Hey hey, lookie here, an excellent guest post submitted by native Chinese speaker Yang from Learn Mandarin Now. This story tells us a bit about the Chinese chengyu (idiom),塞翁失马, which can mean “a blessing in disguise”, or can conversely mean “bad luck disguised as good”. It’s used to point out the hidden positives or negatives […]
从前，一位老翁和他的儿子住在塞外的边境上。他们都非常喜欢骑马。有一天，他们家的仆人给老先生报告：”我们家的一匹骏马走丢了，好像跑去邻国了。”
老翁的朋友闻讯都过来安慰他。但老先生说：“呵呵，这也许不是坏事，谁知道呢！＂
几个月之后，奇妙的事情发生了，那匹走失了的骏马意外地跑回来了，并且从邻国带来了一匹新的骏马。老翁的好友纷纷过来祝贺他。老翁说：“唉，这也许不是什么好事情呢！”
一天，老翁的儿子正在骑那匹新的骏马，突然不小心从马上掉了下来并摔断了腿。他从今以后都不能正常走路了。老翁的朋友都为老翁感到伤心，但老翁却说：“这个意外以后能为咱们带来好运也不一定。”
一年后，全国上下的年轻男子都被抓去打仗，大部分去参军的年轻人都死在了战场。老翁的儿子因为腿受伤了所以避过了这一次劫难。
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| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously; formerly; once upon a time |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 位 | wèi | position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential |
| 老翁 | lǎo wēng | old man |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 儿子 | ér zi | son |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 塞 | sai | to plug; to stop up; to stuff in |
| 外 | wài | outside; in addition; foreign; external |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 境 | jǐng | border; condition; circumstances |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huan | to like; to be fond of |
| 骑马 | qí mǎ | to ride a horse |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 家的 | jiā de | (old) wife |
| 仆人 | pú rén | servant |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 先生 | xiān sheng | teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.); husband; (dialect) doctor; CL:位[wei4] |
| 报 | bào | to report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for; to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bao4 ming2]); to reward; to recompense; to take revenge; to retaliate; new… |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 匹 | pǐ | (bound form) matching; comparable to; (bound form) alone; single; one of a pair; classifier for horses, mules etc (Taiwan pr. [pi1]); classifier for cloth: bolt; horsepower; variant of 匹[pi3]; classifier for cloth: bolt |
| 骏 | ||
| 马 | Mǎ | surname Ma; abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4] |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 丢 | dīu | to lose; to put aside; to throw |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 邻国 | lín guó | neighboring country |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 闻 | Wén | surname Wen |
| 讯 | xǔn | (bound form) to ask; to inquire; (bound form) news; information |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 安 | An | surname An |
| 慰 | wěi | to comfort; to reassure |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 呵 | he | to breathe (out); to scold; (interjection) oh; ha |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 也许 | yě xǔ | perhaps; maybe |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 坏事 | huài shì | bad thing; misdeed; to ruin things |
| 谁知道 | shéi zhī dào | God knows...; Who would have imagined...? |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 几个 | jǐ ge | a few; several; how many |
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 之 | zhī | (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her; it |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 奇妙 | qí miào | wonderful; marvelous; intriguing; mysterious; strange |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1] |
| 发生 | fā shēng | to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 失 | shī | to lose; to miss; to fail |
| 意外 | yì wài | unexpected; accident; mishap; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 回 | Huí | Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims); to curve; to return; to revolve; variant of 迴|回[hui2] |
| 并 | bìng | and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to combine; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]; variant of 並|并[bing4] |
| 且 | qiě | and; moreover; yet; for the time being; to be about to; both (... and...) |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 带 | dài | band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise |
| 新 | Xīn | abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]; abbr. for Singapore 新加坡[Xin1 jia1 po1]; surname Xin |
| 好友 | hǎo yǒu | close friend; pal; (social networking website) friend; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 纷 | fen | numerous; disorderly |
| 祝贺 | zhù hè | to congratulate; congratulations; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 唉 | ai | interjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!) |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 好事 | hǎo shì | good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, "a fine thing indeed"); charity; happy occasion; Daoist or Buddhist ceremony for the souls of the dead |
| 情 | qíng | (bound form) feelings; emotion; sentiment; passion; (bound form) situation; condition |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 骑 | jì | (Tw) saddle horse; mounted soldier |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 小心 | xiǎo xīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force) |
| 掉 | diào | to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to sh… |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 摔 | shuai | to throw down; to drop and break |
| 断 | duàn | to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly |
| 腿 | tuǐ | leg; CL:條|条[tiao2]; hip bone; old variant of 腿[tui3] |
| 今 | jīn | now; the present time; current; contemporary; this (day, year etc) |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 正常 | zhèng cháng | normal; regular |
| 走路 | zǒu lù | to walk; to go on foot; to leave; to depart; (informal) to clear off; to beat it; (of sb who gets fired or resigns) to leave the job; to get out |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 伤心 | shāng xīn | to grieve; to be broken-hearted; to feel deeply hurt |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 咱 | zán | variant of 咱[zan2]; see 咱[zan2] |
| 好运 | hǎo yùn | good luck |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 不一定 | bù yī dìng | not necessarily; maybe |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 全国 | quán guó | whole nation; nationwide; countrywide; national |
| 上下 | shàng xià | the top and bottom of sth; the full vertical extent of sth; from top to bottom; to go up and down; before and after (as in 上下文[shang4 xia4 wen2] "context"); (used after a quantity)… |
| 年轻 | nián qīng | young |
| 男子 | nán zǐ | a man; a male |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 抓 | zhua | to grab; to arrest; to scratch |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 仗 | zhǎng | weaponry; to wield; to depend on; battle |
| 大部分 | dà bù fen | the greater part; the majority; most; Taiwan pr. [da4bu4fen4] |
| 参军 | cān jūn | to join the army; (official title in imperial China) military adviser; aide-de-camp |
| 年轻人 | nián qīng rén | young people; youngster |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid; extremely; damned |
| 战场 | zhàn chǎng | battlefield; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 受伤 | shòu shāng | to sustain injuries; wounded (in an accident etc); harmed |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 避 | bǐ | to avoid; to flee; to keep away from; to hide from |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 劫 | jiē | to rob; to plunder; calamity; disaster; to coerce |
| 难 | nán | difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good |
Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived with his son on the borders of the country. They both very much enjoyed riding horses. One day, a servant reported to the old man, “One of our good horses has gone missing. It seems the horse ran across to the neighboring country.”
Old man’s friends came and comforted him. However, the old man said: “Well, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Who knows!”
Couple of months later, a strange thing happened. The missing horse came back, accompanied by a great steed from the neighboring country. When his friends congratulated him on this great news, the old man said: “Well, this might bring us bad luck.”
One day, his son was having fun riding on the fine [new] steed. Suddenly, he fell from the hose and broke his leg. His son was never able to walk again. Again, his friends came to comfort the old man. But the old man was not bothered and said: “This accident might bring us good luck in the future.”
A year later, all young men in the country were drafted to join a war. Most young men who fought died on the battlefield. Luckily, his son avoided entering the war because of his broken leg.