The Chinese Sayings Podcast
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The Chinese Sayings Podcast
Join Laszlo Montgomery for bi-weekly episodes that introduce commonly used Chinese Sayings and the stories, history and rich meanings behind each phrase. Whether you speak Chinese or not, enjoy a few nice stories and pick up a new and useful phrase or two from China’s ancient times.
Episoade Recente
94 episoade
S9E10 | Finished behind the last place guy
Firstly, hats off to Emma and her 团队 at the CYZ for all their hard work, all season-long. We close out the season 9 with an amusing story from a sou...
S9E09 | First Strike
Season 9 is starting to wind down. For the ninth chengyu of the season, we take Sima Qian's "Record of the Grand Historian" and open to the chapter on...
S9E08 | Owned!
For our eighth CSP offering this season, we open up the Book of Han once again and hear the story behind Jiāo Bīng Bì Bài 骄兵必败. It doesn't always...
S9E07 | You Can Get it if You Really Want (But you must try)
Here's another well-worn favorite from the long list of great chengyu's: 磨杵成针 Mó Chǔ Chéng Zhén. The story behind this Chinese Saying stars none o...
S9E06 | The First Cut is the Deepest
This one may be a bit of a departure from the average CSP episode. The Chinese Saying for this time is Jiǎn Bú Duàn, Lǐ Hái Luàn-剪不断 理还乱. Many C...
S9E05 | Had enough yet?
Here's a good one from the Three Kingdoms Era in which we feature the famous story of Meng Huo, Zhuge Liang, and Qī Qín Mèng Huò 七擒孟获. Some people...
S9E04 | Be like Kong Rong
This Chinese Saying, or at least the story, is rather well-known. The story of young Kong Rong and the bowl of pears. Kǒng Róng Ràng Lí 孔融让梨. This...
S9E03 | Please allow me to introduce myself
Sima Qian strikes again. This time around we look at the well-known saying, Máo Suì Zì Jiàn 毛遂自荐. I tend to favor those 成语's from the Warring St...
S9E02 | R-E-S-P-E-C-T
This week's Chinese Saying is another good and respectable one that comes to us compliments of the Book of Song. It concerns the Northern Song officia...
S9E01 | The Truth Always Gets Out
For the Season 9 opener, we bring you a good one that takes place in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty. Qin Hui, the reviled chancellor of...
Bonus Episode, An old favorite of Laszlo's
I wouldn't technically call this a Bonus Episode. We're in between seasons right now. And while Laszlo and Emma are busy brainstorming the chengyu lin...
Bonus CSP Episode featuring Emma in the narrator's seat
As promised and advertised, to cap off another winning season of the Chinese Sayings Podcast, we're proud to feature none other than our very own Emma...
S8E10 | Don't Count Me Out Yet
For the second time in a row, we feature the Cao Family of Wei in a Chinese Sayings Podcast Episode. This one concerns a story of someone who made the...
S8E09 | Why Can't We Live Together
So much rancor in this world these days. Here's one that describes the feeling of mutual enmity that existed between two giants of their day, Cao Cao...
S8E08 | Let's Stick Together
We human beings have been called social animals by nature. Some of us love other kinds of people more than others do. But no matter how enamored one m...
S8E07 | Help!
We're back for the seventh time this season. This time we're happy to feature once again the great Daoist philosopher who never disappoints. This stor...
S8E06 | Looks can be deceiving
For the second time this season, we refer to Zuo Qiuming's "Chronicles of Zuo" for another good and useful chengyu. This one takes place in the Spring...
S8E05 | Shock the Monkey
Lovers of all things Song Dynasty will surely recall the story of Qin Hui. He has top billing in this tale concerning the story behind Shù Dǎo Húsūn S...
S8E04 | Run for your life
Once again we thank The Grand Historian for giving up another good one. This one's an eight-character chengyu. The story goes back to 206 BC and the f...
S8E03 | Gimme Three Steps
With a cast of characters like the Dukes of Jin and Chu and everyone's favorite exile Chong Er, you're guaranteed a treat. This is the story behind th...
S8E02 | Blue, Blue, My World is Blue
This time we're featuring another oldie but goodie, Qīng Chū Yú Lán 青出于蓝. Though Xunzi was the inspiration for the chengyu, the tale behind this C...
S8E01 | Wouldn't Change a Thing
Welcome back my all history and Chengyu lovers to another Season of The Chinese Sayings Podcast. We're coming out of the starting gate fast and strong...
Bonus Episode: Emma debuts on the Chinese Sayings Podcast
Emma's been integral to the CSP for a few seasons now. Here's one more nice chengyu that has loads of utility value. This time Emma herself, introduce...
S7E10 | She's a Woman!
Another season, another twenty weeks. Thanks to everyone who tuned in to the CSP and to all of you who have discovered the show since I began posting...
S7E09 | I want you to show me the way
For our ninth offering of the season here's another golden oldie with a story that goes back almost 2,700 years to the time of the early Spring and Au...
S7E08 | All I Want Is To Be Next To You
That's right. The story behind our Chinese Saying for this time is quite recent as Chinese history goes. It takes place merely a thousand years ago, d...
S7E07 | I Should've Known Better
This time around we're reaching all the way back to those fateful years following the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the contentious period of conflict b...
S7E06 | Locked and Loaded
Here comes one more textbook chengyu from the Spring and Autumn Period, as written by Master Zuo Qiuming 左丘明 himself. 厉兵秣马 Lì Bīng Mò Mǎ. Lots...
S7E05 | I Carry the Burden and Shame
We've reached the midway point in Season 7 with this exciting Chinese Saying from the Record of the Three Kingdoms. The backstory for this chengyu con...
S7E04 | Mirror Mirror On the Wall
This time we wander back to the 4th century BC to the State of Qi under its great King Wei. There was a handsome resident of Qi named Zou Ji who had a...
S7E03 | We Swore Blood Brothers Against the Wind
Who doesn't know this one? If you never read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" perhaps you might not know this one. In all the thousands of years of Chi...
S7E02 | What's the Rush?
In this second installment of the 7th Season, Laszlo once refers to "The Mengzi" for this short tale of the foolish farmer who wasn't satisfied with n...
S7E01 | Lips n' Teeth
Happy New Year everyone!! We begin 2023 with a brand new season of The Chinese Sayings Podcast. For the Season 7 opener, we're going with another one...
S6E10 | Putting out the Fire with Gasoline
Once again, Warring States heavy, Han Feizi, pulls through for us with an excellent chengyu in this Season 6 closer. Bào Xīn Jiù Huǒ 抱薪救火. Sometim...
S6E09 | The Great Rejuvenation
Here's another good chengyu that goes all the way back to the Zuo Zhuan, The Commentaries of Zuo Qiuming. The story takes place during the 6th century...
S6E08 | I Was Made to Love Her
Here's another great one from the good old days of the Western Han Dynasty. Does the Book of Han deliver or what? If you like happy endings, this is o...
S6E07 | Tomorrow Never Knows
Here's one that goes back all the way to the Huananzi 淮南子. And it's still used today. And quite often too. Sài wēng shī mǎ, yān zhī fēi fú 塞翁失马...
S6E06 | Looks Good On Paper
This week's Chinese Saying is a well-worn one brought to us by none other than Sima Qian, the Grand Historian. Featured in this story are Lian Po, Zha...
S6E05 | The Comeback Kid
This Chinese Saying for this time, 东山再起 Dōng Shān Zài Qǐ is a good one for any situation involving someone whose career everyone thought finished...
S6E04 | Sweating Buckets
We've all been in this situation in our lives. Here's one for all seasons. Poor old Zhou Bo was caught ill-prepared when the emperor was grilling him....