The Chinese Sayings Podcast

Back to Shandong Province and the Spring and Autumn Period to the epic Battle of Chang Shao 684 BCE to learn how underdog Lu State, by the beat of a drum, out-strategized their bigger and more powerful neighbor to the north. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about you...

Here's another musical chengyu with an injection of sadness. It's a theme that has inspired movies, plays, and every kind of literature. When your eye catches an object that reminds you of someone important in your life who had passed away. It also features some literati megastars from Chinese cultural history. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.m...

This is a nice musical Chinese Saying to describe a soulmate or someone who can be called your 知音 (zhīyīn)..a friend who is appreciative or understanding of a friend (and his talents). Like almost all of this Chengyu, it comes to us directly from the first half of the Eastern Zhou Period. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about...

Everybody knows of someone who can be described by this Chinese Saying. In this week's musical Chinese Saying we look at the lazy poser Mr. Nanguo and his brief career as a Yu player in an all-Yu Orchestra and the wonderful story that gave us a nice useful saying. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Hopefully, none of us will ever face these circumstances...but when all is lost and you're surrounded by enemies trying to take you down, remember the Songs of the ancient state of Chu. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

If you've ever explained yourself or something you're quite expert in and all you get is a blank stare of complete non-comprehension, this one is for you. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever experienced something, the impact of which lasted well beyond when you saw it or heard it? That's what today's particularly useful Chinese Saying is all about. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back with the Season Two opener. This time Laszlo digs deep into the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to introduce a Chinese Saying with a story that tells why some music just isn't for everybody. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

In this last episode of the first season of the Chinese Sayings Podcast, Laszlo explains the scuttlebutt behind the loyal official who wagered a dynasty in one single bet. Gū Zhù Yī Zhì For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

Laszlo serves up yet another good one, Gǎn Ēn Tú Bào. An ancient story teaches us when someone does ya a solid...don't forget to show your gratitude by paying them back one day. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back to the Warring States period once again to a story that brings us a story that many of us are all too familiar with. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A noble lord accepts an ill-fated job offer and relies on his entourage to extricate him from his situation. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Laszlo digs up another doozie, starring some Tang Dynasty inquisitors in the employ of China's one and only Empress to rule as the head of state. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laszlo digs up another oldie but goodie from 1,800 years ago. Everyone has nibbled on chicken ribs at one time or another. Bon appétit mesdames et messieurs! For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

缘木求鱼 This week's Chengyu phrase features no less a personage than the great philosopher Mencius himself, Mengzi to the cognoscenti. In this chengyu Mengzi preaches a lesson of peace to the King of Qi State in Shandong province. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more ab...

The next time someone looks down on your gift because its value isn't much, now you have the perfect rejoinder. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this new episode (weekly, as advertised), Laszlo introduces a story from the early 4th Century BCE, the Warring States period that preceded the unification of China under Qin Shihuang. It concerns the ruler down in the southwest kingdom of Shu, centered around Chengdu. Thanks to his greediness for a small gift, he ended up losing big later on. He was so busy counting his pennies earned in a qui...

In the inaugural episode of the Chinese Sayings Podcast Laszlo introduces one of his favorites from his earliest days: Guā Tián Li Xià. 瓜田李下. This one goes all the way back to the early days of the Three Kingdoms Period. The lesson it teaches us is to watch yourself when you're in circumstances that might possibly be misunderstood and show you in a suspicious light. Don't forget to visit teacu...

A warm welcome to the Chinese Sayings Podcast! Since 2017 Laszlo Montgomery introduces a new "chengyu" or Chinese idiomatic expression or saying. You'll get the backstory behind these ancient sayings. Once you learn the story behind each expression, you'll be able to unlock the meaning. These Chinese Sayings are filled with history and legendary stories. No need for you to be a Chinese language sp...