Some idioms come from historical facts. Some of them summarize a historical event into idioms; Some cut or change famous sentences in history into idioms. Here are some idioms from historical facts:

(1) According to Records of Historical Records and Biography of Lin Xiangru, during the Warring States Period, King Huiwen, the monarch of Zhao State, got a piece of jade, and Zhao Haoqi, the monarch of Qin State, wrote to the prince of Zhao saying that he was willing to exchange fifteen cities for this piece of jade. Zhao is weaker than Qin. It knows that Qin's words are unreliable, but it dare not expose Qin's lies publicly. In this case, Lin Xiangru, the minister of Zhao, went to Qin to deal with this matter. When he left, he said,' If Qin gives Zhao fifteen cities, he will give this jade to Qin. If he can't get these cities, he will return the jade to Zhao flawless. The original Historical Records was returned to Zhao intact. Lin Xiangru went to the state of Qin and presented the jade to the king of Qin, but he saw that the king of Qin didn't really mean to give fifteen cities to Zhao, so he tactfully made up an excuse to get the jade back from the king of Qin and secretly sent his entourage back to Zhao. Later, people used "things returned to their original owners" to mean that the original things were returned to their owners intact. These four words have become idioms.

(2) There are countless records in Historical Records and Biography of Fan Sui: During the Warring States Period, Fan Sui (Ren Wei), the prime minister of Qin State, asked his enemy, Dr. JOE of Wei State,' Do you know how many sins you have committed? Su Jia said, "It is my sin to pull out one of my hairs. Not enough hair. The original text of Historical Records is Jia Zhifa, which is not enough to continue Jia's crime. ) Later, I used' countless' as a metaphor for many evils. Countless' has become an idiom.

These two idioms, derived from historical facts, are made by deleting or changing Chinese sentences in history books. This idiom does not account for a large proportion of all idioms. Idioms such as \' throwing a pen to join the army \' \' quitting three companies \' \' losing your mouth and getting cold teeth \' \' rushing into the market with all your strength \' are all from historical facts.

(2) Previous stories

Some idioms come from the stories of predecessors. Such stories are true, but their stories are not very important in history. Some of these idioms are funny, and some have good rhetorical effects, so they are widely used. Now give a few examples to illustrate their sources.

(1) In the Song Dynasty, there was a painter named Wen Tong who was good at painting bamboo. Chao, a writer at that time, wrote a poem saying, "When you can draw bamboo, you have a plan in your heart. Later, "planned" became a widely used idiom to describe those who have their own opinions and are sure to handle things.

(2) Xie Wuyi, who made a lot of noise in the Song Dynasty, asked Pan Da if he had written any poems recently. Pan Dalin wrote him a letter saying: Everything since autumn is a good poem. Yesterday, I was lying at leisure and heard the sound of wind and rain in the Woods. I got up happily and wrote on the wall:' The storm in the city is coming to Chongyang'. Suddenly, the person who urged me to pay the rent came, and I was greatly disappointed. Only this sentence is sent to you. Later, the word "all over the city" became a widely used idiom, meaning that many people are talking about something new.

In addition, such as \' mighty and unyielding \' \' too big to lose \' \' carrying firewood \' \' the door is empty \' are idioms derived from previous stories.

(3) Fables and legends

There are also some profound fables in ancient books, which are also the source of idioms. This idiom often has a lesson or moral meaning. Now give a few examples to explain.

(a) "Liezi Tian Rui" said:' During the Zhou Dynasty, there was a man in the State of Qi who was afraid that the sky would fall and had nowhere to live. He didn't even have the mind to sleep and eat. Later, I used the idiom' worrying about the sky' to describe unnecessary worry.

(2) Zhuangzi Qiushui, a Toddler in Handan, said:' There was a young man in Shouling, Yan State, who went to Handan, the capital of Zhao State, to walk as a toddler (Zhao Renshan walked). Instead of learning skills, he lost his original footwork and had to climb home with his hands. Later, I took' Handan toddler' as an idiom, which means imitating others when they are not at home, and even losing their original skills.

(3) A story in Lu Chunqiu. "Self-knowledge" said that Doctor Fan of the State of Jin died, and the people got a bell and wanted to take it away. It's just that the clock is too big to carry. So he broke it with a hammer, and the bell rang again. People are afraid that others will hear the noise and grab the clock, so they quickly block their ears and think that they can't hear it, so others can't hear it. There is also this story in Huai Nan Zi's Talking about Mountain Training. That's how the idiom' stealing an ear bell' came from, except that the word' bell' was changed to' bell'. This idiom means that the deceiver uses very clumsy methods, but he thinks he can deceive others. There is also a phrase in the idiom "Catch birds by hiding their eyes", which comes from the History of the Three Kingdoms and has the same meaning as "stealing clocks", except that the mass base is poor and few people use it.

Idioms from fables often contain a sense of humor and profound educational significance. For example, Waiting for the Rabbit, Carving a Boat for a Sword, Painting a Snake to Add Foot, and so on. This idiom, in all idioms, accounts for a small proportion.

(4) the original sentence of the ancients

Some idioms are all made up of old sentences, such as:

(1)' The drunkenness is not in the wine' See Preface to the Drunk Pavilion by Ouyang Xiu, a writer in the Song Dynasty:' The drunkenness is not in the wine, but in the landscape. Meaning: The drunken man's mind is not on drinking, but on enjoying the scenery here. Later generations used the idiom "The drunkard's intention is not the wine", which means "ulterior motives" and "other purposes".

(2) bottoming out Su Shi's "Red Cliff Fu":' The mountain is high and the moon is small, bottoming out. Getting to the bottom of the matter' was originally a purely scenic phrase, but later generations took it as an idiom and finally told the truth.

(c) Not only the idioms in Go Up a storey, but also Wang Zhihuan's Go Up a storey. The original poem is:' the mountains cover the day, and the sea drains the golden river. This idiom means to improve and expand on the existing basis.

There are idioms such as "Laugh for a thousand dollars", "Strange", "Write a chapter" and "Make a blockbuster". , are using the sentences of predecessors. This idiom accounts for a large proportion of all idioms. Even though it has obvious idiom characteristics, the aphorisms of predecessors that people occasionally quote are not idioms, but quotations. But if people use it frequently and get familiar with it, they will regard it as an idiom.

(5) Intercept or change ancient sentences.

Some idioms don't use the sentences of the ancients directly, but intercept or slightly change the sentences of the ancients before using them. The reason for interception or modification is mainly to make it conform to the structural form of idioms. (See "four-character idiom" above) For example:

(1) There are two sentences in the first part of Mencius Gaozi, which are:' Life is as I wish; Righteousness is also what I want. You can't have both, and you have to sacrifice your life for righteousness. From these two sentences, later generations took out the word "sacrifice one's life for righteousness" as an idiom, indicating that the noble quality of life would be sacrificed in order to safeguard justice.

(2) One exposure (pù) There are a few words in the first part of Mencius Gaozi, that is,' Although there are things that are easy to live in the world, if they are exposed for one day, they will be cold for ten days, and no one can live. Although there are things that are easy to grow in the world, nothing can grow after being left to dry for ten days. Later generations choose from these words.

On the Origin of Idioms

As an idiom, the word' one exposure to ten cold' means that a person has no perseverance, spends less time working hard and wastes more time.

(3) There is a sentence in the first part of Mencius:' Andy takes a penny from me and benefits the world. Andy is extremely selfish. Even if taking a hair from him could benefit the world, he wouldn't do it. Later generations changed "don't pull a dime" in this sentence to "don't pull a dime" as an idiom to describe extremely selfish and stingy people.

(4) There are two poems by Su Lin in the Song Dynasty:' The moon comes first near the water tower, and flowers and trees are easy to spring in the sun. Later, the word' get the moon by the advantage of the water' was cut off as an idiom, meaning that people can benefit before ordinary people when conditions are convenient.

Celebrities, A Day's Length, Birds of a feather, A Day in Sanqiu and Good Words all belong to this category. This idiom also accounts for a large proportion in all idioms.

(6) Refined phrases used by people

When it comes to the source of idioms, people always think of the so-called idioms with sources mentioned above first. In fact, a large proportion of idioms are now unable to find the real original source. Most of these idioms were created by the people. Some of them also have a strong oral color and flavor of life. For example, "looking for a needle in a haystack" means "starting a new stove", "daring", "swallowing dates" and so on. This idiom, because of its good rhetorical devices and expressive effects, has been widely used by people, not only in written language, but also in spoken language, and even in spoken language very early. If someone sees this idiom in ancient books and thinks that the author of a book is the creator of this idiom, I am afraid it may not be reliable. For example, some idioms found in quotations of Song people and some idioms found in dramas of Yuan people may not have originated in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, but they may all be early.

(7) Proverbs and aphorisms

Some idioms were written in books two or three thousand years ago. Although it looks elegant in classical Chinese, it is actually a proverb or proverb used orally by the masses. For example, "better late than never" and "one thousand dollars" all fall into this category. Why do you know these idioms are proverbs or proverbs? Because the ancients who used these idioms have already said it in ancient books. For example, The Warring States Policy Chu Ce said:' I have heard an old saying: It is not too late to mend. It shows that the sheep raised in the sheepfold have run away. It is not too late to mend the sheepfold before the other sheep run away. ) Cao Pi's Essays on Canon said:' There is a saying in China that a broom at home is a golden daughter' (meaning: As the saying goes, there is a broken broom at home, which I think is as valuable as a golden daughter. Enjoy is "when" or "as" "Historical Records: Biography of King Bai Qi" said:' As the saying goes, the ruler is short and the inch is long. The so-called rude words, slang or proverbs and proverbs refer to folk proverbs or proverbs. In fact, some idioms come from proverbs or common sayings, and in ancient books, some idioms are not necessarily labeled as' slang'.

In addition, there are some proverbs and sayings, which are not as neat and elegant as general idioms, and are obviously said by the people. But because they are easy to understand. It has a good expression effect, so it is widely used by people and has become an idiom. For example, "bull's head is not right for horse's mouth", "sit and watch the tiger fight", "everyone gathers firewood and the flame is high" and "crow is as black as a crow" all belong to this category.

(8) Foreign idioms

Some idioms we use come from foreign countries. For example, during the Wei, Jin, Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, China translated many Buddhist scriptures popular in the Western Regions and India. Many sentences and allusions in Buddhist scriptures have long been Chinese idioms. For example: \' spotless \' \' self-expression \' \' Be elated \' \' Unbelievable \' \' Don't leave \' \' Go back to the shore \'. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, cultural exchanges between China and the West have become increasingly frequent, and some western allusions, aphorisms and fine sentences in Chinese versions of western works have become idioms used by China people. For example: \' gold is also \' \' an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth \' \' new wine in old bottles \' \' burning chestnuts \' \' metabolism \' \' natural selection \' \' the law of the jungle \' \' to trade.

(9) the transformation of idioms

As mentioned above, idioms are fixed phrases or sentences, and generally cannot be changed casually. But sometimes in order to express or write, you can change one or two words and change them skillfully. This modified idiom often has a strong expressive effect, because changing the idiom into one or two words can attract readers' attention. This method has existed since ancient times. For example, the idiom "extremes meet" comes from "the cycle of the crown". It means that when things go to extremes, they must turn to the opposite side. Later generations, someone changed it to' extremes meet', and it felt more positive and powerful. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Wan Xin, a famous writer in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, wrote "Mourning for the South of the Yangtze River" and changed this idiom to "extremes meet" to express his helpless indignation. Another example is the idiom' get twice the result with half the effort', which comes from Mencius' Gongsun Chou and means get twice the result with half the effort. Later, someone changed the position of the word "half" and "twice" in this idiom to "get twice the result with half the effort" to show that the work is arduous and the results are minimal. But in ancient times, there were few examples of using idioms in this way. Now that we have entered the great socialist era, some previous ideological mistakes and limitations have been clearly exposed. Therefore, more people use idioms to express new ideas. For example,' change' haste makes waste' to' haste makes waste'; Change' kill two birds with one stone' to' kill three birds with one stone' and' kill many birds with one stone'; Change' kill two birds with one stone' to' kill three birds with one arrow' and' kill many birds with one arrow'; Change' retreat despite difficulties' to' advance despite difficulties' and so on.

Times have changed. Living in the new society is different from living in the old society, and people's thoughts, feelings and mental outlook have changed greatly. Old rules and regulations can no longer bind us, and some old idioms are obviously not suitable for today's society. For example, those who have a capitalist style, dare to despise difficulties and dare to win will never' retreat from difficulties'. It is natural that the new idiom "Advance despite difficulties" comes into being. This can be regarded as turning negative into positive, and at the same time, it has also received the effect of "making the past serve the present."

(10) Freshmen Idioms

Most of the idioms we use now have been circulated or produced in succession for two or three thousand years. With the development and evolution of society, according to the actual needs of social life, idioms expressing new ideology will naturally emerge one after another. Since the liberation of the whole country, many new idioms with positive significance have been produced in the practice of class struggle, production struggle and scientific experiment, such as:

Bring forth the old and bring forth the new, as quickly as possible.

Every minute counts, strive for the upper reaches, and let a hundred flowers blossom.

Manage the family diligently, repair the old and use the waste to go to the countryside

Study hard and practice hard, and seize the day to turn waste into treasure.

The next game of chess can help the whole country more than studying.

Wait a minute. At the same time, a small number of critical new idioms, such as' cowardice' and' little delay', have emerged. This kind of new idioms has a distinct spirit of the times and positive significance. Therefore, after it was produced, it immediately spread like a raging fire and was loved by the broad masses of people at all levels.