(1) Three at Dawn and Four at Dusk 朝三暮四

In the state of Song there was a man who kept monkeys. He was very fond of monkeys and kept a large number of them. He could understand the monkeys and they could also understand him. He reduced the amount of food for his own family in order to satisfy the monkey's demands.

After a while his family did not have enough to eat, so he wanted to limit the food for the monkeys. But he was afraid that the monkeys would not submit to him.

Before doing that he first played a trick on them, "If I give you three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening, would that be enough?" he asked the monkeys.

All the monkeys rose up in a fury. After a short time he said, "If I give you four chestnuts in the morning and three in the evening, would that be enough?" All the monkeys lay on the floor, very happy with this proposal.

(2) Aping a Beauty 东施效颦

Xi Shi, a famous beauty, had a pain in her bosom, so she had a frown on her face when she went out. An ugly girl who lived nearby saw her and thought she looked very beautiful. Therefore, when she went home, she also put her hands on her bosom and had a frown on her face.

When a rich man in the neighborhood saw her, he shut his doors tightly and did not go out. When a poor man saw her, he took his wife and children and gave her a wide berth.

She only knew Xi Shi's frown looked beautiful, but she did not know the reason for its beauty

(3) Buying shoes 郑人买履

A man of the state of Zheng wanted to buy a pair of shoes. He measured his foot and put the measurement on a chair. When he set out for the market he forgot to bring it along. It was after he had found the pair he wanted that this occurred to him.

"I forgot the measurement," said he.

He went home to get it but when he returned the market had broken up and he did not get his shoes after all.

"Why didn't you try on the shoes with your feet?" He was asked.

"I 'd rather trust the measurement than trust myself," was his answer

(4) His spear against his shield 自相矛盾

A man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield.

"My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through."

He also sang praises of his spear.

"My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything."

What would happen, he was asked, if your spear is used to pierce your shield?

He was unable to give an answer.

It is impossible for the strongest shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable.

(5) Getting the casket and returning the pearl 买椟还珠

A man from the state of Chu wanted to sell a precious pearl in the state of Zheng.

He made a casket for the pearl out of the wood from a magnolia tree, which he fumigated with spices. He studded the casket with pearls and jade, ornamented it with red gems and decorated it with kingfisher feathers.

A man of the state of Zheng bought the casket and gave him back the pearl.

Too luxuriant decoration usually supersedes what really counts. This man from Chu certainly knew how to sell a casket but he was no good at selling his pearl. And the man of Zheng didn't know which is really valuable.

(6) The vigil by the tree stump 守株待兔

In the state of Song there was a farmer in whose fields stood a tree stump. A hare, which was running very fast, dashed against the stump and died, having broken its neck.

So the farmer abandoned his plough and waited by the tree stump, hoping to get another hare. He did not get his hare but became a laughing stock in the state of Song.

(7) Making his mark 刻舟求剑

A man from the state from Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water by his carelessness. Immediately he made a mark on the boat.

"This is where my sword fell off", he said.

When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.

The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword?

(8) Single- hearted devotion 专心致志

Yi Qiu was known as the most famous expert at chess throughout the land.

Once he gave lessons on chess to two men. One of them was completely absorbed in his teaching, listening attentively to Yi Qiu while the other, who seemed to be listening, had his mind on something else.

In fact, he was having a fancy that a swan was flying towards him and he had in his hands a bow and an arrow, ready to shoot. As a result, though he was having the same lesson together with the first man, yet he turned out a much inferior pupil.

If one does not give single-hearted devotion to it, no skills will be learned.

(9) Stuffing his ears for the purpose of stealing a bell 掩耳盗铃

In the Spring and Autumn period, a thief had stolen a bell and intended to carry it away on his back, but the bell was too bulky and heavy to be carried, so he tried to break it into pieces with a hammer to make it easier for carrying.

On his first hit, however, the bell made a loud noise. He thus feared that the ringing sound might be heard by someone, who would come to rob him of his bell.

His fright made him plug his own ears, while hitting the bell with the hammer. The bell sound was, nevertheless, audible to others and therefore to stuff his ears for the purpose of stealing a bell was a stupid action it is as foolish as burying one's head in the sand.

(10) Do not burn you house to get rid of a mouse 投鼠忌器

There is a story in the book of Hanshu telling of a rich man, who being a lover of vase and had a large collection of it. Among them was a rare vase made of jade. The vase of exquisite workmanship and of historical value and he loved it dearly.

One night he noticed a mouse passing near the precious vase. The mouse jumped into the vase and was trying to eat some food which the man had carelessly left there.

The sigh infuriated the man and in a fit of rage he threw a stone at the mouse. For sure, the mouse was killed, but the precious vase was broken also.

The loss of the vase pained the man greatly and he deeply regretted his own thoughtlessness, which bought him this unrecoverable loss.

He now realized that any one, who cares for the present and overlooks consequences, is apt to bring disasters upon himself. So he exclaimed to warn people by saying do not burn you house to get rid of a mouse.

(11) Be there just to make up the number 滥竽充数

During the Warring States Period (475-221BC), the King of the State of Qi was very fond of listening to yu ensembles. He often got together 300 yu players to form a grand music. The king treated his musician very well.

A man named Nanguo heard about that and he managed to become a member of the band, even though he wan not good at playing the instrument at all. Whenever the band played for the king, Nanguo just stood in the line and pretended to play. Nobody realized he was making no sound at all. As a result, he enjoyed his treatment just as the other musician did.

When the king died, his son became the new ruler who also liked the music played on the yu. However, he preferred solos so that he ordered the musicians to play the yu one by one. Therefore, Nanguo had to run out of the palace.

The idiom "Be there just to make up the number" is used to mock someone who passes for a specialist. You can also hear people saying it about themselves to show their modesty.

(12) Professed love of what one really fears 叶公好龙

In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), there lived in Chu a person named Chu Zhuliang, who addressed himself as "Lord Ye".

It's said that this Lord Ye was very fond of dragons. The walls had dragons painted on them. The beams and pillars and the doors and the windows were all carved with them. As a result, his love for dragons was spread out.

When the real dragon in heaven heard of this Lord Ye, he was deeply moved. He decided to visit Lord Ye to thank him.

You might think Lord Ye would have been very happy to see a real dragon. But, in fact, at the sight of the creature, he was scared out of his wits and ran away as fast as he could.

From then on, people knew that Lord Ye only loved pictures or carvings which look like dragons, not the real thing.

(13) Aim south while driving northward 南辕北辙

A certain northern traveler intended to travel to Chu. He started his journey on horseback by the foot of the Tai Hang Mountain by a way leading north. His friend was very surprised so he asked:

"Chu is situated in the south so why you northward instead of going southward?"

"Never mind", the traveler replied obstinately, "my horse is a good steed. It runs very fast."

"No matter how fast it runs," said his friend, "you can never reach Chu by going northward."

"I have prepared sufficient traveler expenses." replied the traveler.

"Sufficient traveling expenses cannot help you, either." continued his friend.

"Well," answered the traveler still more obstinately. "I have a strong and capable groom at my service."

"No groom, how capable and strong he may be, can be of any use to you if you stick to going northward." concluded his friend.

The traveler did not listen to his friend and so he never reached Chu.

(14) Ignorance of the objective world 不合时宜

In the State of Lu, there was a couple of husband and wife, the former being an expert shoemaker and the latter a skilled hand in wearing taffeta.

One day after consultations they decided to go to the state of Yue to earn a livelihood. The neighbors advised them not to go when they learned about their plan.

"Don't go there," said one neighbor, "If you go, you can never earn a livelihood."

"We cannot understand you," interrogated the couple, "We have a fine command of our art, how could we not earn our living with our work? Don't make a fool of us, please."

"Indeed, you have your skill," explained the man, "But have you taken notice of the fact that shoes are made for people and the silk taffeta are for hat-making? The people of Yue don't wear shoes, for they are barefooted. Again, they like to have their hair spread out over their heads and they never use hats. To whom should you sell your shoes and hats then?" Experienced though you are in the arts, yet the arts you have mastered are useless there."

After this explanation, the husband and wife now understood that anything that was not adaptable to the objective world would be useless and unpractical.

(15) Mistaking the reflection of a bow in the cup for a snake 杯弓蛇影

During the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), there was a county magistrate called Ying Bin.

One summer day, he invited his secretary Du Xuan to his house and treated him with wine. On the north wall of the room hung a red bow. It was reflected in Du Xuan's cup. Du Xuan took the reflection for a squirming snake. He was very frightened but he dared not turn down Ying Bin's offer because he was his superior. He had to swallow the wine with his eyes closed.

When he was back at home he felt so painful in his chest and stomach that he could hardly eat and drink any more. He sent for the doctor and tried much medicine but nothing could cure him.

When Ying Bin asked Du Xuan how he got so seriously ill, Du told him he drank the wine with a snake in his cup the other day. Ying Bin found something strange about that.

He turned home, thought hard, but he couldn't find an answer. Suddenly the bow on the north wall caught his eye. "That's it!" he shouted. He immediately sent his man to fetch Du Xuan. He seated him where he sat before and offered him a cup of wine.

Du Xuan saw the snake-like shadow again. Before Du was scared out of his wits again, Ying Bin said, pointing at the shadow, "The 'snake' in the cup is nothing but a reflection of the bow on the north wall!"

Now that Du Xuan knew what it was, he felt much easier. His illness disappeared the next moment!

This story was later contracted into the idiom-mistake the reflection of a bow in the cup for a snake. We use it to describe someone who is very suspicious.