”

“欲穷千里目，更上一层楼。”

To see farther, you need to stand higher. This poem is often used to encourage students and workers alike to set higher goals.

要想看得远，你就得站得更高。这句诗常用于激励学生和工作者设立更高的目标。

Now you know why Chinese students work so hard. You would, too, if you had to memorize idioms like this from a young age.

现在该懂得中国学生为何学习如此刻苦。如果你在这个年纪熟记类似这样的成语，也会如此。