Chinese allegories
歇后語(yǔ)
Two-part allegorical saying (of which the first part, always stated, is descriptive, while the second part, often unstated, carries the message)

dà gū niang zuò huā jiào – tóu yī huí
大姑娘坐花轎 – 頭一回
A girl sitting in a bridal sedan chair – the very first time (Traditionally, a bride was carried in a special sedan chair to the groom's home, which was a first-time experience for every girl.)

diē s? niáng jià rén – gè rén gù gè rén
爹死娘嫁人 – 各人顧各人
After Dad's death, Mom gets married again. – Everyone is for him/herself.

fēi jī shàng liáo tiān – kōng tán
飛機(jī)上聊天 – 空談
Talk in the plane; talk in the air – empty or idle talk

d? kāi tiān chuāng – shuō liàng huà
打開(kāi)天窗 – 說(shuō)亮話
Open the skylight and say blunt words. – speak frankly; let's call a spade a spade

jiàn zài xián shàng – bù dé bù fā
箭在弦上 – 不得不發(fā)
The arrow on the bowstring has to be shot. or When the arrow is on the string, it must go. – At some point, the situation will have developed to the point that one will have to take action.

chóu rén xiāng jiàn – fèn wài y?n hóng
仇人相見(jiàn) – 分外眼紅
When enemies face each other, their eyes blaze with hatred.

huáng lián shù xià tán qín – kǔ zhōng zuò lè
黃連樹(shù)下彈琴 – 苦中作樂(lè)
Play the lute by a bitter herbal tree – enjoy life in adversity; seek joy in hardship; try to enjoy oneself despite one's suffering

b?i jiā xìng bú niàn dì yī ge zì – kāi k?u jiù shì qián
百家姓不念第一個(gè)字 – 開(kāi)口就是錢(qián)
Skip over the first family name when reading Book of (China's) Family Names. The first four family names listed in this book are Zhao (趙), Qian (錢(qián)), Sun (孫) and Li (李), respectively. – "Qian" (錢(qián)) came first. Figuratively, it means "to talk about money all the time". (The Chinese character "錢(qián)" can not only be taken as a surname, but refer to "money".)

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