Recently in Chinese Folktales Category

In the Spring and Autumn period, a thief had stolen a bell and intended to carry it away on his back, but the bell was too bulky and heavy to be carried, so he tried to break it into pieces with a hammer to make it easier for carrying. On his first hit, however, the bell made a loud noise. He thus feared that the ringing sound might be heard by someone, who would come to rob him of his bell. His fright made him plug his own ears, while hitting the bell with the hammer. The bell sound was, nevertheless, audible to others and therefore to stuff his ears for the purpose of stealing a bell was a stupid action it is as foolish as burying one's head in the sand.
from Huai Nanzi

In the third century, China was divided into three kingdoms: Wei in the north, Shu in the southwest and Wu in the southeast. Shu was a weak state. The head of Shu, Liu Bei, was searching for talents everywhere for the kingdom. He heard of a very wise and knowledgeable man called Zhuge Liang who lived in Longzhong in Hubei province. So Liu decided to invite him to be his prime minister to help strengthen the State of Shu. In the year 207AD, Liu Bei with his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei traveled to Longzhong to ask Zhuge Liang to assist him. But Zhuge was not at home. Thus they had to return disappointedly.
Later, they came again. But again they failed to see Zhuge, because he had been wandering about for days and hadn't yet come back. This time, Liu Bei left a note expressing his meaning.
Some days passed, Liu wanted to make a third visit. Guan and Zhang wanted to stop him, but in vain. This time, Zhuge Liang was at home but he was sleeping. Liu let Guan and Zhang stand at the door, and he stood by the bed. When Zhuge woke up and saw him, he was moved by his sincerity. He complied with Liu's request and became his prime minister. With the help of Zhuge, Liu enlarged his territory and his kingdom became as strong as the Wu and Shu.
Later, people use it to describe people who invite someone in all sincerity and eagerness.

Once u pon a time, there lived an old man on the northern frontier of China. One day, his horse disappeared. His neighbors came to comfort him. But the old man was not upset at all. He said the loss might turn out to be a good thing. And he was right. A few months later, his horse came back with another horse that was even better. His neighbors came to congratulate him on his gain. But once again, the old man viewed the event differently. He said this "good luck" might turn out to be misfortune in the end. Strangely, he was right again. A few days later, his son fell from the new horse and broke his leg. But fortunately, since his son was lame after that accident, he was not chosen to be a soldier to fight in the following war so that he lived with family safely.
Nowadays people use "The old man on the frontier lost his horse" to comfort those who have some misfortune. It implies: Bad luck sometimes turns out to be good luck, and good luck can sometimes be bad.

There was a minister named Li Yifu during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He was good at flattering people. So his official position was raised higher and higher. At last, he was made the prime minister. He was a vicious man. When he talked with people he always wore a sweet smile, but he was conjuring up evil ideas in his heart.
Once Li heard that a beautiful woman was put in prison, he sent for the prison officer and ordered him to set the woman free. The man followed his order and Li took the woman home.
Later, someone reported the case to the emperor. The prison officer was very afraid because he knew he had committed a crime by setting the criminal free. He had to go to Li Yifu for help. But Li ignored the thing and asked the man not to disturb him. The poor man was so disappointed that he hanged himself.
Another officer heard the tragic suicide of the prison officer, wanted to reveal the truth to the emperor. But Li knew his plan and he began making false accusations against him. The foolish emperor believed Li's words and exiled the officer to a distant area.
Later, the idiom has been used to describe a man with murderous intent behind his smile.

During the period of Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589), there was a man of letters named Jiang Yan, whose father died young. Little Jiang Yan was strenuous and diligent, capable of writing beautiful poems and essays at his early age. He, who was thought highly of by those men of letters of that time, was called Mr. Jiang.
However, the great fame and high position prevent him from go on making progress. His articles and poems written later were not a match to his earlier ones. People said that he was at his wit's end.

During the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao, was famous for people's walking style. They walked in vigorous elegant strides. People in other places admired them very much. They thought the Handanners' way of walking was the best under the heaven. Several young lads from the State of Yan even wanted to copy the elegant walking style of the Zhao people. So they traveled a long way to Handan to learn how to walk.
While in Handan, these young lads watched the local people carefully， eager to find out how they walked. But however they tried, they just couldn't walk the way the Handanners did. To make things worse, when they decide to give up and go home, they found they had forgotten their own way of walking. They had to crawl all the way back.
From this fable comes the idiom "Learn to walk in Handan". We use this idiom to describe someone who imitates others blindly only to lose his own individuality.

In ancient times, Guizhou （a province in China）had no donkeys. One day, a man full of fancy ideas shipped a donkey to the region. But he soon discovered the donkey was no use, so he took it to a mountain and left it there.
A tiger saw the donkey and thought it was a mysterious beast. He hid himself carefully in the woods, and dared only to watch the donkey from a distance. One day, the donkey brayed. The tiger thought the donkey was going to bite him. But the donkey did nothing more.
The tiger soon got used to the noise, and moved closer. At last, he decided to provoke the strange beast. The donkey couldn't put up with this, and gave the tiger a kick. But the kick didn't hurt very much. The tiger knew this donkey was weak. He sprang on the donkey and made a good meal of the donkey.
Later, people use it to describe someone who is at his wit's end.

A man from the state from Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water by his carelessness. Immediately he made a mark on the boat.
"This is where my sword fell off", he said.
When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.
The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword?
from L_shi chunqiu

During th e Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), there was a high official in the State of Jin. He once saw a farmer working in the field and his wife bringing his lunch to him in a very respectful manner. He showed great interest in the matter. He took the farmer back to Jin with him, and said to the King of Jin, "Respect is a demonstration of virtue. If one is respectful, he must be virtuous. We should educate our people with virtue。" But the King asked, "His father is guilty, is it wise to do so?" He replied, "Guan Zhong had been enemy to the Duke Huan of Qi, but the duke appointed Guan Zhong prime minister and finally accomplished his hegemony. Shun exiled Gun but promoted his son Yu. You just make use of his strong points." At last, Duke Wen took his advice and put the farmer in an important position.
Later, this idiom means a couple treats each other with respect like guests.

Once upon a time, the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan, legendary ruler of primitive China, went boating on the Eastern Sea. While she was enjoying herself, a strong wind rose on the sea and her boat capsized. Just before she was buried by the surging waves, her spirit turned into a beautiful bird. As it flew over the roaring sea, it cried sadly in the sound "jinwei, jingwei". That was why people called it "Jingwei".
The bird lived on a mountain near the sea. It hated the sea so much that it decided to fill it up. Every day, it flew to and fro between the mountain and the sea, carrying in a twig or a pebble from the mountain and dropping it into the sea.
One day, the roaring sea said to Jingwei, "Poor little bird, stop doing that meaningless thing! You'll never fill me up." Jingwei replied, "I'll fill you up no doubt! I will, even if it'll take me thousands of years! I'll fight on until doomsday!"
The brave little bird kept carrying twigs and pebbles from the mountain to the Eastern Sea without taking a rest.
From this fable comes the idiom "The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea". We use it to describe people who are firm and indomitable and will not stop until they reach their goal.