Chinese Proverbs Ba Miao Zhu Zhang and Ke Zhou Qiu Jian

https://www.facebook.com/aaron.pierson.73  http://tanukichamptranslation.net/  https://twitter.com/alohabadgerBa Miao Zhu Zhang or in English Trying too Hard. There once was a farmer and he really wanted his shoots to grow faster. One day he had an idea "I'll just pull them up a little and that will help them grow faster!" So he pulled all of his shoots up a little bit. He went home that day and told his wife and his son "I helped the shoots grow today!" The son was so excited he quickly went to the field to see for himself. When his son got to the field he saw that all the shoots were dead. 

Meaning of the story is you can damage something by applying too much pressure. 

Ke Zhou Qiu Jian or in English Notch a Boat to Retrieve a Sword. A long time ago there was a man from Chu who took a boat across the Yangtze River to attend to some business affairs. When he was in the middle of the river suddenly a big wave came and distracted him and he dropped his valuable sword he was carrying into the river. The boat man quickly stopped the boat to help the man find the sword. The man suddenly stopped the boat man and said "Don't worry about it." The boat man looked at him strangely. The man then took out a knife and put a notch in the boat. Then he urged the boat man to keep going quickly. The boat man hesitated but continued on.

When they reached the opposite shore the man got out of the boat on the side where he had put the notch and started searching in the shallow water. All the people there stared at him and asked what he was doing. He told them what happened to his sword and everyone just roared with laughter. "You lost your sword in the middle of the river how can you expect to find it here?" "But I made a very clear mark in the side of the boat." The man from Chu was very confused." The people laughed even louder. One man came forward and explained the boat kept moving forward while the sword stayed there at the bottom of the river. You made the mark in the boat but the boats location changed. How are you going to find your sword now? After he finished the crowd left. The man from Chu was left alone scratching his head. He still did not understand how marking the side of the boat did not help him find his precious sword. If you would like to be a favorite link on this page or if you would like information on English teaching jobs in China contact me here tanukichamptranslation@gmail.com