Welcome to our civil service exam preparation session. Today we will study five common idioms that frequently appear in Chinese national civil service examinations. These idioms are not only simple and easy to understand, but also very interesting and practical for exam success.
Our first idiom is 画蛇添足, which literally means drawing a snake and adding feet to it. This idiom comes from an ancient Chinese story about a drawing contest. The winner finished drawing a snake first, but then decided to add feet to make it more elaborate. However, since snakes don't have feet, this addition made the drawing incorrect and he lost the prize. Today, this idiom is used to describe situations where someone adds unnecessary details or does extra work that actually makes things worse rather than better.
The second idiom is 守株待兔, which means waiting by a tree stump for rabbits. This story tells of a farmer who once saw a rabbit accidentally run into a tree and die. Instead of continuing to work his fields, he decided to sit by the tree every day, waiting for more rabbits to crash into it. Of course, no more rabbits came, and his crops failed. This idiom criticizes people who expect good fortune to come without any effort on their part, representing a passive and lazy attitude toward achieving success.
The third idiom is 亡羊补牢, which means mending the pen after losing sheep. This story is about a shepherd who lost some sheep because his fence was broken. Instead of ignoring the problem, he immediately repaired the fence to prevent losing more sheep. This idiom teaches us that even though we cannot undo past mistakes or losses, it's never too late to take corrective action to prevent future problems. It emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes and taking preventive measures.