THE DRAGONS PROVERBS (龙的成语)

THE DRAGONS PROVERBS

There are so many beautiful proverbs in China. Each proverb has so insightful meaning. In following you would find several proverbs in relation to the dragon:

1. 龙飞凤舞 long fei feng wu
Dragon flies, phoenix dances, fig flamboyan ( = very cheerful )

2. 画龙点睛 hua long dian jing

Put a cherry on the top / add the finishing touch ( = making something to be perfect )

The Story:

To bring a painted dragon to life by drawing in the pupils of its eyes

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period (420-589), there was a Chinese painter called Zhang Sengyao. Once, he visited a temple and painted four dragons on the wall, but he gave none of them eyes. Onlookers thought this odd, and asked why he hadn't painted in the eyes. He answered: "Eyes are crucial for dragons. With the eyes painted in, the dragons would fly away." Nobody believed this, so Zhang Sengyao took up his brush and added eyes to two of the dragons. No sooner had he finished than the two dragons flew into the sky amid a thunderstorm. The two without eyes remained paintings on the wall.

This idiom is used to describe how, when painting, writing or speaking, the addition of just one or two key brushstrokes, sentences, words or phrases could enhance the content

3. 叶公好龙 ye gong hao long

pretend to like something which one really fears .

The Story:

Lord Ye's Love of Dragons

It is well known that Lord Ye had a particular love for dragons. Ye's house was "covered" in dragons - designs, paintings, carvings - whether on his weapons, bed linen, chairs or walls.
On hearing about Ye's passion for dragons, a celestial dragon was so moved that it decided to honor Ye by paying him a visit. So, it descended to earth and stuck its head into Ye's bedroom window, while the other half of its body swayed in the hall.
The scene that accompanied the dragon's descent to earth was magnificent: dark clouds rolled across the sky, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The earth shook and a heavy downpour almost devastated the city.
Ye, the dragon lover, was far from flattered. On the contrary, he was so frightened by the dragon's visit that he took to his heels and ran away as fast as he could.
What Lord Ye loved was not the real dragon, but something that merely looked like a dragon.