花開樹鐵

NA

tie3‘iron’

shu4‘tree’

kai1‘open’

hua1‘flower’

NP

S

VP

N V

Sentence

NounPhrase

VerbPhrase

Adjective Noun Verb Noun

Supplementary 2: Types of Chinese idioms

Many of the Chinese quadrisyllabic units are miniature sentences themselves, having a subject noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP) functioning as the predicate. Figure 1 shows such a case where a four-syllable unit has the standard structure of a sentence

complete with an NP (subject) and a VP (predicate). Here 鐵樹開花 tie2shu4kai1hua1 ‘iron-tree-open-flower’ literally means ‘the sago cycad blooms’ and implies something difficult to achieve, as the sago cycad is a kind of plant which does not flower easily.

Figure 1: Syntactic structure of a four-character idiom

Although expressions like 鐵樹開花 seem ‘self-contained’ as a sentence-like structure, they do not always stand alone as isolated expressions in discourse. Instead, they are often

embedded in a larger structure, supporting a higher order of expression. For example, 鐵樹開花 in example (1) clearly acts as a predicate for the whole sentence.

(1)埃 弗 拉 鐵 樹 開 花 ai1 fu2 la1 tie3 shu4 kai1 hua1 ‘Evra’ ‘iron’ ‘tree’ ‘open’ ‘flower’

‘Evra bloomed like a sago cycad.’

The phrase (or miniature sentence) 鐵樹開花 in (1) is used to describe the performance of the footballer Evra in the 2013 Premier League, where he scored the fifth of the Top 5 Goals of the season. The Chinese commentator probably used this phrase to show how rare and brilliant this goal was in comparison to Evra’s previous record (only 2 goals at Manchester United between 2005 and 2012). The short clause in (1) shows how a sentence-like quadrisyllabic unit can be embedded in a larger expression and serve as a predicate. This is often true where a quadrisyllabic unit, otherwise referred to as a four-character idiom, is used. More examples of sentence-like quadrisyllabic units can be seen in Table 2.5, and all involve a subject NP ‘doing something’ in the VP. Example usages of these units are also included in the table.

Table 1: Quadrisyllabic units with S NP VP structure

Four-character Idiom Component Analysis

Overall Meaning Example Usage

老馬識途lao3ma3shi4tu2

老馬 lao3ma3 ‘old horse’識 shi4 ‘know’途 tu2 ‘way’

‘old horse who knows the way’ (a person of rich experience)

小王老馬識途，不會迷路。‘Little Wang knows the way. He won’t get lost.’

老蚌生珠lao3bang4sheng1zhu1

老蚌 lao3bang4 ‘old shellfish’生 sheng1 ‘produce’珠 zhu1 ‘bead’

‘an old oyster yielding a pearl’ (bear a child in one’s later years)

瑪利亞·凱莉老蚌生珠懷孕四個月肚子已經渾圓‘Mariah Carey, an old oyster yielding a pearl, four months into pregnancy with a round belly.’盲人摸象

mang4ren2mo1xiang4盲人 mang4ren2 ‘blind person’摸 mo1 ‘touch’象 xiang4 ‘elephant’

‘blind person feel the element’ (draw a conclusion on the basis of partial understanding)

移民國外切勿盲人摸象‘When emigrating, do not make decisions based on incomplete information.’愚公移山

yu2gong1yi2shan1愚公 yu2gong1 ‘foolish old man’移 yi2 ‘move’山 shan1 ‘mountain’

‘the foolish man moves a mountain’ (be resolute in one’s endeavors)

發揚愚公移山精神鍥而不捨‘Promote the Yugong moving mountain spirit. Persevere – do not give up.’世風日下

shi4feng1ri4xia4世 shi4 ‘world’風 feng1 ‘wind’日 ri4 ‘day’下 xia4 ‘down’

‘the world’s wind daily down’ (Public morals decline day by day)

世風日下,人心險惡‘Public morals are declining by the day; the human heart is dangerous and evil.’

孤掌難鳴gu1zhang3nan2ming2

孤 gu1 ‘lone ’掌 zhang3 ‘palm’難 nan2 ‘difficult’鳴 ming2 ‘sound’

‘It is difficult to clap with only one hand’ (team work is desirable)

北約 12 國反對動武，美孤掌難鳴‘12 nations on NATO against using force, difficult for US to act alone.’全軍覆沒

Quan2jun1fu4mo4全軍 quan2jun1 ‘whole arm’覆 fu4 ‘overturn’沒 mo4 ‘sink’

‘The whole army was wiped out’

挑戰者全軍覆沒內地美女打機招親‘All challengers defeated, hot girl in mainland invites suitors to play video games and win her as a prize.’刀刀見血

dao1dao1jian4xie3刀 dao1 ‘knife’見 jian4 ‘see’血 xie3 ‘blood’

‘Every stab sees blood (to speak sharply)’

用谷開來殺薄熙來，刀刀見血。‘Bo Xilai with Gu Kailai; every stab sees blood’壯士斷腕

zhuang4shi4duan4wan3壯士 zhuang4shi4 ‘heroic man’斷 duan4 ‘cut off’腕 wan3 ‘wrist’

‘strong man breaks his wrist’ (show determination when conducting business)

用壯士斷腕的決心繼續推進改革‘Continue to reform with the determination of a brave man breaking his own wrist.’孟母三遷

meng4mu3san1qian1孟母 meng4mu3 ‘the mother of Mencius’三 san1 ‘three’遷 qian1 ‘move’

The mother of Mencius moved house three times (A wise mother would do anything for the healthy development of her children)

加拿大華人家長望子成龍“孟母三遷”搶租學區房‘Chinese parents in Canada hoping children“become dragons” (achieve high) scramble to rent in good catchment areas like Mencius’ mother moving house three times.’

At this point, we may start to ponder the question ‘what is a sentence in Chinese?’ Just like our previous puzzle of what a word is in Chinese, a sentence is difficult to define. In English, a sentence can be defined as ‘a set of words expressing a statement, a question or an order, usually containing a subject and a verb’ (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary). In Chinese, statements are also expressed, questions asked, and orders given, but it is much harder to determine the boundary of a sentence in Chinese. In written English, a sentence can easily be identified by a starting capital letter and an ending period, question mark, or exclamation mark. In Chinese, no clear mechanical means are consistently used to help define the boundaries of a sentence or equivalent expressions. Not only is the use of punctuation marks looser than English, but a unit of expression often does not contain a subject or a

惶惶心人

AN

ren2‘human’

xin1‘heart’

huan2‘anxious’

huan2‘anxious’

NP

S

AP

N A

Sentence

NounPhrase

AdjectivePhrase

Noun Noun Adjective Adjective

verb in Chinese. That said, there are still a lot of units of expressions that contains some sort of NP VP structures which can be taken as sentences on a par with the English sentences.

If we take the expression in Figure 1 as a sentence-like structure, since it comes with an NP and a VP, then a quadrisyllabic unit in Chinese may be a good framework to observe possible Chinese syntactic structures that are stripped to their very essence. In a four-character idiom, for example, the VP portion is often replaced by an AP (adjective or adverbial phrase), like the one shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Syntactic structure of a quadrisyllabic unit with VP replaced by AP

The quadrisyllabic unit in Figure 2 does not contain a verb of any kind. Instead, it includes a disyllabic unit consisting of adjectives in the predicate position, describing the state of the subject NP. This phrase is used to describe the anxious feelings of the public during some kinds of natural or manmade disasters. It can stand alone as an independent expression, or,

like 鐵樹開花 in (1), it can be incorporated into a longer expression.

(2)党 内 贪 官 人 心 惶 惶 dang3 nei4 tan1 guan1 ren2 xin1 huang2 huang2‘party’ ‘inside’ ‘corrupt’ ‘official’ ‘human’ ‘heart’ ‘apprehensive’ ‘apprehensive’‘corrupt officials in the party are all on tenterhooks’

In (2), 人心惶惶 serves as a predicate, even though it can also function as an independent expression, having both a subject and a predicate phrase in itself as Figure 2 shows. There are many more four-character idioms like this in Chinese, some of which are listed in Table 2. This series of examples also illustrates the fact that many disyllabic units functioning as adjectives in Chinese are created by repeating a syllable.

Table 2: Quadrisyllabic units with S NP AP structure

Four-character Idiom Component Analysis

Overall Meaning Example Usage

天網恢恢tian1wang3hui1hui1

天 tian1 ‘sky’網 wang3 ‘net’恢恢 hui1hui1 ‘vast’

‘the net of Heaven has a large mesh, but it lets nothing through’

天网恢恢，疏而不漏‘The net of Heaven may have a large mesh but it never lets anything through.’妙手空空

miao4shou3kong1kong1

妙 miao4 ‘wonderful’手 shou3 ‘hand’空 kong1 ‘empty’

‘fantastic hands empty looking’ (highly skillful thief)

偷竊技能妙手空空‘The skills for stealing make it impossible to see how the hands work.’

衣冠楚楚yi1guan1chu3chu3

衣 yi1 ‘clothes’冠 guan1 ‘cap’楚楚 chu3chu3 ‘bright and clear’

‘impressively dresses’

一个衣冠楚楚的老仆人‘an old servant sprucely dresses’

落英繽紛luo4ying1bin1fen1

落英 luo4ying1 ‘fallen petals’繽紛 bin1fen1 ‘in riotous profusion

‘fallen petals lie in profusion’ (beautiful seasonal scene)

落英繽紛的季節‘a season when many flowers fall to the ground’

醉眼惺忪zui4yan3xing1song1

醉 zui4 ‘drunk’眼 yan3 ‘eye’惺忪 xing1song1 ‘(of eyes) not fully open’

‘sleepy-eyed from drink’

喝到醉眼惺忪‘drinking until one’s eyes become blurred’

晨星落落chen2xing1luo4luo4

晨 chen2 ‘morning’星 xing1 ‘star’落落 luo4luo4 ‘fall behind’

‘few morning stars’ 欣赏着天上的明月和落落晨星‘admiring the bright moon in the sky and the sparse morning stars’

殺氣騰騰sha1qi4teng2teng2

殺氣 sha1qi4 ‘murderous-

‘killing energy steaming’

殺氣騰騰的水槍之戰

looking’騰騰 teng2teng2 ‘steaming’

(murderous looking)

‘a water gun fight full of murderous intentions’

事事如意shi4shi4ru2yi4

事事 shi4shi4 ‘everything’如意 ru2yi4 ‘as one wishes’

‘all things as one wishes’

祝贺大家事事如意！‘I hope everything goes smoothly for everybody!’威風凜凜

wei1feng1lin3lin3威風 wei1feng1 ‘power and prestige ’凜凜 lin3lin3 ‘stern ’

‘awe-inspiring and stern’ (majestic looking)

全副武裝威風凜凜‘fully armed and looking impressive’

千里迢迢qian1li3tiao2tiao2

千里 qian1li3 ‘long distance’迢迢 tiao2tiao2 ‘far away’

‘thousand miles away’ (very far)

千里迢迢远赴莫斯科‘going to Moscow a long way away’

So far we have seen how Chinese sentence-like structures play out in the quadrisyllabic framework. We have also seen how a four-character idiom can function as a predicate for a larger expression. In fact, if we look into the constituent structure of some quadrisyllabic units, we can find even smaller sentence-like structures (often consisting of two syllables) embedded in the quadrisyllabic unit. Figure 3 shows such an example.

窄路家冤

AA

NP

S

S

N N

Sentence

NounPhrase

Sentence

Adjective Noun Noun Adjective

yuan1‘wronged’

jia1‘home’

lu4‘road’

zhai3‘narrow’

Figure 3: A sentence-like structure embedded in a quadrisyllabic unit

The quadrisyllabic unit in Figure 3, 冤家路窄, means ‘the road is especially narrow for people who don’t like each other’ (i.e. It is difficult to avoid your adversary). If the

quadrisyllabic unit is a sentence (S), then 冤家 is the subject NP which means ‘foes’. The

other structure, 路窄 ‘road narrow’, on the other hand, is a predicate to the subject, which is a miniature sentence itself, having the meaning of ‘the road is narrow’. More four-character idioms with embedded sentence-like structures can be seen in Table 3.

Table 3: Quadrisyllabic units with an embedded S structure

Four-character Idiom Component Analysis

Overall Meaning Example Usage

英雄氣短ying1xiong2qi4duan3

英雄 ying1xiong2 ‘hero’氣 qi4 ‘breath’短 duan3 ‘short ’

‘a hero in short breaths’ (a good man caught in difficult circumstances)

英雄氣短 李敖已經不是當年的李敖‘A hero in short breaths; Li Ao is no longer the Li Ao of years ago.’江郎才盡

jiang1lang2cai2jin4江郎 jiang1lang2 ‘Mr Jiang’

‘Mr Jiang runs out of talent’ (one's literary

美媒称苹果江郎才尽

才 cai2 ‘ability’盡 jin4 ‘exhausted’

talent is at an ebb) ‘The American media says Apple has run out of ideas.’

黔驢技窮qian2lu2ji4qiong2

黔 qian2 ‘Guizhou’驢 lu2 ‘donkey’技 ji4 ‘skill’窮 qiong2 ‘destitute; poor’

‘the Guizhou donkey has no more skills’ (All the skills of a person are consumed)

改組無新意馬英九黔驢技窮‘Cabinet reshuffle offers nothing new; Ma Ying-jeou runs out of tactics.’

哲人其萎zhe2ren2qi2wei3

哲人 zhe2ren2 ‘a wise man’其 qi2 ‘that’萎 wei3 ‘wilt’

‘philosophical person withered’ (A wise man has passed away)

哲人其萎，风范犹存 ‘A philosopher has died but his legacy remains.’

洛陽紙貴luo4yang2zhi3gui4

洛陽 luo4yang2 ‘the Royang city’紙 zhi3 ‘paper’貴 gui4 ‘expensive’

‘The price of paper soars in Luoyang’ (A publication becomes extremely popular)

J·K·罗琳匿名新作洛阳纸贵‘J.K. Rowling’s new work under a pseudonym, gains popularity.’

Examples of quadrisyllabic units like that in Figure 3 or those in Table 3 are relatively few, but they illustrate an important characteristic of the Chinese language: the so-called Topic-Comment structure. In contrast to the English Subject-Predicate structure, which is syntactically oriented, the Chinese Topic-Comment structure is more conceptually oriented.

Taking the last item on Table 3 as example, 洛陽紙貴 luo4yang2zhi3gui4 ‘Luoyang-paper-

expensive’ literally means ‘In Luoyang, paper is expensive’. Here 洛陽 (the city) is not the

subject of the quadrisyllabic unit in a syntactic sense, but 紙 ‘paper’ is, since the predicate

貴 ‘expensive’ is used to describe it. 洛陽, however, occupies the thematic position and is

said to be the topic of the sentence. The miniature sentence structure, 紙貴 ‘paper is expensive’, is offered as a comment on the topic. This is a regular pattern in Chinese discourse. Thus we note another structural trait of the Chinese language being manifested by a four-character idiom.

Yet another kind of structure the quadrisyllabic unit illustrates is the juxtaposition of two sentence-like units without any conjunctive elements. Figure 4 shows such an example.

動草吹風

VN

feng1‘wind’

chui1‘blow’

cao3‘grass’

dong4‘move’

S

S

S

V N

Sentence

Sentence

Sentence

Noun Verb VerbNoun

Figure 4: A quadrisyllabic units consisting of two coordinate sentences

The quadrisyllabic unit illustrated in Figure 4 does not consist of two existing disyllabic units,

as neither 風吹 ‘wind blows’ nor 草動 ‘grass moves’ is an established lexical item. They both consist of a subject noun and a verb predicate instead, and can both be said to be mini sentences. Here we witness another flexible syntactic arrangement of a Chinese expression – two sentences can often be juxtaposed without any intervening conjunctive devices. More examples like this can be found in Table 4.

Table 4: Quadrisyllabic units consisting of two coordinate sentences

Four-character Idiom Component Analysis

Overall Meaning Example Usage

龍爭虎鬥long2zheng1hu3dou4

龍 long2 ‘dragon’爭 zheng1 ‘compete’虎 hu3 ‘tiger’鬥 dou4 ‘fight’

‘the dragon wars, the tiger battles’ (fierce battle between formidable foes)

澳大選兩黨“龍爭虎鬥” ‘In Australia’s big election, two parties fought each other to win.’

瓜熟蒂落gua1shu2di4luo4

瓜 gua1 ‘melon’熟 shu2 ‘ripe ’蒂 di4 ‘stalk’落 luo4 ‘fall’

‘fruits fall off when ripe’ (things will be easily settled when time is mature)

莫言获奖 2012 瓜熟蒂落‘Mo Yan won a Nobel prize like the melon was mature and detached from the stalk.’

頭昏腦脹tou2hun1nao3zhang4

頭 tou2 ‘head’昏 hun1 ‘dusk‘腦 nao3 ‘brain’脹 zhang4 ‘bloat‘

‘head dizzy brain swollen’ (causing utter confusion disorientation)

头昏脑胀是什么原因引起的呢？‘What causes the head to feel confused and swollen?’

面黃肌瘦main4huang2ji1shou4

面 main4 ‘face ’黃 huang2 ‘yellow ’肌 ji1 ‘muscle ’瘦 shou4 ‘lean’

‘yellow face, emaciated body’ (malnourished and sickly in appearance)

造成孩子面黄肌瘦的 5 个原因‘five reasons that cause a child to have a yellowish face and thin body’兔死狗烹

tu4si3gou3peng1兔 tu4 ‘rabbit’死 si3 ‘die ’狗 gou3 ‘dog’烹 peng1 ‘cook’

‘cook the hound when the hares are dead’ (trusted aides are eliminated after being used)

创业打拼天下者怎样才能避免兔死狗烹？‘In a joint business venture, how can you avoid being stabbed in the back after establishing the business?’蠶食鯨吞

can2shi2jing1tun1蠶 can2 ‘silkworm’食 shi2 ‘eat’鯨 jing1 ‘whale’吞 tun1 ‘swallow’

‘silkworms eat and whales swallow’ (The powerful gradually seize the territory of the weak)

美國電子書持續蠶食鯨吞傳統出版業‘Electronic books in the US continue to invade the traditional publishing industry.’ 狼吞虎嚥

lang2tun1hu3yan4狼 lang2 ‘wolf’吞 tun1 ‘swallow’虎 hu3 ‘tiger’嚥 yan4 ‘swallow’

‘gulp down like wolves and tigers do’

吃東西不要狼吞虎嚥。‘Do not gulp like an animal when you eat.’

眼高手低yan3gao3shou3di1

眼 yan3 ‘eye’高 gao1 ‘high’手 shou3 ‘hand ’低 di1 ‘low’

‘eyes high hands low’ (fastidious and demanding but inept)

新人不能吃苦眼高手低离职率高‘Newbies cannot stand hardship, aiming high and yielding low; the probability of them quitting their jobs is high.’眉開眼笑

mei2kai1yan3xiao4眉 mei2 ‘eyebrow’開 kai1 ‘open’眼 yan3 ‘eye’

‘eyebrows open eyes smiling’ (beam with joy)

西瓜價格翻一倍瓜農眉開眼笑‘Watermelon prices double; melon farmers

尾蛇頭虎

NN

NP

NP

NP

N N

NounPhrase

NounPhrase

Noun Noun Noun Noun

hu3‘tiger’

tou2‘head’

she2‘snake’

wei3‘tail’

NounPhrase

笑 xiao4 ‘smile’ beam with delight.’

水滴石穿shui3di1shi2chuan1

水 shui3 ‘water’滴 di1 ‘drip’石 shi2 ‘stone’穿 chuan1 ‘penetrate’

‘water drips through rock’ (Little strokes fell great oaks)

以水滴石穿的精神推动中国变革‘Promote the reform of China in the spirit of water wearing away stone.’

Not all quadrisyllabic units exhibit sentence-like qualities (that is, have a subject-predicate structure). Figure 5, for example, shows a four-character item consisting of two noun

phrases, 虎頭 hu3tou2 ‘tiger-head’ and 蛇尾 she2wei3 ‘snake-tail’. Together the unit means ‘having a fine start but a poor finish’.

Figure 5: A quadrisyllabic units consisting of two noun phrases

Despite the lack of a verb, the entire quadrisyllabic unit of 虎頭蛇尾, however, can still function as a predicate, as example (3) shows.

(3) 反 腐 不 要 虎 頭 蛇 尾 fan3 fu3 bu2 yao4 hu3 tou2 she2 wei3

‘against’ ‘corruption’ ‘not’ ‘want’ ‘tiger’ ‘head’ ‘snake’ ‘tail’‘In combating corruption, do not be anticlimactic.’

In (3), we have a Topic-Comment structure where 反腐 ‘against corruption’ is the topic, and the comment is advice or a warning to ‘try to avoid an anticlimax’. More quadrisyllabic units consisting of two NPs can be seen in Table 5.

Table 5: Quadrisyllabic units consisting of two noun phrases

Four-character Idiom Component Analysis

Overall Meaning Example Usage

毛手毛腳mao2shou3mao2jiao3

毛mao2 ‘hair’手 shou3 ‘hand’腳 jiao3 ‘foot’

‘hairy hands hairy feet’ (be careless in handling things)

可恶！竟然对美女毛手毛脚！‘Damn! How dare (he) grope the pretty girl!’ 鳳毛麟角

feng4mao2lin2jiao3鳳 feng4 ‘phoenix’毛mao2 ‘hair’麟 lin2 ‘unicorn’角 jiao3 ‘horn’

‘feather of phoenix and horn of Chinese unicorn’ (precious and rare)

亿万富豪并非凤毛麟角大连有 960 个‘Billionaires are not that rare; there are 960 in Dalian.’鬼頭鬼腦

gui3tou2gui3nao3鬼 Gui3 ‘ghost’頭 tou2 ‘head’腦 nao3 ‘brain’

‘ghost head ghost brain’ (furtive; stealthy)

那個討厭的阿伯一直鬼頭鬼腦‘The annoying old man keeps hanging around stealthily.’風花雪月

feng1hua1xue3yue4風 feng1 ‘wind’花 hua1 ‘flower’雪 xue3 ‘snow’月 yue4 ‘moon’

‘wind, flowers, snow and moon’ (romantic themes; love affairs)

一场风花雪月的事‘a romantic affair’

難兄難弟nan4xiong1nan4di4

難 nan4 ‘calamity’兄 xiong1 ‘elder brother’弟 di4 ‘younger brother’

‘brothers in difficulty’(two of a kind)

国足与男篮，一對難兄難弟‘the national football team and the male basketball team, a pair of brothers in sorrow’雞毛蒜皮

ji1mao2suan4pi2雞 ji1 ‘chicken’毛mao2 ‘feather’蒜 suan4 ‘garlic’皮 pi2 ‘skin’

‘chicken feather, garlic skin’ (trivial matters)

鸡毛蒜皮才是最真实的生活‘Like chicken feathers and garlic skin, trivial matters are a reflection of real life.’花言巧語

hua1yan2qiao3yu3花 hua1 ‘flower’言 yan2 ‘word’巧 qiao3 ‘skilful’語 yu3 ‘language’

‘flowery words and fantastic language’ (a lot of artful and cunning talk)

受了推销员的花言巧语的欺骗‘deceived by the salesperson’s beguiling words’

瓜得瓜種

NV

VP

VP

VP

N V

VerbPhrase

VerbPhrase

Verb Noun Verb Noun

zhong4‘plant’

gua1‘melon’

de2‘get’

gua1‘melon’

VerbPhrase

銅牆鐵壁tong2qiang2tie3bi4

銅 tong2 ‘copper’牆 qiang2 ‘wall’鐵 tie3 ‘iron’壁 bi4 ‘wall’

‘walls made of bronze and iron’ (impregnable fortress)

活塞隊的銅牆鐵壁防守‘the watertight defence of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons’酒池肉林

jiu3chi2rou4lin2酒 jiu3 ‘wine’池 chi2 ‘pond’肉 rou4 ‘meat’林 lin2 ‘trees’

‘wine pool meat forest’ (extremely extravagant lifestyle)

天天过著酒池肉林的生活‘living an extravagant lifestyle’

豐衣足食feng1yi1zu2shi2

豐 feng1 ‘abundant, great, or plentiful;’衣 yi1 ‘clothing’足 zu2 ‘enough’食 shi2 ‘food’

‘ample clothes adequate food’ (well fed and clad)

豐衣足食就沒人偷竊‘No one will steal if everyone has ample clothing and adequate food.’

Just like there are quadrisyllabic units made from two noun phrases, there are Chinese idioms consisting of two verb phrases. One such structure is given in Figure 6, where each of the two verb phrases consists of a verb and its object noun.

Figure 6: A quadrisyllabic units consisting of two verb phrases

As expected, a quadrisyllabic unit consisting of two verb phrases is best used as a predicate in a sentence-like expression.

(4)芳 姨 種 瓜 得 瓜 有 收 成fang1 yi2 zhong4 gua1 de2 gua1 you3 shou1cheng2PN ‘aunt’ ‘plant’ ‘melon’ ‘get’ ‘melon’ ‘have’ ‘receive-achieve’‘Aunt Fang reaped what she sowed and obtained a harvest.’

In (4), the verb phrase有收成 ‘have a harvest’ is the main predicate to the noun subject,

芳姨 ‘Aunt Fang’. The quadrisyllabic unit, 種瓜得瓜 ‘you reap what you sow’ is also a verbal predicate to the subject NP but it sounds like an inserted sequence in this case, redundant in meaning but offering extra vivacity and metaphorical interest, a function often performed by Chinese four-character idioms. More quadrisyllabic units consisting of two juxtaposed verb phrases can be seen in Table 6.

Table 6: Quadrisyllabic units consisting of two verb phrases

Four-character Idiom

Component Analysis Overall Meaning Example Usage

畫蛇添足hua4she2tian1zu2

畫 hua4 ‘draw’蛇 she2 ‘snake’添 tian1 ‘add’足 zu2 ‘foot’

‘add feet when drawing a snake’ (unnecessarily improve something and achieve poorer result)

畫蛇添足的爛計謀‘a lousy plan like adding feet when drawing a snake’

飲水思源yin3shui3si1yuan2

飲 yin3 ‘drink’水 shui3 ‘water’思 si1 ‘think’源 yuan2 ‘source’

‘think about the source when drinking water’ (remember where one’s happiness comes from)

饮水思源忆母校‘remembering your old school where you gained knowledge’

隱惡揚善yin3e4yang2shan4

隱 yin3 ‘hidden from view’惡 e4 ‘evil’揚 yang2 ‘raise highly’善 shan4 ‘good’

‘hide faults and publicize merits’

教导孩子隐恶扬善‘teaching children to forgive bad deeds and praise good deeds’

醉生夢死zui4sheng1meng1si3

醉 zui4 ‘drunk’生 sheng1 ‘live’夢meng1 ‘dream’死 si3 ‘death’

‘live in drunken state or in a dream as if dead’ (lead a befuddled life)

生活在醉生梦死之中‘living in a drunken and dreamy state’

臥薪嚐膽wo4xin1chang2dan3

臥wo4 ‘lie’薪 xin1 ‘firewood’嚐 chang2 ‘taste’膽 dan3 ‘gallbladder’

‘lie on wood and taste gall’ (undergo self-imposed hardships and nurse ambition or vengeance)

卧薪尝胆成就微软霸业‘enduring hardships to create the Microsoft empire’

聞雞起舞wen2ji1qi3wu3

聞wen2 ‘hear’雞 ji1 ‘rooster’起 qi3 ‘got up’舞wu3 ‘dance’

‘hear rooster; rise and exercise’ (get up early and do exercise)

北京早晨空气污染最严重“闻鸡起舞”不应该提倡‘Beijing morning air is heavily polluted; dancing with the rooster should not be advocated.’躡手躡腳

nie4shou3nie4jiao4躡 nie4 ‘walk softly’手 shou3 ‘hand’腳 jiao4 ‘foot’

‘quiet hands quiet feet’ (walk quietly on tiptoe)

躡手躡腳怕吵醒貓‘walking on tiptoes for fear of waking the cat’

走馬看花zou3ma3kan4hua1

走 zou3 ‘walk’馬 ma3 ‘horse’看 kan4 ‘look’花 hua1 ‘flower’

‘ride horse; see flowers’ (gain a superficial understanding through cursory observation)

走馬看花遊 17 公里海岸風景區‘superficially touring 17 kilometers of scenic routes along the coast’

解甲歸田jie3jia3gui1tian2

解 Jie3 ‘take off’甲 jia3 ‘armour’歸 gui1 ‘go back’田 tian2 ‘farmland’

‘take off one’s armour and return to the farm’ (retire from the army)

支持丈夫解甲归田‘in support of one’s husband’s retirement from the army and return to the countryside’見異思遷

jian4yi4si1qian1見 jian4 ‘see ’異 yi4 ‘different’思 si1 ‘consider’遷 qian1 ‘change’

‘see different; consider move’ (change one’s mind when seeing something new)

女友见异思迁我成了恋爱备胎‘Girlfriend changes mind when seeing someone new and I become a spare.’

The final quadrisyllabic structure we will examine is an overall VP consisting of a PP (prepositional phrase), a verb and its object noun as Figure 7 shows.

花看裡霧

NN

PP

VP

VP

P V

PrepositionalPhrase

VerbPhrase

Verb Preposition Verb Noun

zhong4‘plant’

gua1‘melon’

de2‘get’

gua1‘melon’

VerbPhrase

Figure 7: A quadrisyllabic unit consisting of a VP and a PP

The structure shown in Figure 7 illustrates another aspect of the Chinese language which is

different from English. The prepositional phrase 霧裡 ‘in the fog’ consists of a noun (霧 ‘fog’) followed by a preposition (裡 ‘in’). The word order within this prepositional phrase is thus the reverse of English, where prepositions come first, followed by the noun. In Chinese, a preposition can be on either side of the noun.

Zhao (2001), a dictionary of established Chinese idioms, contains 4639 entries, among which 4214 (91%) are four-character units. The other 9% consists of multi-syllabic units of various lengths (i.e. trisyllabic units and units between 5 and 14 characters long). Earlier we have discussed trisyllabic units. In the final section of this chapter, we look at units of expressions of at least five characters in length.

As we cross over the threshold of the quadrisyllabic unit and venture into fixed expressions of more than five characters, we find fewer and fewer instances. The more syllables a unit consists of, the more likely it is an aphorism or a proverb. It is relatively difficult to determine which are fixed multisyllabic units except the most well-known idioms and proverbs. Shei (2008), however, introduces a good way of identifying fixed expressions through the use of web search engines. Table 7 provides some examples of multisyllabic units ranging from 5 to 10 characters long.

Table 7: Examples of multisyllabic units

Multi-character Idiom Component Analysis Overall Meaning人窮志不窮ren2qiong2zhi4bu4qiong2

人 ren2 ‘people’窮 qiong2 ‘poor’志 zhi4 ‘aspiration’不 bu4 ‘not’

‘Even though one is poor, one should still have ambition.’

家合萬事興jia1he2wan4shi4xing1

家 jia1 ‘home’合 he2 ‘close’萬事 wan4shi4 ‘everything’興 xing1 ‘prosper’

‘The family will prosper if all members get along well with each other.’

先小人，後君子xian1xiao3ren2，hou4jun1zi5

先 xian1 ‘first’小人 xiao3ren2 ‘villain’後 hou4 ‘after’君子 jun1zi5 ‘gentleman’

‘Be a mean person first before being a gentleman.’ (Point out the pitfalls before conducting the business)

殺雞焉用牛刀sha1ji1yan1yong4niu2dao1

殺 sha1 ‘kill’雞 ji1 ‘chicken’焉 yan1’ ‘ herein’用 yong4 ‘use’牛 niu2 ‘cattle’刀 dao1 ‘knife’

‘Killing a chicken with an ox-cleaver.’/‘Using a sledge hammer to crack a nut.’

情人眼裡出西施qing2ren2yan3li3chu1xi1shi1

情人 qing2ren2 ‘lover’眼 yan3 ‘eye’裡 li3 ‘interior’出 chu1 ‘produce’西施 xi1shi1 ‘Sishi ’

‘Any girl can look like a Sishi in her lover’s eyes.’ (Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.) In the eye of the lover, his beloved is a beauty.

人怕出名豬怕肥ren2pa4chu1ming2zhu1pa4fei2

人 ren2 ‘human’怕 pa4 ‘afraid’出名 chu1ming2 ‘famous’豬 zhu1 ‘pig’肥 fei2 ‘fat’

‘Humans are afraid of becoming famous; pigs are afraid of growing fat.’ (Fame portends trouble for men as fattening does for pigs.)

豹死留皮，人死留名bao4si3liu2pi2，ren2si3liu2ming2

豹 bao4 ‘leopard’死 si3 ‘death’留 liu2 ‘remain’皮 pi2 ‘skin’人 ren2 ‘person’名 ming2 ‘name’

‘When a leopard dies, it leaves its skin; when a person dies, they leave their reputation.

三十六計，走為上策san1shi2liu4ji4，zou3wei2shang4ce4

三十六 san1shi2liu4 ‘thirty-six’計 ji4 ‘idea’走 zou3 ‘leave’為 wei2 ‘for’上策 shang4ce4 ‘the best plan’

‘No. 36 method: escaping is the best strategy’ (get away from a troublesome site)

病從口入，禍從口出bing4cong2kou3ru4，huo4cong2kou3chu1

病 bing4 ‘disease’從 cong2 ‘from’口 kou3 ‘mouth’入 ru4 ‘enter’禍 huo4 ‘disaster’出 chu1 ‘exit’

‘Illness comes in through the mouth because of food; trouble goes out through the mouth because of words.’

做一天和尚，撞一天鐘zuo4yi4tian1he2shang4，zhuang4yi4tian1zhong1

做 zuo4 ‘do’一天 yi4tian1 ‘one day’和尚 he2shang4 ‘monk’撞 zhuang4 ‘strike’鐘 zhong1 ‘bell’

‘Being a monk one day, strike the bell one day.’ (Do your duty as long as you remain on the post.)

司馬昭之心，路人皆知si1ma3zhao1zhi1xin1，lu4ren2jie1zhi1

司馬昭 si1ma3zhao1 ‘Sima Zhao’之 zhi1 ‘of’心 xin1 ‘heart’路人 lu4ren2 ‘passer-by’皆 jie1 ‘all’知 zhi1 ‘know’

‘The intention of Sima Zhao is known to all pedestrians.’ (Everyone knows what you are thinking.)

人善被人欺，馬善被人騎ren2shan4bei4ren2qi1，ma3shan4bei4ren2qi2

人 ren2 ‘people’善 shan4 ‘kind-hearted’被 bei4 ‘(passive marker)’欺 qi1 ‘deceive; to fool’馬 ma3 ‘horse’騎 qi2 ‘ride’

‘Nice people are bullied; docile horses get ridden.’

天下無難事，只怕有心人tian1xia4wu2nan2shi

天下 tian1xia4 ‘world’無 wu2 ‘without’

‘There is nothing so difficult in the world that cannot be overcome by a persistent

竹报平安满堂春

zhu2‘bamboo’

bao4‘report’

ping2‘level’

an1‘safe’

man3‘full’

tang2‘hall’

chun1‘spring’

花开富贵全家福

hua1‘flower’

kai1‘open’

fu4‘rich’

gui4‘valuable’

quan2‘entire’

jia1‘home’

fu2‘good fortune’

4，zhi3pa4you3xin1ren2 難 nan2 ‘difficult’事 shi4 ‘affairs’只 hi3 ‘only’怕 pa4 ‘fear’有心 zyou3xin1 ‘intentional’人 ren2 ‘people’

person.’

Some examples of multisyllabic units in Table 7 are in the form of couplets, which are a common feature in Chinese language and literature. These are created under various meter and rhyme schemes and offer poetic readings as well as compact and cleverly encoded meanings. Some couplets are written in big characters on red paper hung on the doors of homes and workplaces for good luck. Figure 8 shows an example of a couplet which is often written on paper scrolls and pasted on door frames during the Chinese spring festival.

Figure 8: A spring couplet