Local Lingo

In China, the saying goes:

乐不思蜀
 (lè bù sī Shǔ)
“Too joyful to think of Shu”

Used to describe people who enjoy their time away so much that thoughts of home are pushed out of their minds, this idiom originates from the tale of the last King of Shu during the Three Kingdoms Period.

Shu was a prosperous kingdom established by Liu Bei with the assistance of militarist Zhuge Liang and generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. After Liu Bei passed away, his son Liu Chan took over, but Shu slowly lost strength under its new ruler; eventually, it was defeated by the kingdom of Wei. Consequently, Liu Chan was forced to move to Luoyang, the capital of Wei. He was greeted with a big banquet thrown by Sima Zhao, the ruler of Wei.

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In China, the saying goes:

胸有成竹
xiōng yǒu chéng zhú

“To acheive bamboo, the bamboo must immerse your being.”

In other words: Concentration and diligence are the keys to success.

Tracing back to the Song dynasty (960-1279), this idiom was originally used in reference to Wen Tong, an artist famed for his drawings of bamboo trees. In order to draw bamboo accurately, Wen planted many bamboos around his house. Come rain or shine he would spend hours each day observing the shoots grow – checking the conditions of their color, length and the shape of their leaves – and then sketching what he saw.

Day and night all Wen saw was the bamboo around him, until images of bamboo became seared into his mind. Others saw his sketches and, impressed by their vividness, asked him how he had achieved it. To this he responded, “I am only portraying the reflection of the bamboo in my heart.”

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学
xué
Learn

Learning can happen both inside and outside the classroom, and it never stops.
无论是在课上还是在课下, 学习从未停止.
wúlùn shì zài kè shàng haíshì zài kèxià, xuéxí cóngweì tíngzhǐ.

鼠年
shǔ nián
Year of the Rat

The twelve years of the Chinese horoscope begin with the Year of the Rat.
鼠年是中国十二生肖中的第一年.
shǔ nián shì zhōng guó shí èr shēng xiāo zhōng de dì yī nián

Dōng Tiān
Winter
冬天

It’s fun to skate on Houhai Lake during the winter in Beijing.
dōng tiān zài běi jīng hòu hǎi hú shàng huá bīng hěn hǎo wán’r
冬天在北京后海湖上滑冰很好玩.

Jiàn kāng
Health
健康

It’s important to stay in good health when in Beijing.
zài běi jīng, zhù yì shēn tǐ jiàn kāng hěn zhòng yào.
在北京, 注意身体健康很重要.

万圣节
Wàn shèng jíe
Halloween

Halloween is a festival the whole family can enjoy.
Wàn shèng jíe shì lìng quán jīa rén dōu kuaì lè de jíe rì.
万圣节是令全家人都快乐的节日.万圣节

Xuéqi
Semester
学期

He started at a new school this semester.
Tā zhège xuéqī kāishǐ qù le yī ge xīn de xuéxiào shàng xué.
他这个学期开始去了一个新的学校上学.