One Step Holds the Balance
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Pronunciation:
ju(3) zu(2) qing(1) zhong(4)
Explanation:
Meaning
a very important action in a situation.
Tone:
Positive
The
Story: In AD 25, Liu Xiu became the emperor
of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but the whole
country was not united yet. Both Kui Xiao
in the Tianshui region and Gongsun Shu in
the Shu region wanted to be the leader of
the new nation.
General
Dou Rong was the leader in the Hexi region
at the time, and he studied the situation
and found that Liu Xiu held the advantage
in both politics and military strength. He
gathered his intelligence advisors for a meeting,
and then decided to send an envoy for negotiations.
Liu
Xiu warmly welcomed the envoy and wrote General
Dou Rong a letter in response. It said: "Kui
Xiao is in Tianshui while Gongsun Shu is in
Shu. Now they are planning an alliance war.
You play a vital role in this situation. You
will decide which side will win by standing
with it."
After
Dou Rong received the letter, he came to fight
with Liu Xiu.
By
getting Dou Rong's strong support, Liu Xiu
defeated Kui Xiao and Gongsun Shu--and then
he unified the country.
Usage
Example (Pinyin): Zheng(4) fu(3) de jue(4)
ding(4) dui(4) wo(3) men de xiang(4) mu(4)
ju(3) zu(2) qing(1) zhong(4)
Usage
Example (English translation): The government's
decision plays a "one-step holds the
balance" role in our project.
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.
