A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string During the time of the Warring States (475-221 BC)， there lived a well-known archer named Geng Ying whose art in shooting was excelled by none at his time. One day, as he was standing by the side of the King of Wei, a flock of swan geese were flying over. With confidence, Geng Ying said to the king, "The twang of my bow-string might bring down a bird." The King doubted much. Just then a solitary swan goose appeared, low and slow in its flight, sad and dolorous in its cry. Instantly Geng Ying bended his bow and forcibly pulled the bowstring. Twang! High up went he shrilling sound into the air and down fell the bird to the ground. The king admired with bewilderment. Gang Ying then explained: "The bird was flying low and slow, because it was already hurt; it was crying in a bitter tone, because it had lost its companions. Due to the fact that it was already hurt and sad at heart, the twang of my strong bow, that birds dreaded most, startled it. The shrilling sound made its heart beat fast, its wings weak, its balance uneven. Thus it fell down just as commonly as a man drops his chop-sticks, at the thunder-stroke, at a dinner table." Henceforth comes the idiom "A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string", illustrating a case where a man who had been previously and repeatedly frightened became numb and stupefied by a new thing of the same nature not knowing how to face the new situation. 惊弓之鸟 战国时期，有个杰出的弓箭手，叫做更赢。他的射箭本领在当时可称是举世无双。 有一天，他和魏王并肩站着，天空中忽然飞过一群鸿雁。更赢很自信的对魏王说："我可以用弓声就把飞鸟给打下来。"魏王很怀疑。正在那是，一只孤雁很低很慢的飞过。鸣声凄惨。更赢见了，就张着弓，扣着弦，砰的一声，直入云宵。那孤雁果然应声落地。魏王惊叹之余，不明白这是怎么回事。更赢解释说："那孤雁飞得低且慢，因为它已经受过伤；它鸣叫的声音悲而哀，因为它离了群。身伤心碎，使它心跳加速，两翼无力，体重失去平衡，正如人们吃饭时，突然听见雷声，筷子落地的情况一样自然而平常。 后人根据上面的故事，做成了 "惊弓之鸟"这个成语，形容先前多次受过惊吓的人，忽然遇到同样可怕的事物，就吓得魂飞魄散，惊惶失措，不知如何去应付新的环境。  

成了《齐都赋》，显示出他在文学方面的才华，为他成为杰出的文学家奠定了基础。这以后他又计划以三国时魏、蜀、吴首都的风土、人情、物产为内容，撰写《三都赋》。为了在内容、结构、语言诸方面都达到一定水平，他潜心研究，精心撰写，废寝忘食，用了整整十年，文学巨著《三都赋》终于写成了。 《三都赋》受到谅也评，人们把它和汉代文学杰作《两都赋》相比。由于当时还没有发明印刷术，喜爱《三都赋》的人只能争相抄阅，因为抄写的人太多，京城洛阳的纸张供不应求，一时间全城纸价大幅度上升。  

支持不住，自然要掉下来了。”[/cn] [en]This idiom means that if one has been frightened in the past one's will may become paralysed in a similar situation.[/en][cn]“惊弓之鸟”这个成语比喻受过惊恐之后，有一点动静就特别害怕。[/cn]

自到楚国去请救兵，想挑选一个精明能干的人一同前去。有一个名叫毛遂的人，自告奋勇愿意同去。平原君到楚国后，与楚王谈了半天，没有一点结果。毛遂怒气冲冲地拿着宝剑，逼近楚王，终于迫使楚王答应出兵，与赵国联合共同抵抗秦国。[/cn] [en]This idiom means to recommend oneself.[/en][cn]“毛遂自荐”这个成语用来比喻自己推荐自己，不必别人介绍。[/cn]  

个人没有考虑到，方向弄反了，他的条件越好，离他要去的地方就越远。[/cn] [en]The idiom derived from this story indicates that one's action was the opposite effect to one's intention.[/en][cn]后来人们就把这个故事概括为“南辕北辙”，比喻一个人的行为和他的目的正好相反。[/cn]

天衣无缝是一个成语，原指神话中仙女穿的天衣，不用针线制作，没有缝儿。现比喻事物非常完美自然，不露任何痕迹，没有一点破绽。出自于五代·前蜀·牛峤《灵怪录·郭翰》：“天衣本非针线为也。”

Li Ling was a great general during the time of emperor Han Wu-di (hàn wǔ dì汉武帝). He was a very good fighter, and he won every battle. One time, however, Li Ling's troops were so hopelessly outnumbered by the Huns that although they fought bravely, the whole army was soon taken captive. Li Ling shamefully surrendered for the moment, planning to wait for an opportunity to strike back. But when news of the surrender reached the capital, the emperor's jealous ministers began to degrade Li Ling in front of the emperor. What he heard made the emperor so angry that he had Li Ling's wife and mother put to death. Ze-ma Chian, who had always respected Li Ling, believed that he wouldn't surrender without a reason, and urged the emperor not to believe rumors. Sz-ma Chian then wrote a long letter to a friend, saying, "I am now in the middle of writing a history book. If I die, it will be as if one ox in a group on nine were to lose a single hair. I am willing to withstand punishment in order to complete this book." Sz-ma Chian finally did finish his book - the very famous Shr-Ji. This time, the emperor grew angry at Sz-ma Chian, and locking him up, punished him severely. 西汉时代有个很有名的大将军名叫李陵，他骁勇善战，百战百赢。 有一次，虽然李陵的军队奋勇杀敌，因为兵力不足而战败投降。 李陵打算暂时先忍辱投降，以便伺机等待机会反击。 但当李陵投降的消息传到首都，皇上身边嫉妒的大臣们都开始指责李陵。 皇上十分气愤，他将李陵的妻子与母亲都赐死了。 司马迁一直很敬重李陵，他不信李陵会无缘无故投降，便谏言皇上不要听信谣言。 但就因为这样，皇上便迁怒司马迁，并将他囚禁，进行严惩。 司马迁随后写了一封长信给他的朋友，说道：“我现在在写一部历史长篇，如果我死了，就如同九牛一毛般微不足道，但我愿意承受住这般的惩罚，来完成这部书。”最终，司马迁完成了这部名流千古的史学著作——《史记》。  

A Roc's flight of ten thousand li-A bright future In the Chinese classic 《Chuangtze》, there is a legend like this: Once upon a time, a gigantic fish named Kun lived in the northern sea. No one knew how large it actually was. This fish could change itself into the enormous bird called Peng (roc), measuring thousands of kilometers in length. When the bird was spreading its wings, it looked like huge clouds in the sky. It could, in one stretch, fly from the northern sea to the southern sea on the other side of the globe and soaring up to 90000 li (45000 kilometers) in the heaven. the bird can surely fly over a long distance without stop. Now people use this idiom to with others have a long career or a bright future. 鹏程万里 在《庄子》一书中有这样一个故事： 很久很久以前，北海里住着一条巨大的鱼，名字叫鲲 (K%n)。没有人知道它到底有多大。这条鱼能够变成鹏(P0ng)，一种庞大的鸟，有几百万米长。鹏鸟展开翅膀就像天空里的一大片云。它能一口气从北海飞到地球另一边的南海。当它展翅高飞的时候，它可以冲上90000哩(45000公里)的高空。 毫无疑问，这种鸟一次能飞过很长的距离。人们用鹏程万里这个成语来祝愿别人事业顺利，前途光明。  

不合时宜的意思：符合，适应；时宜：当时的需要和潮流。不适合时代形势的需要。也指不合世俗习尚。出自东汉•班固《汉书•袁帝纪》：“皆违经背古，不合时宜。”我们在做事情的过程中，也应该像故事的主人公那样积极接受大家的意见。

During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), prince Zhou Xu of the State of Wei killed his brother and became the new emperor. Zhou Xu was a tyrant. He oppressed his people and indulged in wars of agGREssion. By launching wars, he tried to divert the people's attention and reduce their discontent with him in order to consolidate his dictatorship. The Duke of the State of Lu leant about Zhou Xu's usurpation of state power and his ambitious plan, he asked a senior official, "What do you think about Zhou Xu's move? "The official answered, "He indulges in wars , bringing his people much disaster. He won't get their support. And he's capricious, so few of his close friends follow him. He can never achieve his success. In addition, war is like fire. If one launches wars endlessly without restraint, he'll eventually burn himself. " Sure enough, the people of Wei with the help of the State of Chen overthrew Zhou Xu and killed him in less than a year. Later, people use it to mean that those who do evil will finally ruin themselves. 春秋时期，卫国的王子州吁杀死了他的哥哥卫桓公，成为了卫国的国君。州吁是个暴君，他压迫百姓，到处侵略别的国家。他想利用战争来分散百姓的注意力，减少人们对他的不满，巩固他的专政。 鲁国的君王知道州吁篡夺了王位，还想吞并其他国家，就问他手下的一名官员："你认为州吁的目的能达到吗？"那位官员说道："州吁到处打仗，给人民来了灾难。人民不会支持他。他这个人又反复无常，身边没有什么亲信。他不可能实现自己的野心。而且，战争就象火。无休止地打仗，最后，火会烧到自己身上。 " 果然，不到一年，卫国人民就在陈国的帮助下推翻了州吁的统治，并处死了他。 后来，人们用这个成语来比喻干害人的勾当，最后受害的还是自己。