| Is there a Chinese idiom for this expression? | |
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| Dec 5, 2014 17:24 |   |
 | Is there a Chinese idiom for this expression? "The fox guarding the hen house" The meaning is to entrust the safety of the chickens to a predator that eats chickens. We use it in all sorts of ways. My daughter (step-daughter actually) and I would play a game where I would say, "In America we say the early bird gets the worm...do the Chinese have a saying for that?" It was a very rare thing to stump her with an idiom that did not have an equivalent. Unfortunately, she is traveling and is not here to respond. So do Chinese people have an expression that is the equivalent to "The fox guarding the hen house" ???  |
| Dec 6, 2014 21:54 | #1 |
| Early bird gets the worm. In Chinese, we say 早起的鸟儿有虫吃 (Zao Qi De Niao Er You Chong Chi). The fox guarding the hen house. We have an equivalent in Chinese, that is, 监守自盗 (Jian Shou Zi Dao). |
| Dec 8, 2014 09:34 | #2 |
| Thank you, Jimmy. I always enjoyed your posts about the idioms. Soon after my wife and daughter arrived from China, a mountain chicken (grouse) flew into a big window in our log cabin. It fell at my feet. We ate it. I told the story of the hard-working farmer who got lazy after a rabbit ran into a stump. I repeated the idiom that I learned from your posts and my daughter blurted out the idiom. That is how our idiom game was born. Thank you again, Jimmy. |
| Dec 8, 2014 19:56 | #3 |
| Griz, you are so lucky. I am not sure if the mountain chicken is the same as pheasant in China. When I was young, my dad caught a pheasant when he drove his tractor back home in the evening. To be accurate, the pheasant ran into the tractor. He told me and my sister that we could eat the pheasant. You know, my sister and I were kind. We saw the pheasant was alive and persuaded our dad to free the pheasant. I remembered that we were just around 10 and 7 years old. When we grow up, we know that the pheasant is under state second class protection. It's prohibited to eat the pheasant. Yes, the pheasant is really beautiful. However, it is very stupid. Otherwise, it wouldn't have run into my dad's tractor. |
| Dec 29, 2014 01:08 | #4 |
| Pheasant is good eating. There are many pheasants in eastern Montana, but not many here. We have "mountain chicken" which is just a generic way to describe grouse and wild turkey. I shot two dozen (24) mountain chicken and 2 wild turkey this hunting season. If you ever get to the USA, you can come stay with us for a bit. My wife will cook our wild game, Chinese-style for you. |
| Dec 29, 2014 19:59 | #5 |
| Griz, everything has changed in our village. Our village is not far from the Weihe, which is the biggest tributary of the Yellow River. The Xian-Baoji Expressway passes between the river and our village. We used to see many birds inluding pheasant on the riverside when I was young. Today, it's almost impossible to find birds on the riverside because of the environment pollution and the increase of human population. In the very near future, our hourses might be turned down and high buildings will be built. I don't know if this is a good thing. My parents are both farmers. However, they don't have the fields to plant crops. Our lands have been taken over though we were compensated. Thanks for invitation. I am afraid that I may not have a chance to visit USA and try your wife's dishes. |
| Jan 8, 2015 01:29 | #6 |
|  It is a sincere invitation, Jimmy. I hope some day that you have the opportunity. We would be honored to have you and your family in our cabin. The picture is our cabin after a fresh snow...if it uploads. We have 14 white tail deer and 9 wild turkeys that come into our yard every morning when I feed and water our chickens. In the summer, we usually see a bear or two, sometimes a moose, and less frequently a mountain lion. It is sad that you are losing your wildlife. But I have faith that China will find a way to clean the water and the air; then the wildlife will return. |
| Jan 14, 2015 20:23 | #7 |
| Griz, I appreciate your sincere invitation. I would come to visit you if I could go to USA someday. Your home is really nice. It's good to have a close contact with wild animals. In fact, the air pollution is getting more serious. I have to wear a mask every morning because PM 2.5 was almost above 200. It's true that some strict measures have been implemented to deal with the pollution. However, I have no faith when clean water and air will come back. |
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