四個字的成語英語故事
掩耳盜鈴抄Plugging One's Ears While Stealing a Bell
春秋時侯，晉襲國貴族智伯滅掉了范氏。有人趁機跑到范氏家裡想偷點東西，看見院子里吊著一口大鍾。鍾是用上等青銅鑄成的，造型和圖案都很精美。小偷心裡高興極了，想把這口精美的大鍾背回自已家去。可是鍾又大又重，怎麼也挪不動。他想來想去，只有一個辦法，那就是把鍾敲碎，然後再分別搬回家。
小偷找來一把大大錘，拚命朝鍾砸去，咣的一聲巨響，把他嚇了一大跳。小偷著慌，心想這下糟了，這種聲不就等於是告訴人們我正在這里偷鍾嗎？他心裡一急，身子一下子撲到了鍾上，張開雙臂想捂住鍾聲，可鍾聲又怎麼捂得住呢！鍾聲依然悠悠地傳向遠方。
他越聽越害怕，不同自由地抽回雙手，使勁捂住自已的耳朵。「咦，鍾聲變小了，聽不見了！」小偷高興起來，「妙極了！把耳朵捂住不住就聽不進鍾聲了嗎！」他立刻找來兩個布團，把耳朵塞住，心想，這下誰也聽不見鍾聲了。於是就放手砸起鍾來，一下一下，鍾聲響亮地傳到很遠的地方。人們聽到鍾聲蜂擁而至把小偷捉住了。
故事出自《呂氏春秋
② 求幾個成語故事的英文
狐假虎威: The Ass in the Lion's Skin
An Ass once found a Lion's skin which the hunters had left out in the sun to dry.
He put it on and went towards his native village.
All fled at his approach, both men and animals, and he was a proud Ass that day.
In his delight he lifted up his voice and brayed, but then every one knew him, and his owner came up and gave him a sound cudgelling for the fright he had caused.
And shortly afterwards a Fox came up to him and said: "Ah, I knew you by your voice."
Fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool.
錄自: http://ivyjoy.com/fables/lionskin.html
龜兔賽跑 The Tortoise and the Hare
The hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have never yet been beaten," said he, "when I put forth my full speed. I challenge anyone here to race with me."
The tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."
"That is a good joke," said the hare. "I could dance around you all the way."
"Keep your boasting until you've beaten," answered the tortoise. "Shall we race?"
So a course was fixed and a start was made. The hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the hare awoke from his nap, he saw the tortoise nearing the finish line, and he could not catch up in time to save the race.
Plodding wins the race.
錄自: http://ivyjoy.com/fables/tortoise.html
http://ivyjoy.com/fables 還有許多其他故事, 你自己去挑吧!
③ 求四個字的成語故事英語的
英語故事:破鏡重圓
A Broken Mirror Joined Together
This set phrase metaphorically means the reunion of husband and wife after an enforced separation or a rupture.
At the end of Southern Dynasties,when the Chen Dynasty was about to be overthrown.
Xú Déyán felt very worried.He foreknew that his wife Princess Lè Chāng was destined to separate from him.
His wife is the last Emperor Chén Shūǎo's younger sister.
Hence he broke a round bronze mirror into halves.
One half is given to the Princess,the other half left with himself.
The couple agreed on it that the wife would pretend to sell the broked mirror in the street of Cháng'ān,the capital of the Suí Dynasty,on the Lantern Festival.
After the fall of Chén Dynasty,Princess Lè Chāng was captured and sent to Chang'an and forced to be a concubine-servant in the mansion of Yáng Sù.
Xú Déyán missed his wife very much and went to the captial to look for her.
On the 15th day of the first lunar month,he found a man selling half the mirror.
After asking the man,he knew that his wife had been a concubine-servant of Yáng Sù. Thinking that he could not see her again,he sighed a great sorrow.
Having known the matter,Yáng Sù felt much sympathy for the couple.He sent for Xú Déyán and told him to take wife away.Thus the husband and the wife were reunited into a happy couple.
④ 英語寫成語故事
<<一葉障目>>有個書獃子從古書上讀到「蟬翳葉」的故事，信以為真，就四處版尋找，把蟬躲藏處的樹權葉全部摘下，拿回家遮臉作試驗，問妻子能不能看見他。妻子氣憤說看不見。他就拿這片樹葉去街上行竊，被抓後說：「我一葉障目，你們能看見嗎？」 There is a nerd from the ancient books to read the story of the cicada shade leaves,Believed to look far, the cicadas hiding in the leaves all off,Cover the face as a take-home test, asked his wife can see him. Angry that his wife could not see. He took to the streets to steal this piece of leaf,After being arrested, said: I blinders, you can see it?
⑤ 英語成語故事（短劇）
a boy and his tree
a long ago,there was a huge apple tree. a little boy love to come and play around it everyday.he climbed to the tree top,ate the apples,took a nap under the shadow…he loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.time went by…the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday.
one day,the boy came back to the tree and he looked.
"come and play with me ,"the tree asked the boy .
"i am no longer a kid, i don't play around trees anymore."the boy replied,
"i want toys.i need money to buy them."
"sorry,but i don't have money…but you can pick all my apples and sell them.
so,you will have money."the boy was so excited .he grabbed all the apples
on the tree and left happily.the boy never came back after he picked the
apples.the tree was sad.
one day,the boy returned and the tree was so excited.
"come and play with me ,"the tree said.
"i don't have time to play.i have to work for my family.we need a house for
shelter.can you help me?"
"sorry,but i don't have a house .but you can chop off my branches to build
your house."so the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.
the tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then.
the tree was again lonely and sad.
one hot summer day,the boy returned and the tree was delighted.
"come and play with me !"the tree said.
"i am sad and getting old.iwant to go sailing to relax myself.can you give
a boat?"
"use my truck to build your boat.you can sail faraway and be happy."
so the boy cut the tree truck to make a boat .he went sailing and never
showed up for a long time.
finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years.
"sorry,my boy.but i don't have anything for you anymore.no more apples for
for you…「the tree said.
"i don't have teeth to bite."the boy replied.
"no more truck foe you to climb on."
"i am too old for that now."the boy said.
"i really can give you anything…the only thing left is my dying roots."the
tree said with tears.
"i don't need much now,just a place to rest.i am tired after all these year"
the boy replied.
"good!old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. come,come sit
down with me and rest."the boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled
with tears……
this is a story of everyone. the tree is our parent. when we were young, we loved to play with mom and dad……
when we grown up, we left them…only came to them when we need something or when we are in trouble.
no matter what,parents will alway be there and give everything they could to make you happy.
you may think the boy is cruel to the tree but that how all of us are treating our parent.tme is too slow for those who wait,too swift for those who fear,too long for those who grieve,too short for those who rejoice,but for those who love,time is eternity
從前，有一棵巨大的蘋果樹。
一個小男孩每天都喜歡在樹下玩耍。他爬樹，吃蘋果，在樹蔭下小睡……他愛和樹玩，樹也愛和他玩。
時間過的很快，小男孩長大了，他不再每天都來樹下玩耍了。
「來和我玩吧。」樹說。
「我不再是孩子了，我再也不會在樹下玩了。」男孩回答道，「我想要玩具，我需要錢去買玩具。」
「對不起，我沒有錢……但是，你可以把我的蘋果摘下來，拿去賣錢，這樣你就有錢了。」
男孩興奮的把所有的蘋果都摘下來，高興的離開了。男孩摘了蘋果後很久都沒有回來。樹很傷心。
一天，男孩回來了，樹很激動。
「來和我玩吧。」樹說。
「我沒時間玩，我得工作，養家糊口。我們需要一棟房子，你能幫助我嗎?」
「對不起，我沒有房子，但是你可以砍下我的樹枝，拿去蓋你的房子。」男孩把所有的樹枝都砍下來，高興的離開了。
看到男孩那麼高興，樹非常欣慰。但是，男孩從此很久都沒回來。樹再一次孤獨，傷心起來。
一個炎熱的夏日，男孩終於回來了，樹很欣慰。
「來和我玩吧!」樹說。
「我過的不快樂，我也一天天變老了，我想去航海放鬆一下。你能給我一條船嗎?」
「用我的樹干造你的船吧，你就能快樂地航行到遙遠的地方了。」男孩把樹干砍下來，做成了一條船。
他去航海了，很長時間都沒露面。
最後，過了很多年，男孩終於回來了。
「對不起，孩子，我再也沒有什麼東西可以給你了……」樹說。
「我已經沒有牙咬蘋果了。」男孩回答道。
「我也沒有樹干讓你爬了。」樹說。
「我已經老得爬不動了。」男孩說。
「我真的不能再給你任何東西了，除了我正在死去的樹根。」樹含著淚說。
「我現在不需要什麼了，只想找個地方休息。過了這么些年，我累了。」男孩回答道。
「太好了!老樹根正是休息是最好的倚靠，來吧，來坐在我身邊，休息一下吧。」
男孩坐下了，樹很高興，含著淚微笑著……
⑥ 把中國的四字成語故事翻譯成英語
刻舟求劍
Making His Mark (Ke Zhou Qiu Jian)
A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. 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?
⑦ 英語的成語故事
畫蛇添足
An official of the ancient State of Chu awarded a pot of wine to his men after the ceremony of Spring Sacrifice. One man said， 「We have only one pot of wine. It's not enough for all of us but sufficient for one. Let's determine who'll have the wine by drawing a snake on the ground. He who finishes first will have the wine.」
The others agreed. Very soon， one man finished his snake. He was about to drink the wine when he saw the others were still busy drawing. He said complacently，「How slowly you are！ I still have enough time to add feet to my snke.」 But before he finished the feet， another man finished his snke and grabbed the pot from him， saying，「Whoever has seen a snake with feet？ Yours is not a snke. So the wine should be mine！」 He drank the wine. The man adding the feet to the snake had to give in and could only regret his foolishness.
楚國有一個官員，在春天祭過了祖宗之後，便將一壺酒賞給他的辦事人員喝。有人提議：「我們只有一壺酒，肯定不夠我們大家喝的，一個人喝倒是綽綽有餘。我們每人在地上畫一條蛇，誰畫得最快，就把這壺酒給他。」 大家都同意了。
有一個人很快就把蛇畫好了。他正打算喝這壺酒時，看見別人都還忙著畫呢。他就得意揚揚地說：「你們畫得好慢呀，等我再畫上幾只腳吧！」 他的蛇腳還沒畫完，另一個人已經把蛇畫好了。那人把酒壺奪了過去說：「有誰見過長腳的蛇？你畫的不是蛇，這壺酒應該是我的了。」說罷，就喝起酒來。那個給蛇畫腳的人沒辦法，只能懊悔自己的愚蠢。
一鳴驚人
In the Warring States Period, Duke Wei of Qi neglected state affairs, for the first three years of his reign, giving himself over to dissipation. One of his ministers, Chun Yukun who had a good sense of humour, said to him: 'There is a big bird which has neither taken wing nor sung for three years.' The ke answered, 'Once that bird starts to fly and sing, it will astonish the world.' The ke thereupon devoted himself to his ties and built his state up into a powerful one.
戰國時代，齊威王即位後做了三年國君，只顧享樂，不理政事。有個善於說笑話的人叫淳於髡，一天對齊威王說：「城裡有一隻大鳥，三年不飛也不叫，你知道這是什麼道理？」齊威王說：「這鳥不飛則罷，一飛就沖天；不鳴則罷，一鳴就驚人。」在淳於髡的激發下，齊威王開始治理國家，取得很大成績，齊國的聲威一直保持了幾十年。
杞人憂天
In the Spring and Autumn Period, in the State of Qi there was a man who always let his imagination run away with him. One day he even worried that the sky would fall on his head. He was so worried that he could neither eat nor sleep. Later, someone persuaded him that his fears were Ground-less.
春秋時代，杞國有一個喜歡胡思亂想的人。一天，他竟然想到，天會塌下來，地會陷下去，自己到哪裡去安身？這個人越想越害怕，整天愁眉苦臉，坐立不安，白天吃不下飯，晚上睡不著覺。後來有人耐心地開到他，他才放下了心。
精衛填海
Once upon a time, the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan, legendary ruler of primitive China, went boating on the Eastern Sea. While she was enjoying herself, a strong wind rose on the sea and her boat capsized. Just before she was buried by the surging waves, her spirit turned into a beautiful bird. As it flew over the roaring sea, it cried sadly in the sound "jinwei, jingwei". That was why people called it "Jingwei".
The bird lived on a mountain near the sea. It hated the sea so much that it decided to fill it up. Every day, it flew to and fro between the mountain and the sea, carrying in a twig or a pebble from the mountain and dropping it into the sea.
One day, the roaring sea said to Jingwei, "Poor little bird, stop doing that meaningless thing! You'll never fill me up." Jingwei replied, "I'll fill you up no doubt! I will, even if it'll take me thousands of years! I'll fight on until doomsday!"
The brave little bird kept carrying twigs and pebbles from the mountain to the Eastern Sea without taking a rest.
From this fable comes the idiom "The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea". We use it to describe people who are firm and indomitable and will not stop until they reach their goal.
從前，炎帝（傳說中中國原始社會的統治者）的小女兒在東海上劃船。正當她劃得高興時，海面上突然升起一陣大風，把她的小船弄翻了。就在她要被洶涌的波浪吞 沒時，她的靈魂變成了一隻美麗的小鳥。它飛過那咆哮的海面，傷心的叫著"精衛，精衛"的聲音。所以人們就叫她"精衛"。
精衛鳥住在靠海的一座山上。它非常恨大海，所以決心要把它填平。它每天來回於山海之間，把從山上銜來的小樹枝和小石子扔在大海里。
一天，咆哮的大海對精衛說："可憐的小鳥，停止你那無謂的舉動吧！你是永遠都填不平我的。" 精衛回答說："我當然會把你填平的！即使這需要千千萬萬年的時間，我也一定會斗爭到底，直到你的末日來臨！"
這只勇敢的小鳥繼續從山上銜來小樹枝和小石子，扔到東海中，從未有片刻休息。
"精衛填海"這個成語就是由這個傳說而來的，形容那些堅定不移，不屈不撓，不到目的決不罷休的人。
⑧ 英語成語故事
邯鄲學步
English
相傳在兩千年前，燕國壽陵地方有一位少年，不知道姓啥叫啥，就叫他壽陵少年吧！
這位壽陵少年不愁吃不愁穿，論長相也算得上中等人材，可他就是缺乏自信心，經常無緣無故地感到事事不如人，低人一等——衣服是人家的好，飯菜是人家的香，站相坐相也是人家高雅。他見什麼學什麼，學一樣丟一樣，雖然花樣翻新，卻始終不能做好一件事，不知道自己該是什麼模樣。
家裡的人勸他改一改這個毛病，他以為是家裡人管得太多。親戚、鄰居們，說他是狗熊掰棒子，他也根本聽不進去。日久天長，他竟懷疑自己該不該這樣走路，越看越覺得自己走路的姿勢太笨，太丑了。
有一天，他在路上碰到幾個人說說笑笑，只聽得有人說邯鄲人走路姿勢那叫美。他一聽，對上了心病，急忙走上前去，想打聽個明白。不料想，那幾個人看見他，一陣大笑之後揚長而去。
邯鄲人走路的姿勢究竟怎樣美呢？他怎麼也想像不出來。這成了他的心病。終於有一天，他瞞著家人，跑到遙遠的邯鄲學走路去了。
一到邯鄲，他感到處處新鮮，簡直令人眼花繚亂。看到小孩走路，他覺得活潑、美，學；看見老人走路，他覺得穩重，學；看到婦女走路，搖擺多姿，學。就這樣，不過半月光景，他連走路也不會了，路費也花光了，只好爬著回去了。
故事出自《莊子·秋水》。成語「邯鄲學步」，比喻生搬硬套，機械地模仿別人，不但學不到別人的長處，反而會把自己的優點和本領也丟掉。
Imitating Another without Success and Losing What Used to Be One'sOwn Ability
Tradition has it that more than 2,oooyears ago,there lived a young man in the Shouling area of the State of Yan.As his name is not known ,we just call him Shouling young man for convenience's sake.
self confident He was at a loss as to how to behave all the time.
His family members advised him to overcome this shortcoming,but he thought they were fond of poking their noses into his business and were unwilling to provide him with tuition fee.His relatives and neighbours sneered at him,saying that he would never be able to learn anything.Asthe days went by,he even began to doubt whether he should walk the way he did,for he felt more and more that his walking gestures were too clumsy and awkward.
One day,he met some people on the road who werechattingand laughing.One of themsaid that people in Handan walked most gracefully.And thatwas just what he was most concerned about,so he hurreed towards themand wanted to make further inquiries.To his surprise,when these people saw him,they stalked off laughing.
He could not picture to himself in what way their walking gestures were graceful,no matter how hard he racked his parents one day.He went to Handanwhich was far away to learn how to walk.
As soon as he arrived in Handan,he was dazzled to find that everything was novel.He learned from the children there how to walk,because he thought that the children's walking gestures were lively and pleasing to the eye.He learnd from the old people there how to walk,because he thought the old people's walking gestures were steady .He learnd from the women there how to walk,because he thought the women' swaying walking gestures were beautiful.That being the case with him ,in less than half a month he even forgot how to walk.As he had already used up his traveling expenses,he had to crawl back home.
Thisstory come from the article"Autumn Water"in The Works of Xhuang Zi(Zhuang Zi was a famous ancient Chinese philosopher of about 300B.c.).Later the set phrase"initating another without success and losing what used to be one's own ability"is used to refer to acts of copying others mechanisally in disregard of specififc conditions.
汲黯是西漢武帝時代人，以剛直正義、敢講真話而受人尊重。他為人和做官都不拘小節，講求實效。雖然表面上不那麼轟轟烈烈，卻能把一個郡治理得井井有條，因此，朝廷把他從東海太守調到朝廷當主爵都尉——一種主管地方吏任免的官職。
有一次，漢武帝說要實行儒家的仁義之政，為老百姓辦好事了。沒等皇帝把話說完，汲黯就說：「陛下內心裡那麼貪婪多欲，表面上卻要裝得實行仁政，這是何苦呢？」一句話把皇帝噎了回去。漢武帝登時臉色大變，宣布罷朝，滿朝文武都為汲黯捏著一把汗，擔心他會因此招來大禍。武帝回到宮里以後，對身邊的人說，汲黯這個人也未免太粗太直了。
從此以後，汲黯的官職再也沒有提升。他當主爵都尉的時候，公孫弘、張湯都還是不起眼的小官，後來，他們一個勁兒住上升，公孫弘當上了丞相，張湯做上了御史大夫，可他汲黯還蹲在原地沒動窩。有一天，汲黯對武帝說，陛下使用群臣，跟碼劈柴一樣，是「後來者居上」啊！漢武帝當然聽得出這是發牢騷。於是，轉臉對臣下們說：「人真是不能不學習啊！你們聽汲黯說話，越來越離譜了！」
故事出自《史記·汲鄭列傳》。成語「後來居上」，往往指後起的可以勝過先前的。和汲黯說這話的原意，大不相同。
The Latecomers Surpass the Old-timers
This set phrase is derived from the complaints Ji An made to the emperor.
Ji Anlived at the time of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D.24). He was respected for being upright and just and for daring to speak the truth. He did not bother about amall matters in personal behaviour and in being an official. He was particular about actual effects and ,although he did not cause a stir ,he could keep the prefecture he governed in perfect order. Because of this. the imperial court transferred him to the central government from being the perfect of the Donghai Prefecture to being a commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officals.
Once,Emperor Wudi said that he would implement the policy of benevolence and justice of Confucianism and would do good turns to the people.Emperor Wudi Had hardly finished his remards when Ji An said that there was no need for the emperor to say so.Why should the emperor bother,Ji An said, about pretending to implement the policy of benevolence and justice since he was so greedy and avaricious within himself? This choked the emperor off. The emperor suddenly Changed his countenance and declared the meeting over. All the civilian and military officers at court were breathless with anxiety for fear that Ji An might bring disaster upon himself because of this. After returning, Emperor Wudi said to the people around him that Ji An was a little too rude and too straightforward.
For this reason ,Ji An was never promoted again. When he was the commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officials, both Gongsun Hong and Zhang Tang were low -ranking lfficials of little importance. Later ,they were promoted continuously. Gongsun Hong became the prime minister and Zhang Tang became the imperial censor. However, JiAn's post remained thesame. One day, Ji An said to Emperor Wudi that the way the emperor used his ministers was just like piling up firewood, which meant that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers. Of course, Emperor Wudi could see that Ji An was complaining. So,turning to his ministers, Emperor Wudi said, "It is true that no one can stop learning.You see, Ji An is making more and more indiscreet remarks."
This story comes from The Historical Records. Later generations use the set phrase "the latecomers surpass the old-timers " to indicate that successors can cxcel the predecessors, which is quite different from the original idea when Ji An said that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers.
⑨ 急需幾篇英語成語故事！要中英對照！
邯鄲學步
English
相傳在兩千年前，燕國壽陵地方有一位少年，不知道姓啥叫啥，就叫他壽陵少年吧！
這位壽陵少年不愁吃不愁穿，論長相也算得上中等人材，可他就是缺乏自信心，經常無緣無故地感到事事不如人，低人一等——衣服是人家的好，飯菜是人家的香，站相坐相也是人家高雅。他見什麼學什麼，學一樣丟一樣，雖然花樣翻新，卻始終不能做好一件事，不知道自己該是什麼模樣。
家裡的人勸他改一改這個毛病，他以為是家裡人管得太多。親戚、鄰居們，說他是狗熊掰棒子，他也根本聽不進去。日久天長，他竟懷疑自己該不該這樣走路，越看越覺得自己走路的姿勢太笨，太丑了。
有一天，他在路上碰到幾個人說說笑笑，只聽得有人說邯鄲人走路姿勢那叫美。他一聽，對上了心病，急忙走上前去，想打聽個明白。不料想，那幾個人看見他，一陣大笑之後揚長而去。
邯鄲人走路的姿勢究竟怎樣美呢？他怎麼也想像不出來。這成了他的心病。終於有一天，他瞞著家人，跑到遙遠的邯鄲學走路去了。
一到邯鄲，他感到處處新鮮，簡直令人眼花繚亂。看到小孩走路，他覺得活潑、美，學；看見老人走路，他覺得穩重，學；看到婦女走路，搖擺多姿，學。就這樣，不過半月光景，他連走路也不會了，路費也花光了，只好爬著回去了。
故事出自《莊子·秋水》。成語「邯鄲學步」，比喻生搬硬套，機械地模仿別人，不但學不到別人的長處，反而會把自己的優點和本領也丟掉。
Imitating Another without Success and Losing What Used to Be One'sOwn Ability
Tradition has it that more than 2,oooyears ago,there lived a young man in the Shouling area of the State of Yan.As his name is not known ,we just call him Shouling young man for convenience's sake.
self confident He was at a loss as to how to behave all the time.
His family members advised him to overcome this shortcoming,but he thought they were fond of poking their noses into his business and were unwilling to provide him with tuition fee.His relatives and neighbours sneered at him,saying that he would never be able to learn anything.Asthe days went by,he even began to doubt whether he should walk the way he did,for he felt more and more that his walking gestures were too clumsy and awkward.
One day,he met some people on the road who werechattingand laughing.One of themsaid that people in Handan walked most gracefully.And thatwas just what he was most concerned about,so he hurreed towards themand wanted to make further inquiries.To his surprise,when these people saw him,they stalked off laughing.
He could not picture to himself in what way their walking gestures were graceful,no matter how hard he racked his parents one day.He went to Handanwhich was far away to learn how to walk.
As soon as he arrived in Handan,he was dazzled to find that everything was novel.He learned from the children there how to walk,because he thought that the children's walking gestures were lively and pleasing to the eye.He learnd from the old people there how to walk,because he thought the old people's walking gestures were steady .He learnd from the women there how to walk,because he thought the women' swaying walking gestures were beautiful.That being the case with him ,in less than half a month he even forgot how to walk.As he had already used up his traveling expenses,he had to crawl back home.
Thisstory come from the article"Autumn Water"in The Works of Xhuang Zi(Zhuang Zi was a famous ancient Chinese philosopher of about 300B.c.).Later the set phrase"initating another without success and losing what used to be one's own ability"is used to refer to acts of copying others mechanisally in disregard of specififc conditions.
汲黯是西漢武帝時代人，以剛直正義、敢講真話而受人尊重。他為人和做官都不拘小節，講求實效。雖然表面上不那麼轟轟烈烈，卻能把一個郡治理得井井有條，因此，朝廷把他從東海太守調到朝廷當主爵都尉——一種主管地方吏任免的官職。
有一次，漢武帝說要實行儒家的仁義之政，為老百姓辦好事了。沒等皇帝把話說完，汲黯就說：「陛下內心裡那麼貪婪多欲，表面上卻要裝得實行仁政，這是何苦呢？」一句話把皇帝噎了回去。漢武帝登時臉色大變，宣布罷朝，滿朝文武都為汲黯捏著一把汗，擔心他會因此招來大禍。武帝回到宮里以後，對身邊的人說，汲黯這個人也未免太粗太直了。
從此以後，汲黯的官職再也沒有提升。他當主爵都尉的時候，公孫弘、張湯都還是不起眼的小官，後來，他們一個勁兒住上升，公孫弘當上了丞相，張湯做上了御史大夫，可他汲黯還蹲在原地沒動窩。有一天，汲黯對武帝說，陛下使用群臣，跟碼劈柴一樣，是「後來者居上」啊！漢武帝當然聽得出這是發牢騷。於是，轉臉對臣下們說：「人真是不能不學習啊！你們聽汲黯說話，越來越離譜了！」
故事出自《史記·汲鄭列傳》。成語「後來居上」，往往指後起的可以勝過先前的。和汲黯說這話的原意，大不相同。
The Latecomers Surpass the Old-timers
This set phrase is derived from the complaints Ji An made to the emperor.
Ji Anlived at the time of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D.24). He was respected for being upright and just and for daring to speak the truth. He did not bother about amall matters in personal behaviour and in being an official. He was particular about actual effects and ,although he did not cause a stir ,he could keep the prefecture he governed in perfect order. Because of this. the imperial court transferred him to the central government from being the perfect of the Donghai Prefecture to being a commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officals.
Once,Emperor Wudi said that he would implement the policy of benevolence and justice of Confucianism and would do good turns to the people.Emperor Wudi Had hardly finished his remards when Ji An said that there was no need for the emperor to say so.Why should the emperor bother,Ji An said, about pretending to implement the policy of benevolence and justice since he was so greedy and avaricious within himself? This choked the emperor off. The emperor suddenly Changed his countenance and declared the meeting over. All the civilian and military officers at court were breathless with anxiety for fear that Ji An might bring disaster upon himself because of this. After returning, Emperor Wudi said to the people around him that Ji An was a little too rude and too straightforward.
For this reason ,Ji An was never promoted again. When he was the commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officials, both Gongsun Hong and Zhang Tang were low -ranking lfficials of little importance. Later ,they were promoted continuously. Gongsun Hong became the prime minister and Zhang Tang became the imperial censor. However, JiAn's post remained thesame. One day, Ji An said to Emperor Wudi that the way the emperor used his ministers was just like piling up firewood, which meant that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers. Of course, Emperor Wudi could see that Ji An was complaining. So,turning to his ministers, Emperor Wudi said, "It is true that no one can stop learning.You see, Ji An is making more and more indiscreet remarks."
This story comes from The Historical Records. Later generations use the set phrase "the latecomers surpass the old-timers " to indicate that successors can cxcel the predecessors, which is quite different from the original idea when Ji An said that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers
⑩ 求成語故事英語版
A man from the State Chu was crossing the river. In the boat, his sword fell
into the water by his carelessness. Imediately he made a mark on the boat.「This
is where my sword fell off.」He said. When the boat stopped, he jumped into the
water to look for his sword at the place where he marked the boat. The boat had
moved but the sword had not. Is this not a foolish way to look for a sword？
刻舟求劍
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