Going Separate Ways

Characters:

Pronunciation: Fen(1) Dao(4) Yang(2) Biao(1)

Explanation: Literally means each urging his horse on and going his own way. It is said of people who go their own ways because of their different aims and different interests.

The Story: Yuan Zhi was appointed governor of Luoyang when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved his capital to Luoyang during the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

One day when Yuan Zhi went out, his carriage met head-on with that of Li Biao, the Imperial Censor. According to the regulations, common people should give way to officials and officials of lower ranks to officials of higher ranks. But Yuan Zhi refused to give way. So Li Biao was very angry.

The two of them started to quarrel and no one would give up. So they went to see Emperor Xiaowen and asked him to decide which side was right. Li Biao said: "I am an official of the court while Yuan Zhi is only a local official. What right does he have to block my path?"

Yuan Zhi countered: "The emperor has appointed me to govern the capital. All the people living in Luoyang are listed in my census register. Why do I have to give way?"

Emperor found it difficult to decide which side was right, and said: "Divide the path so that each of you can go along different ways."

When they came out of the court, Yuan Zhi found a measuring rod and divided the road in the middle. From then on, each of them traveled along a different path.

Usage Example (Pinyin): liang(3) ren(2) fen(1) dao(4) yang(2) biao(1), cong(2) ci(3) cheng(2) wei(2) mo(4) lu(4).

Usage Example (English translation): The two went separate ways; since then they have become strangers.

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.