Saturday, December 10, 2016

一箭双雕 (Yíjiànshuāngdiāo)

DIRECT TRANSLATION
To shoot two hawks with one arrow

STORY
Nánbĕicháo shí, bĕizhōu yŏu ge jiào Zhăngsūn Shèng de wŭguān,
  南  北 朝    时, 北周     有  个 叫       长孙       晟    的   武官,

shànyú shèjiàn, zhìmóu guò rén,
   善于    射箭,  智谋     过  人,

yīncĭ bèi cháotíng pàiqiăn hùsòng gōngzhŭ dào xībĕi tūjuézú qù chénghūn.
 因此 被     朝廷      派遣     护送      公主    到   西北 突厥族  去     成婚。

Tūjuézú guówáng hĕn qìzhòng tā,   bă tā liú xià lái,  suí   zìjĭ     yìqĭ  qù dăliè,
 突厥族     国王      很     器重   他,把 他 留  下 来,随   自己   一起 去  打猎,

guówáng kànjiàn yŏu liăng zhī dàdiāo zài kōngzhōng zhēngduó yí kuài ròu,
   国王       看见    有    两    只   大雕   在      空中          争夺    一  块   肉,

biàn qĭng tā jiāng diāo shèluò, Zhăngsūn Shèng lākāi gōng, yí jiàn shè qù,
  便    请   他  将    雕     射落,   长孙        晟    拉开   弓, 一 箭   射  去,

jìng tóngshí jiāng liăng zhī dàdiāo shè le xià lái.
 竟    同时      将    两    只   大雕    射 了 下 来。


ENGLISH TRANSLATION
During the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Zhang Sun Sheng, a wise sharp-shooting military attache from the Northern State, was sent on a mission: to escort the princess to the Turkic Clan’s territory in the northwest to be married. 

The King of the Turkics appreciated Zhang Sun Sheng’s shooting ability and kept him to go hunting with him. While on the hunt, they saw two big eagles in the sky fighting over a piece of meat, so the king asked him to shoot the eagles. Unexpectedly, he shot both eagles at the same time. So now people usually use the idiom to describe a situation where one action can accomplish two goals.

EXAMPLE
Zhècì yīngyŭ jìngsài, jì  tígāo le wŏ de yīngyŭ huìhuà shuĭpíng, yòu jiéshí le
 这次   英语    竞赛,既 提高 了 我  的  英语    会话       水平,  又  结识 了
jĭ wèi wàiguó péngyou, zhēn kĕwèi yíjiànshuāngdiāo.
几 位   外国       朋友,  真    可谓     一箭双雕。
This English contest not only improves my spoken English ability, but also helps me meet some foreign friends. It’s just like killing two birds with one stone.

Credit: http://www.echineselearning.com/

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