不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
-
1 don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
-
2 there's more than one way to skin a cat
仁民爱物
rén mín ài wù
-
1 love to all creatures (idiom, from Mencius); universal benevolence
便民利民
biàn mín lì mín
-
1 for the convenience and benefit of the people (idiom)
全民皆兵
quán mín jiē bīng
-
1 to bring the entire nation to arms (idiom)
刀不磨要生锈,人不学要落后
dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu
-
1 a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)
切中要害
qiè zhòng yào hài
-
1 to hit the target and do real damage (idiom)
-
2 fig. to hit where it hurts
-
3 fig. to hit home
-
4 an argument that hits the nail on the head
削职为民
xuē zhí wéi mín
-
1 demotion to commoner (idiom)
升斗小民
shēng dǒu xiǎo mín
-
1 poor people (idiom)
-
2 those who live from hand to mouth
又要马儿跑,又要马儿不吃草
yòu yào mǎ r5 pǎo , yòu yào mǎ r5 bù chī cǎo
-
1 lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom)
-
2 fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too
只要功夫深,铁杵磨成针
zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn
-
1 If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.
-
2 cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task
-
3 to study diligently
国弱民穷
guó ruò mín qióng
-
1 the country weakened and the people empoverished (idiom)
国泰民安
guó tài mín ān
-
1 the country prospers, the people at peace (idiom); peace and prosperity
天要落雨,娘要嫁人
tiān yào luò yǔ , niáng yào jià rén
-
1 the rain will fall, the womenfolk will marry (idiom)
-
2 fig. the natural order of things
-
3 something you can't go against
官逼民反
guān bī mín fǎn
-
1 a government official drives the people to revolt (idiom); a minister provokes a rebellion by exploiting the people
吊民伐罪
diào mín fá zuì
-
1 to console the people by punishing the tyrants (idiom)
正中要害
zhèng zhòng yào hài
-
1 to hit the nail on the head (idiom)
死要面子活受罪
sǐ yào miàn zi huó shòu zuì
-
1 to go through hell for the sake of keeping up appearances (idiom)
残民害物
cán mín hài wù
-
1 to harm people and damage property (idiom)
民不聊生
mín bù liáo shēng
-
1 The people have no way to make a living (idiom, from Record of the Grand Historian 史記|史记[Shǐ jì])
-
2 no way of getting by
民以食为天
mín yǐ shí wéi tiān
-
1 Food is the God of the people. (idiom); People view food as the primary need.
-
2 Food first, ethical niceties second