羽毛未丰

这个成语出自《战国策。秦策—》:秦王曰：“寡人闻之，毛羽不丰满者，不可以高飞。”

“丰”，丰满。比喻势力还小，或常识、阅历尚浅。

战国时洛阳人苏秦，年青时曾师从智者鬼谷子学习辩术 谋略。学习结束后，周游列国，希望有朝一日，他的治国谋略能获得 君王们的接纳。

秦是西方的大国。凭借有利的地理环境，发展农业，国力逐渐强 盛。但在当时，实国尚不能与其它大国抗衡。 苏寿秦这次远游秦国，是要说动秦王，与函谷关以东的—些国家 联合，同其他的国家联盟作较量。

但是秦惠王并没有听取他的建议，而是说：“我们秦国现在就像 一只羽毛还没长全的小鸟，要想展翅高飞那是不行的。先生你迢迢千里来到这里开导我，我很感激。至于称霸争帝的事，我希望在以后的适当时机，再聆听你的高见。”

在秦国耗费了所有资财，上书十多次，但仍未说动秦王。苏泰无奈，只得灰溜溜地离开秦国回家。这时的苏秦，也就犹如羽毛还未丰的小鸟，无法振翅飞于那动荡的政治舞台。

Being unfledged

Now we’ll learn a new phrase, which literally means “being unfledged.” We use the idiom to describe something that hasn’t fully developed. We also use it to describe those who are young and immature. In Chinese, the idiom reads, “yu mao wei feng.” Here is how the idiom came about.

During the Warring States Period in ancient China, Su Qin was a lobbyist. He went to the State of Qin and tried to persuade the king to gobble up other states to unite China.

He said to the king, “Your state has good geographical conditions. The land is fertile and the resources are abundant. Your people are well fed and your army is well trained. With your wisdom, your highness, you can surely unite the country by gobbling up the other states.”

But Su Qin came at a wrong time. At that time, the two political groups in Qin were fighting each other. The king didn’t trust the lobbyist and what’s more, the country was not as strong as Su Qin described. Therefore, the king of Qin didn’t think it was time to gobble up other states to unite the country.

So then he politely said to Su Qin, “I have heard people saying, ‘An unfledged young bird can’t fly high and far. You can’t punish people without a good law. People without morality can’t lead the country.’ I appreciate your suggestions very much and especially appreciate that you came all the way here. But our strength is not great enough to do what you have advocated. Let us prepare for another few years so that we become fully-fledged. We’ll seek your advice then.”

No matter how Su Qin tried to persuade the king, he could not succeed. Eventually he used up his money and had to leave the kingdom. After he went home, his family gave him the cold shoulder and Su Qin felt so depressed that he made up his mind to oppose the State of Qin. He went to the other six states and persuaded them to join together to fight against Qin. This for a while gave the king of Qin a big headache.

Later on, people used the idiom “yu mao wei feng” – being unfledged – to describe something that hasn’t fully developed. We can also use it to describe those who are young and inexperienced.

(Source: english.cri.cn)

一言为重 (Yì yán wéi zhòng)

What is said carries weight—A promise must be kept.

Shang Yang (approx.390-338BC) served as an important official in the State of Qin during the Warring States Period.

Owing to his reformist ideas, he was held in high regard by the king. In the year 359BC, all preparations were completed for a political reform. But Shang Yang hesitated to carry out his plan. He was afraid that people would not believe the new law could be implemented. He decided to do something to win their confidence before publishing the new law.

One day he had a ten metre long pole erected at the south gate of a market outside the capital. Then he told the crowd that whoever carried the pole to the north gate of the market would be given 10 ounces of silver. The crowd was astonished by his announcement and nobody dared to touch the pole.

Shang Yang then raised his voice and said in a more convincing tone: “Any one who carries this pole to the north gate of the market will get 50 ounces of silver.”

A brave man volunteered to do it. And as soon as the man moved the pole from the south gate to the north gate of the market, Shang Yang gave him 50 ounces of silver. The man was overjoyed while the others regretted.

In this way, Shang Yang succeeded in making the people believe what he said carries weight.

The new law was promulgated and it worked. The state of Qin soon became the strongest of the warring states and finally unified China.

A later reformer Wang Anshi(1021-1086)who lived in the Northern Soon Dynasty, wrote a poem in praise of Shang Yang. And the idiom 一言为重 (Yì yán wéi zhòng) was taken from that poem.

(Source: english.cri.cn)

胸有成竹 (Xiōng yǒu chéng zhú)

Have an image of bamboo in one’s mind (before drawing)—Well prepared

One Song Dynasty painter named Wen Yuke loved bamboo very much. He planted many groves of bamboo around his house, and watched them during every season. This inspired him to paint many different bamboo styles. He often formed images of bamboo in his mind, before he actually started painting. He could finish his masterpieces in one sitting, and the bamboo always looked truth to life.

Chao Buzhi wrote a poem about the artist, saying when Yuke draws bamboo, “ he has the finished picture in his mind.”

Another idiom based on the same story is 成竹在胸(chéng zhú zài xiōng) which also means “as well prepared as an artist who has an image of bamboo in his mind before painting”. This is taken from comments on how Wen Yuke painted by Song Dynasty scholar Su Shi, otherwise known as Su Dongpo.

Both 胸有成竹(Xiōng yǒu chéng zhú) and 成竹在胸(chéng zhú zài xiōng) are used to describe someone who acts with confidence because of his preparation.

(Source: english.cri.cn)