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Chinese Idiom
一箭双雕 (yī jiàn shuāng diāo)
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In the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (nán běi cháo 南北朝,420-589AD) there was an expert archer named Zhangsun Cheng (Zhǎng sūn shèng 长孙晟). One day he went hunting together with a friend. Suddenly they saw two vultures fighting for a piece of meat high in the air. His friend handed him two arrows, and said, " Can you shoot down both vultures?" Zhangsun Cheng dffortlessly killed both vultures with only one arrow.This recorded episode became known as Yi-jian-shuang-diao, similar to the statement getting two birds with one stone. The expression is said of getting two separate results in one go and is a compliment of one’s outstanding achievement of succeeding in several tasks simultaneously with sill and talent. It is the expression for achieve a dual purpose.

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一技之长 (yī jì zhī cháng)
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Gong sun Long (gōng sūn lóng 公孙龙), a famous scholar lived in the State of Zhao (zhào guó 赵国) during the Warring States Period (zhàn guó 战国,475――221BC), had a habit of maintaining a great number of skilled people around him. He often said, "A wise man should welcome anyone with a specialty."

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一鸣惊人(yī míng jīng rén)
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altIn the Warring States Period (zhàn guó 战国), Duke Wei of Qi neglected state affairs, for the first three years of his reign, giving himself over to dissipation. One of his minister, Chun Yukun (chún yú kūn)who had a good sense of humor, said to him:”There is a big bird which has neigher taken wing nor sung for three years.” The duke answered, “Once that bird starts to fly and sing, it will astonish the world.” The duke thereupon devoted himself to his duties and built his state up into a powerful one. This idiom is used to indicate that a person may rise from obscurity and achieve greatness.

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一曝十寒 (yī pù shí hán)
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Meng-tz lived during the Warring States Period. He was not only very knowledgeable but also very eloquent. He often used very vivid analogies to persuade kings of that period to do good deeds.

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一厢情愿 (yī xiāng qíng yuàn)
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altMany years ago, a farmer happened to see the King's daughter in the capital. He lost his heart to her at once. After returning, he missed the princess day and night. Soon, he was ill. His friends and relatives came to see him. When they knew the reason why the farmer was ill, they thought it was quite difficult to help the farmer, for the King would never consent to his daughter marrying a poor man. But the sick man sighed sadly: "If I can't get the princess, I will be dead." His friends tried to persuade him, but in vain. So they had to play a trick. Some days later, they came to see the man again and told him they had asked the princess to marry him, but she rejected. In fact, they had never done it. But the foolish man believed. However, he did not give up his mind. He announced: "if I visit the princess in person, she will say yes." If he did so, you can guess the result.

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一言为重 (yī yán wéi zhòng)
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In ancient times, there was a prime minister named Shang Yang (shāng yāng 商鞅) in the State of Qin (qín guó 秦国). He was held in high regard by the King. In the year 359 BC, he prepared for a political reform to promote the economic development.

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