Neither a Donkey Nor a Horse
| Characters: |
 |
Pronunciation:
fei
(1) lu(2) fei(1) ma(3)
Explanation:
Said of something which looks unseemly
Tone: Negative
The Story: During the Han Dynasty,
there was a small kingdom named Guizi located
in the west of Han. The King Jiangbin was
very friendly to Han and paid several visits
to the country. One year, when he visited
Han again, the emperor, Hanwudi hosted him
for a whole year in the palace to show his
hospitality. Jiangbin became fond of Han's
palace life (wouldn't you?).
After his return to Guizi, he changed the
style of his palace totally in order to copy
Han--the decorations, clothing, etiquette
of his concubines, his servants, and even
his ministers. When other kingdoms saw Jiangbin's
blind imitation, they said his behavior was
'neither a donkey nor a horse, but rather
like a mule'.
Don't forget: Always be yourself!
Usage Example (Pinyin): Hei, huo(3)
ji(4), ni(3) de xin(1) fa(4) xing(2) kan(4)
qi(3) lai(2) fei(1) lu(2) fei(1) ma(3).
Usage Example (English translation): Hi
guy, your new hairstyle makes you neither
a donkey nor a horse.
Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin
language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted
to re-create those above where after each
syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4)
as they correspond to each of the 4 tones.
We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com
Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline
study program.
