In ancient times, people gathered together to swear that they would put their blood in their mouths or put it on their lips to show their sincerity.

Get into a dead end: a metaphor for trying to study a problem that is not worth studying or can't be solved. It also refers to narrow thinking.

Take off the cow and return the horse: also called "take off the cow and scatter the horse". The release of cattle and horses to the army showed that the war was over. The book Shuwucheng says, "It was written by Wu Yan. It belongs to Sun Zhongma of Huashan Mountain, who herded cattle in Taolinye, showing the world affairs."

The shame of cattle: the anus of cattle is a metaphor of subordinate status. It means unwilling to be subordinate and unwilling to tolerate others.

Cattle are not as good as sheep: lose sheep and get cattle. Metaphor loss is small, gain is big.

Wu Niu Chuan Yue: Wu Niu: refers to buffaloes produced between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Wudi Buffalo saw that the moon was suspected to be the sun, and kept panting for fear of extreme heat. Metaphor is afraid of suspicion.

Snails crawl, and old cows walk slowly. Metaphor action or progress is extremely slow.

Ask a cow to know a horse: a metaphor to infer from the side and find out the truth.

Why kill a chicken with an ox knife? Why kill a chicken with an ox knife? This is a metaphor. It doesn't take much effort to do small things.

Second, proverbs about the Year of the Ox.

Holding ox ears: Ancient governors agreed to cut ox ears to bleed, and representatives of major allies held plates containing ox ears. Therefore, it is called the main ally. The latter generally refers to the most authoritative position in one aspect.

Cattle plow the fields and horses eat grain. It is a metaphor for being treated unfairly, suffering and enjoying happiness. Chapter 6, Chapter 2 of Li's Sixty Years' Changes: "Will you return home or go abroad in the future? Stamp your feet: "Hum! Cattle plow the fields and horses eat grain. This is the end of the revolution! "

Inside the cowshed, the horse's mouth is stuck. Cattle and horses were fed in different troughs, and a horse's mouth appeared in the cowshed, indicating redundancy. Tell people not to talk. Ai Wu's My Companion V: "The old woman loudly scolded CSI:' You have something to say! "The cowshed went into the horse's mouth!" "

It is difficult to get a truth if the grass in the cow's mouth can't be pulled out, which also means that things are difficult to do. Li's Sixty Years of Change has five chapters: "Hey! You are so stupid that you can't even pull the grass out of the cow's mouth. "

It rained in Mao Mao and dripped underground. The drizzle then penetrated into the soil. The metaphor is solid and profound. Liu Jiang's Taihang Fengyun 59: "We should check our work against Su Hua's style. Is it the rain in Mao Mao, a little bit into the ground, or is the water wet the earth? "

Cowhide is not blown, and trains are not pushed. Don't talk big out of thin air, look at the real skill. Chapter 20 of Li Mantian's Water Flows East: "Cowhide does not blow, and the train does not push. This wheel is at the scene. It has nothing to do with you, nothing to do with me, neither more nor less. Let's compare and see who is real and who is fake. "

Three, two-part allegorical sayings about the Year of the Ox

Tigers drive cattle-they are determined to win.

The old sow fought with the cow and gave it a face.

The old sow struggled with the cow and died.

The old cow is not afraid of wolves-throwing caution to the wind.

Old cows eat grass-sweep both sides

Old beef tendon-hard to chew

The old cow pulls the cart-hard work

The old cow pulls the plow-it won't move.

The old cow slowly pulled the broken car.

The old cow died-it was slaughtered.

The old cow chased the rabbit-you can't make it strong.

Fourth, the story about the Year of the Ox.

Spur spring and pray for a good year.

February 4th every year is usually the "beginning of spring" in the 24 solar terms. The last winter has finally receded, and people can't wait to welcome spring. ? The ancient custom of sending cold air to cattle unearthed in the remnant winter originated from the welcoming ceremony of native cattle held when beginning of spring was designated in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD).

Early that morning, all the officials in Beijing were dressed in Tsing Yi, green hats and green banners, herding cattle outside the city gate. Officials flogged them to show their advice to farmers, and all counties held the same ceremony. Subsequently, the people plundered the cattle and scattered the soil, saying that "the meat of native cattle is suitable for silkworms, which is also an epidemic." Struggle has become a lively festival, called "whipping spring" and "whipping cattle".

Yuan Zhen (779-83 1), a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Spring Life": "Whipping cattle outside the county gate and competing for land to build spring silkworms" is a portrayal of this grand occasion. ? From the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty (960- 1279), the custom of cattle unearthed in the spring to pray for a bumper harvest became more and more colorful. In the Han Dynasty, "six local cows were ugly outside Guodu County to send the cold."

The ugly position is in the east of the north, and the zodiac is matched with the twelve earthly branches, so the ugly position is the best position for local cattle. In the Song Dynasty, all four doors were opened, and the unearthed cows were decorated with colors and welcomed guests with drum music. People dressed up as "Ju Mang God" in charge of plant growth whipped the cattle in spring, and local officials held a ceremony to burn incense. On the one hand, it announced the beginning of a year's work, including farming, and on the other hand, it prayed for a bumper harvest that year.

There is still a "whipping spring" ceremony in the palace, which is naturally an emperor ceremony. There are many mud cows for sale in the market in Koharu, so the spring cow is not only the protagonist in the Spring Festival ceremony, but also the mascot on the occasion of the Spring Festival. In the farming culture of China for thousands of years, cattle have a natural connection with spring.