Hours have passed
This means that a person cannot conclude that he will do something in the future because he was smart in his youth. From "The World Speaks New Languages and Speeches".
Allusions: At the end of the Han Dynasty (Eastern Han), a very knowledgeable person was born in Beihai, named Kong Rong, who was the twentieth grandson of Confucius. He was very intelligent from an early age, especially long at words, and at a young age, he was already well-known in society. When he was ten years old, he traveled with his father to Luoyang (present-day Luoyang County, Henan). Luoyang is the capital of the emperors of the past, because it is located in the east of Chang'an, called Dongdu), at that time in Luoyang, Henan Taishou, is a very prestigious Li Yuanli, because Li's talent name is very heavy, so the people who come and go in the Taishou Mansion in addition to his relatives, the rest are people with talented names at that time. If it is not a celebrity visit, the gatekeeper is not reported as usual. Kong Rong, who was only ten years old, boldly went to visit this Taishou. He went to the gate of the house and said to the gatekeeper:
"I'm a relative of Li Taishou, let me know."
After the gatekeeper reported, Li Taishou received him. Li Yuanli asked him, "What is your relationship with me?" Kong Rong replied, "Once upon a time, my ancestor Zhongni (i.e., Confucius) and your ancestor Boyang (referring to Lao Tzu, Laozi's surname li ming'er, the character Boyang) had the honor of a teacher (Confucius once asked Lao Tzu about etiquette), so you and I are also friends!" There were many greeters present at the time, and Li and his guests were surprised by Kong Rong's remarks.
One of the middle doctors, Chen Yun, arrived just later, and after the guests present told him Kong Rong's words, he casually said: "It's been an hour, and it may not be better to be big." The clever Kong Rong immediately retorted, "I think Dr. Chen must have been very clever when he was young." Chen Yun was embarrassed to give Kong Rong a sentence, and he could not speak for half a day (see "The World Speaks New Language").
Later people quoted two sentences from this story, and quoted "hours up" into an idiom to show that children are naturally intelligent from an early age and know many things. But because there is a phrase "big is not necessarily better" below, the meaning of this idiom becomes: although small is very smart, once it grows up, it may not be able to become a material. Therefore, although on the surface it is a word of praise, in the bones it is ridiculed and contemptuous. Therefore, when we apply it, we must not praise others, otherwise we will be misunderstood by others, and you will have the heart to ridicule and despise people.
Vanish into thin air
It means that the figurative thing suddenly disappears. It is also a metaphor for how quickly things spread. From "The Pipe ring".
Allusions: "Warring States Policy Qin Ce III" recounts such a story: During the Warring States period, one year the King of Qin sent the general Wang Ji to attack the capital of the Zhao State, Handan, and for seventeen months in a row, he could not capture the city.
Wang Ji was very annoyed, and a man named Zhuang offered a plan to Wang Ji and said, "If you reward your subordinates, you can boost their fighting spirit, and there is hope for Handan to break through."
Wang Ji said impatiently, "I am the commander-in-chief, and I only know how to obey the king's orders, and I can't handle so many other things."
Zhuang was not intimidated by Wang Ji's impatience, and he continued, "You are not quite right in saying this. Even if a father gives orders to his son, some are feasible and some are not. ...... I see that you have been blindly flattering, acting arbitrarily, and despising soldiers for a long time. I have heard that if three people lie that the tiger is coming, then those who listen will believe it; If ten people work together to bend a mallet, they can bend the mallet; If everyone spreads word of mouth asking you to change your command method, the message will fly far without wings. This shows that the power of the subordinates is enormous. Therefore, you should reward your soldiers!"
However, Wang Ji still couldn't listen to Jinzhuang's opinion. A few days later, the Qin army did indeed rebel, which seriously affected the smooth progress of the war, and the King of Qin was very angry and put Wang Ji to death.
This idiom is often used in conjunction with "walk without shins". For example, the "Liu Zi Xin Theory of Recommendation" says, "Jade flies without wings; pearls walk without shins." "Shin, calf." "Walking without shins", being able to travel everywhere without legs, is also described as spreading rapidly on its own. Or "walk without shins" and "walk without feet".
Now the commonly used idiom "fly without a wing", but there is another meaning: something is inexplicably suddenly lost and disappeared, often also called "missing and flying".
Indomitable
Explanation: Fold: Frustration; Scratch: Bend. The metaphor is strong-willed, no matter how many setbacks it suffers, it does not waver in retreat.
From: Han Cai Yong's "Taiwei Qiao Xuan Monument": "Its temperament is solemn, the disease is still simple, there are indomitable twists and turns, and the wind is invincible in the face of the big festival." ”
Qiao Xuan (桥玄), courtesy name Gongzu, was a native of Suiyang (present-day Shangqiu, Henan) in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Qiao Xuan has a straight temperament, is jealous and hateful, and dares to fight against traitors and instrumentalists. When Qiao Xuan was young, he served as a gong cao in this county. Once, Yuzhou Assassin Zhou Jing came to Suiyang. Qiao Xuan exposed to Zhou Jing the crimes of Yang Chang, the "Chen Guoxiang" of Yuzhou, and asked Zhou Jing to send him to investigate and deal with it. After Zhou Jing agreed, Qiao Xuan first arrested all of Yangchang's guests and investigated Yangchang's crimes in detail.
Yang Chang's patron, the great general Liang Yi, learned of this news and sent a flying horse to send a message to rescue Yang Chang. At the same time, Zhou Jing also received a holy decree to recall Qiao Xuan. Qiao Xuan resisted the pressure and grasped the case, and finally made Yang Chang receive the punishment he deserved, and Qiao Xuan became famous for it.
During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, Qiao Xuan served as Shang Shujin. Taizhong's grand master Gai Sheng, who had a friendship with Emperor Ling, took bribes and collected a lot of wealth when he was serving as the Tai Puncture of Nanyang, and after Qiao Xuan grasped the facts of Gai Sheng's crime, he played to Emperor Ling, demanding that Gai Sheng be deposed and confiscated the property that Gai Sheng had searched for. The Han Ling Emperor not only did not investigate and deal with Gai Sheng, but instead promoted Gai Sheng's officials. Qiao Xuan resigned from his illness and returned to his hometown.
During Qiao Xuan's tenure in the capital, once, when his ten-year-old young son was playing at the door, suddenly three robbers kidnapped the child, rushed upstairs, and extorted property from Qiao Xuan. After the news spread, The school's Yang Qiu sent orders to Yin and Luoyang Counties in Henan to lead troops to besiege Qiaoxuan's home. Yang Qiu and the others were worried that they would hurt the child if they rushed to do it, so they did not dare to attack, and Qiao Xuan saw the situation and shouted, "The robbers are lawless, can they indulge these evils for the sake of my children?" He urged Yang Qiu and the others to attack, killing the bandits, and his young son was killed.
When Qiao Xuan died, there was no inheritance in the family, and the funeral was very simple. His resolute and forward-looking spirit has been praised by people. Cai Yong, a writer of the Eastern Han Dynasty, wrote in the "Monument to the Taiwei Bridge": "He has a serious disposition, is jealous of luxury, advocates frugality, and has the courage to be indomitable and never change his will on major issues of principle."