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马, representing a horse or beast of burden, is the radical. 各, the phonetic, means to go one’s way unconcernedly, without heeding others. This is a dominant characteristic of the self-sufficient camel: 骆, an animal blessed with great endurance and ability to go without food and water for weeks.
The Chinese characters 骑 meaning is ride; sit astride.
THE phonetic 奇 means strange and wonderful. In association with 马 (horse) in the character for riding: 骑. To ride, therefore, is to sit on a horse - a wonderful experience. But don’t get carried away too easily, warns the proverb: “The best riders are sure to fall!’
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馬 is a picturesque representation of a brawny horse rearing. It has since undergone drastic changes, losing eyes and mane. The simplified character form reduces it to three strokes: 马 - a skeleton horse, advanced in age but rich in experience, inspiring the proverb: “The old horse knows the way.”
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穴 is a hole made by removing and dividing rock or earth to provide a roof over the wild dog’s head. 突 represents the dog (犬) rushing out of its den to attack and bite an intruder. Hence the meaning suddenly or unexpectedly - without warning.
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Tao Qian wrote this poem probably in the year 417 at the age of 53, after the old cottage he described in Return to Nature was burned up in a fire. Lines 5-6 of this poem are the best-known verse representative of the poet’s love of nature and free dam. The chrysanthemum, the last cold-proof flower-to bloom in autumn, is the symbol of purity in difficult Circumstances and the Southern Mountain or Mount Lu in modern Jiangxi Province, that of tranquility, longevity and eternity. Therefore, the poet’s love of chrysanthemum and mountain reveals his own character, pure and cold-proof as the one and tranquil and lasting as the other.
WHILE DRINKING
Among the haunts of men I build my cot,
There is noise of wheels and hoofs, but I hear not.
How can it leave upon my mind no trace?
Secluded heart creates secluded place.
I pick fence-side chrysanthemums at will,
And leisurely I see the southern hill.
Where mountain air is fresh both day and night,
And where I find home-going birds in flight.
What is the revelation at this view?
Words fail me even if I try to tell you.
The Chinese characters 哭 meaning is cry; wail; weep.
This Chinese character uses two mouths (口) to express intense action of the mouth, resembling the wailing of dogs (犬); so dog with two mouths means “wail”: 哭. Two mouths may effectively express crying and howling, but certainly, “two buckets of tears,” according to the proverb, “will not heal a bruise.”
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This ideograph places speech (讠) between two different forms of dogs (犭 and 犬). It represents a lawsuit: 狱, with the two suitors barking at each other like dogs. 狱 also means prison - for the loser. And, for the winner: “Win your lawsuit, and lose your money.”
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Mouth (口) plus dog (犬) equals bark: 吠. This Chinese character, therefore, shows what makes a dog bark. The ancient proverb, however, explains what makes a hundred dogs bark: “One dog barks at something, and a hundred bark at the sound.”
This character for dog: 狗 fittingly combines the dog radical: 犭 (or 犬) with the phonetic: 句. 句, meaning a sentence of words, suggests barking - a distinguishing characteristic of the dog. Counseling against the thoughtless ill-treatment of the underdog, the proverb warns: “In beating a dog, first find out who the owner is.”
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This ideograph combines the container for liquor: 酉 with the phonetic: 卒 , representing a soldier. As soldiers do not last long, 卒 also means: “to come to an end.” So, to drink liquor (酉) and reach the limit (卒), is to become drunk: 醉. But, suggests the proverb, “If you want a way to stop drinking, look at a drunken man when you are sober.”
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