Chinese wisdom — The cracked pot
This video is not about Chinese allegories, but I like it a lot — it is full of universal wisdom:) — Love me a little bit longer
歇后语 xie1 huo4 yu3（Chinese allegories）
Chinese allegories
Two-part allegorical saying (of which the first part, always stated, is descriptive, while the second part, often unstated, carries the message)
Chū shēng de niú dú – bù pà hŭ
初生的牛犊 – 不怕虎
New born calves are not afraid of tigers. – Young people dare do anything and fear nothing.
Wén zi zhăo zhī zhū – zì tóu luó wăng
蚊子找蜘蛛 – 自投罗网
A mosquito looks for a spider – throw oneself into a trap; bite the hook
Zhēn jiān duì mài máng – zhēn fēng xiāng duì
针尖对麦芒 – 针锋相对
A pin against an awn – be diametrically opposed
Tiān xià wū yā – yī bān hēi
天下乌鸦 – 一般黑
All crows are black. – Evil people are the same all over the world; in every country dogs bite.
Shí wŭ ge diào tŏng dă shuǐ – qī shàng bā xià
十五个吊桶打水 – 七上八下
Have one’s heart clang like fifteen buckets in one well, seven going up and eight going down – have one’s heart pound with uncertainty, fear or turmoil
Niú tóu bù duì mă zuĭ – hú lā luàn chĕ
牛头不对马嘴 – 胡拉乱扯
Horses’ jaws don’t match cows’ heads – incongruous; irrelevant
Zhàng èr hé shang – mō bu zháo tóu năo
丈二和尚 – 摸不着头脑
You cannot touch the head of a ten-foot monk. – can’t make head or tail of something; completely fail to understand
Yī ge bā zhang pāi bu xiăng – gū zhăng nán míng
一个巴掌拍不响 – 孤掌难鸣
You can’t clap with one hand; it takes two to make a quarrel; it takes two to tango. – It’s difficult to achieve anything without support.
The above info come from:
http://bbs.english.sina.com/viewthread.php?tid=11047
Other Chinese allegories:
fēng chuī qiáng tóu căo – liăng biān dăo
风吹墙头草 – 两边倒
The grass on top of a wall blows either way with the wind – someone who sits on the fence will end up going along with the crowd; to sit on the fence
dă zhǒng liăn chōng pàng zi – sĭ yào miàn zi
打肿脸充胖子 – 死要面子
Try to look fat by slapping one’s face till it’s swollen – to try to look impressive; be keen on face-saving
māo kū hào zi – jiă cí bēi
猫哭耗子 – 假慈悲
A cat crying over a mouse’s death – hypocritical show of sorrow or sympathy; shedding crocodile tears
lăo hŭ zuĭ li bá yá – zhăo sĭ
老虎嘴里拔牙 – 找死
Pulling teeth from a tiger’s mouth – seeking death; dare the greatest danger; beard the lion in his den
jī dàn pèng shí tou – zì bù liàng lì
鸡蛋碰石头 – 自不量力
Like an egg striking a rock – attacking somebody far stronger than oneself; overestimating oneself or one’s strength; overrating oneself
jiăn le zhī ma diū le xī guā – tān xiăo shī dà
捡了芝麻丢了西瓜 – 贪小失大
Pick up the sesame seeds but overlook the watermelons – covet a little and lose a lot; seek small gains but incur big losses; be penny-wise and pound-foolish
méi mao hú zi yī bă zhuā – zhŭ cì bù fēn
眉毛胡子一把抓 – 主次不分
Try to grasp the eyebrows and the beard all at the same time – try to attend to everything at once irrespective of priority; confuse the primary with the secondary
wáng pó mài guā – zì mài zì kuā
王婆卖瓜 – 自卖自夸
Wang Po keeps praising his melons while selling them. – ring one’s own bell; blow one’s own trumpet.
These allegories come from:
http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/allegories/2009-03/23/content_17487939.htm
Another great Chinese allegories website is http://www.hanyu.com.cn/en/
it is under the Chinese culture tab