Shooting
Two Eagles with One Arrow
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Pronunciation:
yi(1) jian(4) shuang(1) diao(1)
Explanation:
A metaphor to say one action gains two profitable
results
Tone: Positive
The Story: In the North
and South Dynasty, Zhangsun Sheng was a general
of Zhou. He mastered strategy and his shooting
skill was excellent. He was a great man indeed.
One year, he brought the princess
to Tu Jue (a kingdom northwest of present-day
Turkey) for an international marriage. When
they arrived at Tu Jue, the king wanted to
test Zhangshun's shooting skill.
They went out to hunt and
they saw two eagles in the sky were fighting
for food. The King gave Zhangsun Sheng two
arrows and told him to shoot them down. Zhangsun
Sheng shoot both just with one arrow.
Usage Example (Pinyin):
Zhe(4) shi(4) ge(4) hao(3) zhu(3) yi(4), ke(3)
yi yi(1) jian(4) shuang(1) diao(1).
Usage Example (English
translation): This is a good idea, it
can shoot two eagles with one arrow.
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.
