Level 6 · Lesson 12

成语（三）：故事里的道理
Chengyu 3: the moral of the story

坏事也许会变成好事——这就是塞翁失马的道理。

Four chengyu used as arguments and as advice: 塞翁失马, 熟能生巧, 一举两得, 入乡随俗.

听 · Listen

我的车被偷了
 安娜 —  我的自行车被人偷走了。 
My bike's been stolen.  
 李明 —  别着急——塞翁失马，焉知非福。 
Don't worry. 塞翁失马: how do you know it isn't a good thing?  
 安娜 —  马？这跟我的车有什么关系？ 
A horse? What has that got to do with my bike?  
 李明 —  这是一个成语。从前有一位老人，他的马跑了。大家都说这是坏事，可是后来那匹马又带回来一匹好马。 
It's a chengyu. Long ago an old man's horse ran off. Everyone said what bad luck — but later that horse came back, bringing a fine horse with it.  
 安娜 —  所以坏事也许会变成好事。这个道理我懂了。 
So a bad thing may turn into a good one. I get the point.  
 李明 —  对。你现在可以走路去学校，又能锻炼身体，一举两得。 
Right. Now you can walk to school and get some exercise at the same time — two birds with one stone.  
 安娜 —  也对。李明，你写中文写得真好，可是我写不好。 
True enough. Li Ming, you write Chinese beautifully — I can't.  
 李明 —  熟能生巧。你每天写半个小时，三个月以后一定写得很好。 
Practice makes perfect. Write for half an hour a day and in three months you'll write well, no question.  

讲解 · Explanation

塞翁失马，焉知非福。

塞 here is sài, the frontier, so 塞翁 is the old man who lived out on the border; 失 is to lose. His horse ran away, then came back with another; his son rode it, fell and broke his leg; then war came, and the boy with the broken leg was the one who stayed home alive. The second half, 焉知非福, is old written Chinese for 怎么知道这不是好事. In conversation most people say only the first four characters and stop — the listener supplies the rest. Use it to comfort someone: 别难过，塞翁失马 (bié nánguò, sàiwēng-shīmǎ).

熟能生巧。一举两得。

熟 is well-practised, 巧 is skilful, 生 here is to produce: doing a thing often produces skill at it. It is the standard answer to 我做不好 — encouragement, not criticism. 一举两得 takes 举 in its written sense of one action: one move, two gains. Both of these are arguments, so they usually sit at the head or the tail of what you say, with the reason around them: 你每天走路上班，不用等车，还能锻炼身体，一举两得 (nǐ měi tiān zǒulù shàngbān, búyòng děng chē, hái néng duànliàn shēntǐ, yìjǔ-liǎngdé).

入乡随俗：到了一个新地方，就照那儿的样子做。

入 is to enter, 乡 a village or home district, 随 to follow, 俗 the local way of doing things. This one is advice, and it is often said with a modal in front of it: 你要入乡随俗 (nǐ yào rùxiāng-suísú), 我们应该入乡随俗. Notice what all four idioms in this lesson have in common — each is a whole argument folded into four characters, so you can drop one into a sentence and everybody already agrees with you. That is why they are so useful when you are asking someone to change their mind.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
塞翁失马	a loss may prove a gain	塞 read sài here
熟能生巧	practice makes perfect	said to encourage
一举两得	one action, two gains	这样做一举两得
入乡随俗	when in Rome, do as Rome does	你要入乡随俗
道理	reason, sense, the point	很有道理, 这个道理
匹	measure word for horses	一匹马

练习 · Practice

朋友的工作没了，可是他很快找到了更好的工作。你说：______。 Which chengyu fits: your friend lost his job and quickly found a better one?

到了中国，我也用筷子吃饭，这叫______。 Which chengyu fits: in China you eat with chopsticks like everyone else?

你现在写得不好，没关系，多练习——______。 Fill in the four-character idiom: practice makes perfect.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'Doing it this way is two gains from one action.'

塞翁失马、熟能生巧、一举两得、入乡随俗、道理 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

你的朋友很不高兴，因为他的手机坏了。你可以对他说什么？

Say it aloud in three sentences: name the trouble, offer the idiom, then give the reason. 你的手机坏了，可是塞翁失马 — 你现在可以早点儿睡觉了 (nǐ de shǒujī huài le, kěshì sàiwēng-shīmǎ — nǐ xiànzài kěyǐ zǎo diǎnr shuìjiào le). Then give one piece of advice with 入乡随俗 and one piece of encouragement with 熟能生巧, and finish by telling yourself one thing you do that is 一举两得.