The Difference Between Animals in Eastern and Western Proverbs

"Cat" and "rat" are a pair of "natural enemies" known to every household, and are also popular pets nowadays. The rat, in particular, is at the top of the list of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, and is called the "Mouse & Rat" (Mouse & Rat).

Therefore, "cat", "rat" as a metaphor, in the East and West of idioms and proverbs played a very active role, these colorful expressions, often used to describe human beings and their activities, was given to the history of their respective national These colorful expressions are often used to describe human beings and their activities, and have been given the colors of their respective national histories and national psychological characteristics, expanding the meaning and connotation of idioms and making the Chinese and English languages more and more colorful.

This year is the Year of the Rat, so let's talk about the different meanings and symbols of "cat" and "rat" in Chinese and Western cultures.

In Chinese, there are very few idioms or proverbs about cats. However, there are countless idioms for "rat" in Chinese, and they are mainly derogatory. For example, "獐头鼠目" (with the head of a buck and the eyes of a rat - repulsively ugly and sly-looking) is used to describe a person who is "ugly and sly-looking". ugly and sly-looking"), used to describe "an ugly and sly-looking person".

In English, there are too many idiomatic references to "cat" and "rat" with specific cultural backgrounds and mixed feelings. For example, in English slang, cat means "a spiteful or unpleasant woman" (ruthless or unpleasant woman); while mouse can refer to girl & woman (girl, woman), rat (larger than mouse) in American slang can stand in for "cat", "mouse", "mouse", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat", "rat" and "rat". In American slang, cat can be used to refer to a freshman. Of course, cat can also be used as a metaphor for fans of Jazz; and rat can also refer to varmint, snitch, traitor, etc.

Below, the author has collected some common idioms and proverbs, and briefly introduced their ins and outs and historical and cultural backgrounds, in order to help English learners understand Western culture, understand and apply English idioms, and improve their language skills.

(A) "Cat" Part of speech

1. Care killed a cat.

[Cultural Traceability] The idiom of "Care killed a cat" comes from Act 5, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Benedick has to challenge his friend Claudio in order to avenge the death of his lover Beatrice's cousin. When Claudio sees Benedick depressed and pale, he says to him, "Hey, show some courage, my friend! Though sorrow can hurt, you are a good man and will drive it away." （What though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care) In the Englishman's opinion, a cat is the most vital animal, and yet it can be killed by sorrow, which shows that "sorrow kills; worry hurts". The cat is the most vital animal in the world, but it can be killed by sadness, which can kill a person.

[Example sentence] Don't be so worried about such meaningless things; care killed a cat, you know.

2. A cat has nine lives.

[文化溯源]典出英国习俗。 In many animals, the cat has always been sensitive and light, good at jumping and extraordinary, and because of the soles of the feet have a thick and soft meat toes, so even if the road from a high place down, will not be hurt, and even in the case of the use of some kind of drug can make most of the animals die, the cat can be miraculously survived. The old English superstitious cat's tenacity of life, so the cat has nine lives. The proverb is also known as: A cat with nine lives. Later, this phrase is used as a metaphor for "a person who is full of vitality".

[Example sentences]

①The baby fell from the roof of the house, but nothing went wrong with him. His parents called him a cat that has nine lives. His parents called him a cat that has nine lives.

②One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.

3. a cat's paw

[文化溯源]源自这样一则伊索寓言。 The story goes that a cunning and clever monkey wanted to eat chestnuts in the fire, but was afraid of burning himself, so he coaxed a simple cat to take chestnuts from the ashes of the fire and promised to share them equally after taking them out. As a result, the cat took out the chestnuts, the cat's paws are hot and rotten, when it turned to eat chestnuts, chestnuts have been eaten by monkeys, so the idiom will be used to metaphorically refer to the "tools of others" or "be used and fooled".

[Example sentence]①The stupid fellow never realized that he was a mere cat's paw in the hands of his enemy.

②You have been used as a cat's paw by that woman; she only wanted you to help her get into local society.

4. enough to make a cat speak

[文化溯源]源自英国作家狄更斯（Charles Dickens）的小说《尼古拉斯-尼克尔贝》（Nicholas Nickleby）。 The novel satirizes and scorns the cruel school system and the harsh and rigid teachers of the time. One of the lines in the text reads, "Just look at the way she looks up and even cats will talk French grammar." It means that the way the heroine looks up is astonishing, and this is where the phrase comes from. Nowadays, enough to make a cat speak is often used to describe something "different; surprising; very surprising".

[例句]The plot of the novel is enough to make a cat speak.

5. grin like a Cheshire cat

[文化]源出英国作家(Lewis Carroll)的作品《爱丽丝漫游奇境记》（Alice's Adventures in Wonderland）。 In the 6th chapter of the book, there is the following content: Alice saw a laughing cat in the Duke's home, and asked the Duchess why the cat had been grinning inexplicably, and the Duchess told her that it was a "Cheshire cat", which gave rise to the phrase, and later people used it as a metaphor for "grinning and giggling".

[例句]I wish you'd stop grinning like a Cheshire cat and try to be serious.

6. no room to swing a cat

[文化溯源]The origin of this idiom varies. One says it comes from an ancient sports game. People put a live cat in a cloth or leather bag and hung it on a tree as an arrow target. The cat struggled in the bag, and the bag shook. The shooter needs to stand at a certain distance to shoot arrows. The second theory comes from the whipping that was prevalent in the British Navy in the old days. This kind of whip consists of nine leather cords, known as the "nine-tailed cat". A certain amount of space was needed to swing such a whip. Whichever way it comes from, no room to swing a cat "space is extremely narrow; there is no room for maneuver".

[例句]At London I am pent up in frowzy lodgings, where there is no room to swing a cat.

Attachment:

English proverbs related to "cat":

①Cats hide their claws.

②All cats are gray in the dark. （All cats are gray in the dark.)

③A gloved cat catches no mice. （A gloved cat catches no mice.)

④When the weasel and the cat make a marriage, it is a very ill presage.

⑤The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream. (掩耳盗铃)

⑥There are more ways of killing a cat than by choking it with butter. (There are many ways to achieve the goal.)

On the question of "East and West", the food is not the same as the food. The East includes many countries, here I think the most representative of the Chinese culture with 5000 years of civilization, even if it is very far away from the Japanese culture and China have different, but as a whole of Asia, they have a big difference with the West. That's what makes them ****.

The West relative to the East culture started later, but within them between, for example: Southern Europe and Northern Europe, Western Europe and Eastern Europe, that is, the United Kingdom, Germany, there are differences within, but reflects the essence of the difference is undoubtedly still the difference between Eastern and Western cultures. [This site paper collected and organized by the China Thesis Alliance, please specify the source of the China Thesis Alliance]

Dragon and phoenix in China, the dragon is the image of the totem, in the development of the totem of the further sacralization of the formation of the dragon, the phoenix and so on, with a variety of animal characteristics of the totem of the image of a comprehensive, in our country's ancient legends, the dragon is a kind of clouds can be a rain God of the animal. Therefore, in China, the dragon and phoenix refers to people with excellent talents, and the dragon and tiger is a metaphor for the heroes and heroines. "Dragon" is also widely used in idioms, such as, "dragon fly and phoenix dance, hidden dragon and crouching tiger" and so on. The Han Chinese people have always called themselves "the descendants of the dragon" and are proud to be "descendants of the dragon". In our country's legend, the phoenix is a kind of miraculous animal, and the dragon, the turtle, the unicorn is known as the four spirits. Phoenix in China also refers to good women, and the meaning of peace and prosperity, in the old days, the phoenix is also a holy virtue." The word "phoenix" refers to the precious and rare used as a metaphor for a person of holy virtue.

In the West, dragon and phoenix do not mean the same thing at all, in the West, the dragon is the representative of sin and evil, the phoenix in the West, is the meaning of regeneration and resurrection. In Western legend and mythology, the dragon is a huge lizard with wings and scales, dragging a long tail , able to breathe fire from its mouth . In the Middle Ages, the dragon evolved into a symbol of evil, or else the devil in Diablo (a famous Western computer game) is a monster that looks like a dragon, In English, the association of dragon is completely different from the association of "dragon" in Chinese. In English, the association of dragon is completely different from the association of "dragon" in Chinese. You should never use "dragon" or "phoenix" to praise a Westerner.

The Chinese people are a people who long for stability and peace, so they imagine that the dragon and phoenix are a kind of gospel. From a cultural point of view, the West has long been influenced by religion, but our country has been ruled by feudalism for quite a long time. Westerners believe in God, against God is a fault, is a sin; while our people believe in heaven, Buddha, praying for heaven to bring us good luck, God brought the dragon down to earth as a representative of itself, is the symbol of supremacy.

The clash of East and West ways of thinking

Lu Qiutian, a teacher who has lived and worked in Europe for 26 years and is now China's ambassador to Germany, said that a German and a Frenchman were on their deathbeds when he asked the Frenchman what his greatest wish was before he died. The Frenchman replied, "I want to drink a glass of the best champagne. And you ask the German, what is your wish before you die? He said, "If I still have the strength, I would like to give another report. This is the German, who likes to make reports. I think this may be a difference in thinking, and that's just within the West, but when it comes to the differences between East and West, I think it's even bigger.

There are four main points that characterize the way of thinking: first, the breadth of thinking. I once read such an article, an American to write to the Chinese, the Chinese look at the letter of the Americans, a look at the anger, because the Americans in the beginning of the letter, their own requirements in the forefront, open the door to the mountain, only to speak some polite words after. The Chinese, in order to maintain their psychological balance, read the letter from the American first. The Americans read the Chinese letter, began to read more and more confused, do not know what the other side to explain the problem, to the end of the letter, there are a few sentences is what he has to say, the front said are polite words and so on. Americans read Chinese letters upside down. This different way of writing reflects different ways of thinking.

Secondly, after the formation of the national way of thinking, there is relative stability. A person, no matter whether he is an Easterner or a Westerner, is relatively stable after forming a way of thinking. A German, a Japanese and a Chinese were traveling by train from Frankfurt, Germany to Paris, and they were sitting in a compartment. Suddenly, a guest came up because there were four seats in the compartment. The guest brought a fishbowl and put it on the empty seat. The German started to ask the person who brought the fishbowl, "撃? The chastity of the widow? The emblem of the school is a symbol of the school. The German asked the man who brought the fishbowl to the table, "What are you doing? What do you think? What is the name of the fish? ?ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ó What is the best way to protect yourself from the food industry? What's wrong with you? When they came up and put them on the empty seats, the Germans began to ask the person who was carrying the fish tank, "撃" (撃). The chastity of widows is not a problem. What is the school's name? What are you doing? What do you think? ?òàòàòàòàòàòàòàòàòàòàòàòà ?ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ò-ó What is the best way to protect yourself from the food industry? What's wrong with you? This is the question that the German asked the guest. After listening to the German, the Japanese man asked, "What is the procedure of the test? The Japanese asked the guest, "What is the best way to make a meal out of a meal? What is the reason for this? What is the reason for this? Oysters? What's the reason for this? What's left? What about the food? After the questioning, it was the turn of the Chinese to ask the question, and the island of Shumagawa was the only place where the school could be warmed up and dipped into the trade, saying that it was the only way to escape from the outfits. This shows the characteristics of three different cultures and ways of thinking. In my humble opinion, this is also a reflection of different societies.

Thirdly, the way of thinking is not static, but constantly evolving. This is exactly what has happened to our younger generation. We are already thinking very differently from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

Fourthly, differences in ways of thinking are sometimes felt but not easily articulated or fed back to the other side.

Differences between Eastern and Western cultures

First, there is the question of the relationship between right and wrong. Generally speaking, Westerners emphasize profit over righteousness, while Easterners emphasize righteousness over profit or both. The consciousness of the Oriental people is the word of righteousness first, the ancient Guan Yu is not exactly an uncompromising righteousness hero. It was also greatly appreciated by the people at that time, I think this is also due to the ancient multi-party thinking and caused by a cultural awareness. 5000 years of culture is also caused by this kind of heavy gift can not be ignored reasons. Relatively speaking, the short Western culture is more concerned about the interests, which is also the performance of realism, from the war of aggression against China and all the life of the West can be seen in their self-consciousness, can also be called not hypocritical, realistic style. Of course, this is only true for the vast majority of people in the East. In the East, for example in the life of the Chinese, modesty is a virtue, whereas in the West people don't know what to do with it. Most of the time, Westerners are willing to sacrifice their own righteousness for the sake of profit.

Secondly, there is the question of wholeness and individuality. Easterners emphasize wholeness and comprehensiveness, while Westerners value individuality. For example, Chinese medicine and Western medicine, Chinese medicine emphasizes the whole, Western medicine is different, from an anatomical point of view, it attaches importance to the local in the whole. The difference between holistic thinking and individual thinking is also manifested in interactions. For example, in many reports, a Chinese man went to a Westerner's house for dinner, and when the host asked if he would like to have Chinese or Western food today, the guest politely said, "Whatever." "Whatever the host wants." Westerners have trouble understanding such a response, and they say that when they hear the word 撍 beautiful 銛 they get a headache and don't know how to get it right, it doesn't work well. Deep down in our way of thinking, we think that guests following the host is a sign of politeness and respect for the host, but Westerners don't see it that way, and that's the difference. On the other hand, if a European comes to China and you ask him what he wants to do today, he will not say "whatever", but will clearly indicate his wish. Today, we will eat Western food, or eat Chinese food, while Chinese people tend to express less personal wishes, when our delegation visits, the foreign side to receive our delegation, the other side asked, what do you want to drink? If the head of the delegation said tea, the next few may also say tea. People wondered how one said tea, then tea, tea all went down.

Thirdly, it is a matter of seeking common ground and seeking differences. We Chinese always emphasize "harmony", "unity of mankind" and so on, while the West is concerned about the diversity of the standard new say. When we thank each other for their hospitality, we often say things like: your country is beautiful, your people are very friendly, your hospitality is very considerate, etc. They think that they have traveled a long way from the East to the West. They think that if you have traveled a long way from the East to the West, don't you have any different feelings, so why do you always say the same three sentences? Later, when a delegation was leaving, apart from the three sentences, he said, "I would like to make some suggestions now. These people immediately listened very attentively, wanting to hear the suggestions made by the delegation before it left. The first suggestion was that I hope your presentation materials could be translated into Chinese. The second suggestion was that you could cook this beef a little bit more badly, as the blood was too bloody to bear. The third suggestion was that you should have a better understanding of Chinese history and culture. They felt particularly good to hear different opinions. They said, we will do what we can do, and what we can't do we know what you like.

Fourth, there is the difference in the way East and West express their feelings. The difference between China and the West on a lot of issues is yes, I bet Westerners can't understand "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", the biggest problem here is the difference between Chinese and Western cultures, which results in two different ways of expression between the delicate and subtle love of the Chinese and the direct expression of the Westerners. The Westerners must have never imagined the ancient Chinese lady of the house, not to mention the "male supremacy" and the ancient family law and all the other fettering ideas of China.

Fifth, there is often an intentionality in the way we think. They are a kind of intuition. For example, we like to use innuendo in some of our writings or in our lives, or metaphors. This kind of innuendo needs you to realize, the so-called no sound here is better than sound, which is not quite the same as the intuitive nature of the West. For example, in Mr. Qian Zhongshu's book on the comparison between Western and Chinese culture, he talks about the strength of Chinese poetry, which is only a few dozen words long, but the expression is much more meaningful than that of Western long poems. But again, this is something very deep and difficult to understand for Westerners.

That gray song

Vacant conjoins the exact.

This is what the average Western reader thinks characterizes Chinese poetry. Keats famously said, "The music that you can hear is beautiful, but what you can't hear is even more beautiful. It is also often answered with a question, a question for an answer, a question without an answer, leaving you with infinite visions and imaginations of what follows.

Caused Educational Differences

Two different cultures have created two different educational systems. Extremely sharp contrast reflects the children in two different cultural backgrounds, first of all, the Western education, from the system to the implementation of policies are nearly complete, a batch of children are very good to receive advanced education, the only defect is that in this case, some of the students developed a lot of extravagant habits, but also from a certain degree of influence on them. But we have to admit the fact that their educational environment is simply better than China's, and their main body is too much to cultivate the children's self-competence and quality, which is also the place that my humble servant appreciates more. From the hour to exercise their own life ability, in the international summer camps obviously see their children than ours to be much stronger. I think this also has a certain environmental factor.

By comparison, China's quality education has never been perfect. In addition to the environmental factors, I think one of the most important reasons is that the background of Chinese culture is so deep that it is difficult to change this tradition. What's more, China's quality education overemphasizes the cultivation of test-taking ability and often neglects the cultivation of ability and the improvement of self-competence, which fundamentally causes Chinese students to be very high in international competitions, while their lives are far from being as good as others. There are many students in China who are dissatisfied with their education, and this also reflects the two levels in one way.

I think the two different education systems do not indicate which is better or which is worse, it is just a product of two cultures and social systems, they have their own good and bad, we should learn from each other's good aspects, so that education can be well developed in different lands.

Causes of Cultural Differences

Mr. Zhou said, "China is a land-based civilization, while the West is a sea-based civilization." This is a very reasonable statement. One is that the path of social development between the East and the West is different, and that China's long agrarian society and small-peasant economy have caused the national psychology of our continental culture. This mentality is characterized to a large extent by an emphasis on a kind of native love, a kind of neighborly love. Don't we say that there are four great joys in life? When a long drought meets sweet rain, when one meets one's old friend in another country, when one spends the night in the bridal chamber, and when one achieves the title in the gold list. In the West, "meeting a friend from another country" must be very indifferent. They will not be very excited if they meet a fellow countryman in a foreign country, whereas our overseas Chinese have many hometown associations outside the country, whereas Westerners generally do not have hometown associations. We often talk about our local hometowns, and even about the fact that one side of the soil nurtures another side of the people, and so on. All these have a lot to do with our long-term agricultural society. There is also the idea of returning to one's roots, which carries with it a strong sense of love, an element of love that happens to be very weak in the West.

Another reason is that China is a multi-ethnic country with a history of 5,000 years. The historical origin of traditional Chinese culture is the culture of Confucianism as the main school of thought and the schools of thought of the hundred schools of thought. One of the characteristics of this traditional culture is a qualitative way of thinking that emphasizes the whole, which is very different from the empirical way of thinking of Western culture that emphasizes individual parts. The West is primarily a Christian culture. In the Confucian philosophical system, the emphasis is on cultivating one's body, aligning one's family, ruling the country, and pacifying the world. The first is to cultivate the body first, that is to say, the moral culture; Western philosophical thought emphasizes the analysis, the formation of the focus on the overall thinking or individual thinking differences, respectively.

The cultures of China and the West have a lot of differences and disagreements, and many of these customs have given rise to many jokes. However, the same point in different cultures is that these are all for the cultural development of mankind, these differences between the East and West culture can not say who is superior and who is inferior, which is objectively formed, and their existence will certainly cause the continued development of human culture, in today's world, any nation or country can not lose or get rid of their traditional culture. Therefore, the imposition from the outside or defection from the inside is not conducive to the development of the country and the progress of society.

Let us *** together to maintain the development of various cultures and the stability of the country, and the cultures of the East and the West promote and learn from each other, in this way, I believe, the cultural journey of mankind will go better.