It’s been a while, but it’s time for another installment of Chinese idioms, or 成语 (chéng yǔ). For this edition, we’ll look at three very different animals – a horse, a mantis, and a bird:

按图索骥 – Àn tú suǒ jì – “judge a horse by the book”

Not quite a noble steed...

Once upon a time, in the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期 – chūn qiū shí qí) (770-476 BC), there lived a man named Sun Yang (孙阳 – sūn yáng). He was an expert at judging horses (相马大师 – xiāng mǎ dà shī), and he wrote a book on the subject. People even called him Bole (伯乐 – Bó lè), the name of a celestial being that was said to be in charge of heavenly steeds. One day, his son decided to go out in search of a great steed. However, the boy had never actually seen a horse, so he just relied on the book. The boy was thrilled to find a creature with a protruding forehead, two bulging eyes, and four big hoofs – “It must be a great steed!,” he thought. Full of pride, he took the creature back to show his father. The boy said, “Dad, I’ve found a good horse, except that his hooves are not good enough” (爸爸，我找到了一匹好马，只是蹄子稍差些 – bà ba, wǒ zhǎo dào le yī pǐ hǎo mǎ, zhǐ shì tí zi shāo chà xiē). Sun Yang was unsure whether to laugh or cry, as his boy had brought home a toad (蛤蟆 – há ma). Sun Yang told him, “Son, this horse is not bad, but it likes jumping too much, and you can’t ride it!” (儿子，这马不错，就是太喜欢跳了，没法骑 – ér zi, zhè mǎ bù cuò, jiù shì tài xǐ huan tiào le, méi fǎ qí).

Meaning: To adopt a mechanical approach that is inflexible; doing things strictly by the book.

Usage: It can be used ironically to describe a person who is inexperienced and follows everything by the book, or it can be used in a neutral way to describe someone who looks for something through clues.

螳臂当车 – táng bì dāng chē – “a mantis trying to stop a carriage”

What a cocky mantis...

As this story goes, there was a very strong mantis (螳 – táng) who could destroy all other mantises in fights. Of course, this mantis got a little cocky as a result of this. One day, a coach was driving by on his horse carriage (马车 – mǎ chē). The over-confident mantis decided to raise his arms in an attempt to stop the rolling carriage. The driver ignored the stupid mantis, and kept driving straight (车夫没有理会这只愚蠢的螳螂，径直往前行驶 – chē fū méi yǒu lǐ huì zhè zhǐ yú chǔn de táng láng, jìng zhí wǎng qián xíng shǐ). Of course, the mantis was run over and killed as a result of his foolishness.

Meaning: Overstating one’s abilities and trying to do what is beyond one’s power.

Usage: Used to describe an over-confident, self-important person.

得过且过 – dé guò qiě guò – “muddling along”

Silly bird.

Atop of the famous Wutai Mountain (五台山 – wǔ tái shān), there lived a bird named Hanhao (寒号 – hán hào). In the summertime, the bird would be covered in beautiful, colorful feathers (羽毛 – yǔ máo). He would proudly sing out everyday, “The Phoenix is not as good as me!” (凤凰不如我 – fèng huáng bù rú wǒ). In the autumn, the bird would continue to sing loud and proud, while others would go about building their nests. Finally, in the dead of winter, even though the bird was really cold, he would not build his nest (它虽然很冷，但还是不搭窝 – tā suī rán hěn lěng, dàn hái shì bù dā wō). With his feathers shed, Hanhao was left shivering through the night. When the sun would rise, he would go right back to singing and dancing…

Meaning: Muddling along; being satisfied just to get through

Usage: This can be used to describe a person who dawdles the hours away with no plans for the future.

Honoring the deceased for Qing Ming Jie.

Today is a national holiday in China, the Clear Brightness Festival (清明节 – qīng míng jié). Taking place two weeks after the vernal equinox, this is one of the few Chinese holidays that follows the solar calendar. Although there are many English translations this holiday, such as the Clear Bright Festival and Ancestors Day, the name most commonly used is Tomb Sweeping Day, and for good reason. While this festival is about celebrating the arrival of spring and the start of the planting season, its most important aspect is honoring the deceased. Before we discuss the customs associated with Qing Ming, let’s take a look at the long history of this important Chinese festival.

History

As with just about everything in China, there is a fascinating story behind the history of this festival. Thousands of years ago, a prince named Chong’er (重耳 – lit. “double ears”) of the Jin had fled the kingdom and was on the move for 19 years. One particularly hot day, Chong’er found himself tormented by hunger. Luckily for him, one of his loyal followes, Jie Zhitui (介之推) prepared some delicious meat soup for him. Thankful for the sustenance, Chong’er was always curious as to where his friend obtained meat, seeing as how they were in exile and were constantly moving around. To his surprise, Jie had cut off a piece of his own thigh to make the soup; that’s how dedicated he was to serving his Prince. One day, promised Chong’er, he would reward his friend for his selfless deed.

So, you really fed me your thigh?!

Eventually, Chong’er ascended to the throne as Duke of Jin. At this time, Jie resigned and went to live in the forest with his mother. After returning many favors to people who had helped him in his struggles, the Prince decided it was time to repay Jie. He extended invites to Jie and even went out in the forest in search of him, but to no avail. In a desperate attempt to get Jie out of the forest, the Duke ordered a fire in order to force him out. Unfortunately, this plan didn’t work out so well – Jie and his mother both ended up dying in the fire. Feeling guilty, Chong’er named a mountain after his deceased friend, and he ordered that a period of three days every year be used to remember Jie. During this time, fire was banned (for obvious reasons), and all food was eaten cold. Hence the name, the Cold Food Festival (寒食节 – hán shí jié). The county where Jie died in Shanxi Province is still called Jiexiu (介休), meaning “the place where Jie rests forever.” This practice of remembering the deceased eventually evolved into the Qing Ming Festival.

Although this festival was suppressed by the Communist Party of Mao Zedong back in 1949, it was reinstated as a public holiday in 2008.

Customs

Visiting grave sites is a big part of the festival.

According to Chinese folklore, the spirits of deceased ancestors continue to look after the family from the great beyond. As such, it is believed that sacrifices of food and paper money will keep the spirits happy, thus blessing the family with good luck. On Qing Ming, Chinese families will visit the grave site of ancestors to do some landscaping and spring cleaning. With the massive increase in China’s population over the past few decades, private grave sites have given way to public cemeteries, and most people are cremated these days. Families will make an offering of bland, dry food at the tomb of their ancestor; this keeps the other ghosts in the area from being tempted to have a taste for themselves. It’s a different story at home, though, as families will cook up the favorite dish of their deceased ancestor and offer it at an altar in their home.

Fat stacks of paper money.

Another tradition is the burning of joss money (金纸 – jīn zhǐ – lit. “gold paper”) at the tomb. With families often burning billions worth of this fake currency, it is believed that this practice allows the deceased to continue living a comfortable existence in the afterlife. However, just as with the fireworks during the Spring Festival, this poses serious fire hazards every year -  so much so that Chinese police have been beefing up the security for this festival in recent years. Burning paper money has actually been illegal in Beijing since 1995, and chrysanthemums (with their flame-like petals) have overtaken the capitol for the holiday.

Burning down the (paper) house.

Paper iPhones and iPads are now a big part of the festivities.

The tech savvy youth of China have also found more economical and environmentally friendly ways to remember the dead – on the internet. In an example of just how much technology and its byproducts influence our daily life, some stores are even selling paper iPhones and iPads to offer to those on the other side. In addition to being able to enjoy a nice bowl of rice and chicken, great-great-great grandfathers everywhere in China will now also be able to join the rest of the world in playing Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.

Here is a famous poem about Qing Ming, written by Du Mu.

"A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; The mourner's heart is breaking on his way. Where can a wine house be found to drown his sadness? A cowherd points to Almond Flower (Xing Hua) Village in the distance."

In 1972, President Nixon (尼克松 pronounced: Ní kè sōng) did something Western powers had been unable to do since the Opium Wars: open China to the rest of the world. Sure it took years of negotiations, the (timely) death of Chairman Máo Zé Dōng (毛泽东), and the ascension of Deng Xiao Ping as a policy leader before the lingering effects of Nixon’s visit were realized, but for all of his ills, character flaws and shady back door dealings, he got the ball rolling and ushered China into the global modern world.

Richard Nixon’s accomplishment still stands as one of the greatest diplomatic achievements of the 20th century. Now, in the 21st Century and with roles reversed, President Hu Jintao (and his successor) and the Chinese are reviving US-Sino diplomatic relations. Lets take a look at how modern Chinese-US relations began.

Thawing of US-Sino Relations:

In 1972, the world was a much different place as the ideological battle between capitalism and communism had crept into Asia. The Vietnam conflict was still fresh in everyone’s mind, while deteriorating relations between Beijing and the Kremlin were at an all-time high. Mao Ze Dong was suffering from an undisclosed illness, forcing many to question the direction China was headed in the coming years. The options were as follows: remain economically, culturally and politically isolated from the rest of the world (following pseudo-Soviet policies) or break with communist tradition and open up the mainland. Had it not been for suspicion and conflict between the CPC and USSR, Nixon might never have gotten the chance melt the icy US-Sino relations.

When Nixon landed in Beijing, he was the first US president to visit the mainland while in office. His uncharacteristic (and somewhat unexpected) visit to China did something very important: it established guān xì (关系) or “mutual trust relations” between the two nations. This created a framework (albeit bare-bones) in which future dialogues and conversations between the two nations could occur.

Upon his arrival in Beijing, Nixon was instantly ushered along to meet with the ailing Mao Ze Dong, who had been sick the 9 days preceding the visit. This offered the first real glimpse of what was “behind the bamboo curtain” for American officials and even the American public and press. After a week of meetings, travel and press opportunities, the two sides had found some common ground in the form of a drafted Communique.

At the conclusion of his trip, the United States and the PRC Governments issued the Shanghai Communiqué, a statement of their foreign policy views and a document that has remained the basis of Sino-American bilateral relations since. In the communiqué, both nations pledged to work toward the full normalization of diplomatic relations with the US officially recognizing China and Taiwan as only one nation or “one nation, two systems”  (the truncated phrase in Chinese, 一国两制 or Yìguó liǎngzhì), allowing the two nations to set aside the Taiwan issue, which was seen as the “crucial question obstructing the normalization of relations” and move on to issues pertaining to economics and politics.

After the visit, Nixon expressed the value of the trip to China for both present and future relations, proclaiming that:

“This was the week that changed the world, as what we have said in that Communique is not nearly as important as what we will do in the years ahead to build a bridge across 16,000 miles and 22 years of hostilities which have divided us in the past. And what we have said today is that we shall build that bridge.”

Nearly 40 years later, Nixon’s legacy still lives on and continues to shape US-Chinese diplomatic relations. While capitalism has taken hold in the mainland, there is still a great deal of tension between the US and China, caused mostly be lack of information about the other side. Within contemporary politics, the language of competition and conflict rings clear, while calls for cooperation fall mostly upon deaf ears. It’s a shame considering how intertwined the two nations are, and how important they are as compliments to global economy and international system.

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