Anonymous A started this discussion 15 years ago#4,955
So I've recently gotten into proverbs. It's quite interesting to see the origins and tales proverbs come from. Chinese proverbs are by far the most interesting I've come across as of yet.
Here's one...
Proverb: Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks
Orgin: It comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan and he never stooped to flattery, but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.
Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.
Near the end of his career a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest he resigned his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.
His tombstone reads "Bai Zhe Bu Nao" which is now a phrase used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.
My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as, "keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks", "be undaunted by repeated setbacks" and "be indomitable".
Our translator says it can mean, "never give up" in modern Chinese.
Broseph !!fxnDb+Ve4 joined in and replied with this 15 years ago, 3 minutes later[^][v]#87,868
Very admirable indeed. I wouldn't even call him stubborn at all. He followed his logic and principles to the very end, and we should all strive for such a high standard.
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 15 years ago, 4 minutes later, 7 minutes after the original post[^][v]#87,873
@previous (Broseph !!fxnDb+Ve4)
Do you want more? ^.^ ~
Broseph !!fxnDb+Ve4 replied with this 15 years ago, 2 minutes later, 10 minutes after the original post[^][v]#87,875
One of my favorite ones is "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," as well as "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."
Broseph !!fxnDb+Ve4 double-posted this 15 years ago, 5 minutes later, 16 minutes after the original post[^][v]#87,882
Another one of my favorites is from Mark Twain, and it goes something like "The problem with people isn't that they don't know enough; it's that they know too much that ain't so."
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 15 years ago, 7 minutes later, 23 minutes after the original post[^][v]#87,886
@previous (Broseph !!fxnDb+Ve4)
"Written with a forceful hand."
The meaning behind this phrase comes from a man named Wan Xizhi who lived in the third century.
He was a great writer and calligrapher whose writing style influenced generations of other writers and calligraphers.
He once wrote words on a piece of wood to be taken to an engraver.
When the engraver began to carve the characters into the wood, he found that Wang Xizhi's writing had penetrated the wood about 3/8 of an inch.
Thus people believed that his words were so powerful, and so profound this it caused the ink from his brush to penetrate the wood deeply.
Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 15 years ago, 4 hours later, 4 hours after the original post[^][v]#88,033
"Dancing is for poofters and girls." -Australian proverb
Anonymous D joined in and replied with this 15 years ago, 1 hour later, 5 hours after the original post[^][v]#88,044
I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world because they'd never expect it.
Greenologist !pFNWNYROxA joined in and replied with this 15 years ago, 11 minutes later, 6 hours after the original post[^][v]#88,047
He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day. He who is in battle slain, will never rise to fight again.
The Owl !KThEOwLwbU joined in and replied with this 15 years ago, 16 hours later, 22 hours after the original post[^][v]#88,460