The Chinese Sayings Podcast

By LASZLO MONTGOMERY

Education History

What's The Chinese Sayings Podcast about?

Join Laszlo Montgomery for weekly episodes on Chinese sayings. These commonly used phrases are succinct yet conceal rich meaning and stories. Whether you speak Chinese or not, enjoy some stories and maybe pick up a phrase or two.

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LAST EPISODE

S4E08 | Nobody Loves You Wh...

11.21.2021

Here's another good one to remember if your life should temporarily hit the skids and your friends scatter. This one comes from the Grand Historian himself, Sima Qian, who tells us all about Lord Zhai, a loyal and respected public ...

The Chinese Sayings Podcast episodes:

11.21.2021 S4E08 \| Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out Here's another good one to remember if your life should temporarily hit the skids and your friends scatter. This one comes from the Grand Historian himself, Sima Qian, who tells us all about Lord Zhai, a loyal and respected public ...
11.08.2021 S4E07 \| One Bad Apple Welcome back to another CSP. This time I'm happy to present to you another great one direct from The Zhuangzi. Everyone's favorite Daoist tells us the story about a young kid from the sticks who had a chance encounter with ...
10.24.2021 S4E06 \| From the Sublime to the Ridiculous In the latest CSP episode, we harken back to the early Jin Dynasty 晋朝 and the zaniness of the Sima Clan following the death of Emperor Wu of Jin. Plenty of blood flowed during the shake-out period as the 3rd ...
10.10.2021 S4E05 \| That's Worth a Lot! Today's CSP offering goes way way back to the time of Ancient Chu State during the 7th century BC. The famous "Hé Shì Bì" 和氏璧 Jade ornament discussed years ago in CSP episode S3E01 once again takes center stage. In ...
09.27.2021 S4E04 \| Showing Paul How to Write a Song Today's Chinese Saying, Bān Mén Nòng Fǔ 班门弄斧 comes to us courtesy of the Tang and Song Dynasty luminaries Liu Zongyuan and Ouyang Xiu who teach us about the Zhou Dynasty hero Lu Ban. He knew how to use an ...
09.13.2021 S4E03 \| Waiting in Vain Another classic from the long list of great Chinese Sayings. 守株待兔 Shǒu Zhū Dài Tù. Thank Han Feizi for this one. He teaches us not to sit around and wait for good luck to find us. Just because you got ...
08.27.2021 S4E02 \| They Smilin' in Your Face Remember that O'Jay's tune from 1972, "Backstabbers"? They must have had Tang Dynasty chancellor Li Linfu in mind. The story behind our Chinese Saying for this time 口蜜腹剑 tells the story of this 8th-century politician/official who served the great Emperor ...
08.16.2021 S4E01 \| The Four-Legged Snake Welcome back to the fourth season of the Chinese Sayings Podcast...after three years and seven months, we continue on where we left off with another story behind one of the great Chinese Sayings, or chengyu. This time around we harken ...
01.20.2018 S3E10 \| Always Expect the Unexpected For the final episode of Season 3 Laszlo closes with one of the classics from the Three Kingdoms era. Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang star in this drama played against the backdrop of the Battle of Red Cliff. Who hasn't ...
01.12.2018 S3E09 \| I Gotta Get to the Gym! Another classic from the Eastern Han that features the future King of Shu, the great Liu Bei of Three Kingdoms period renown. In this episode we find Liu Bei catching a breather after suffering a defeat in the service of ...
01.04.2018 S3E08 \| Create Your Destiny Laszlo introduces another nobody from Chinese history named Zong Que who had his own great aspirations. He swore he would make something of himself one day. Furthermore, if he did, he was determined to do it as a soldier. Although ...
12.28.2017 S3E07 \| There's Always a Way This week's Chinese Saying comes from a story direct from the Eastern Han Dynasty. It features the Guangwu Emperor who gave us this useful idiom when he praised the star of our episode. For a full list of the terms ...
12.19.2017 S3E06 \| Seeing is Believing! When the Han Emperor Xuan had a headache out in west China he called on Old Reliable, General Zhao Chongguo, to deal with it. From this, we get one of the most useful Chinese Sayings ever! For a full list ...
12.13.2017 S3E05 \| He Sure Had a Lot of Gall We're midway through the halfway point in Season 3. China History Podcast fans will all know this story from which our Chengyu was derived. These is the early years of the Warring States period. Kings Goujian of Yue State and ...
11.29.2017 S3E04 \| A Man of Great Ambition We're in the dying days of the Qin Dynasty with this week's Chinese Saying. The Dazexiang Uprising marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Qin empire. In this episode we meet Chen Sheng, a.k.a. Chen She, whose origins ...
11.22.2017 S3E03 \| Go For Broke! For this week's offering, we hear the well-known legend of Xiang Yu, Zhang Han, and Liu Bang. As the Qin Dynasty starts to crumble Xiang Yu heads to the defense of Zhao State to face off against the ever-victorious Qin ...
11.14.2017 S3E02 \| So Sorry! We continue on with another story featuring the great statesman from the Warring States period, Lin Xiangru. After becoming a hero last episode for returning the He Shi Bi Jade back to Zhao, Lin rose high in the government. But ...
11.06.2017 S3E01 \| True to His Word Season 3 is off and running with an episode featuring the Western Han statesman and hero Sima Xiangru. In this Season 3 series all episodes will feature heroes and brave soldiers from Chinese history. In this episode Sima Xiangru promises ...
04.24.2017 S2E10 \| You Smell That? In the CSP Season 2 finale, Laszlo picks out a good one featuring China's most famous person from ancient times. Today with our smart phone-obsessed lifestyles you can say we too sometimes don't notice the smell of meat. For a ...
04.16.2017 S2E09 \| Whole Lotta Love Laszlo tells a story of true love between two literary famosas from the Song Dynasty. Theirs was the perfect love that contained all the ingredients of marital bliss except length of years together. For a full list of the terms ...
04.10.2017 S2E08 \| Give it All You Got! Back to Shandong Province and the Spring and Autumn Period to the epic Battle of Chang Shao 684 BCE to learn how underdog Lu State, by the beat of a drum, out-strategized their bigger and more powerful neighbor to the ...
04.03.2017 S2E07 \| Double Sorrow Here's another musical chengyu with an injection of sadness. It's a theme that has inspired movies, plays, and every kind of literature. When your eye catches an object that reminds you of someone important in your life who had passed ...
03.26.2017 S2E06 \| I Love You Man! This is a nice musical Chinese Saying to describe a soulmate or someone who can be called your 知音 (zhīyīn)..a friend who is appreciative or understanding of a friend (and his talents). Like almost all of this Chengyu, it comes ...
03.20.2017 S2E05 \| A Man of Great Inability Everybody knows of someone who can be described by this Chinese Saying. In this week's musical Chinese Saying we look at the lazy poser Mr. Nanguo and his brief career as a Yu player in an all-Yu Orchestra and the ...
03.13.2017 S2E04 \| Surrounded! Hopefully, none of us will ever face these circumstances...but when all is lost and you're surrounded by enemies trying to take you down, remember the Songs of the ancient state of Chu. For a full list of the terms used ...
03.05.2017 S2E03 \| Stop Wasting Time If you've ever explained yourself or something you're quite expert in and all you get is a blank stare of complete non-comprehension, this one is for you. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit ...
02.26.2017 S2E02 \| I Can't Get it Out of My Head Have you ever experienced something, the impact of which lasted well beyond when you saw it or heard it? That's what today's particularly useful Chinese Saying is all about. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, ...
02.20.2017 S2E01 \| Too Rich For My Blood We're back with the Season Two opener. This time Laszlo digs deep into the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to introduce a Chinese Saying with a story that tells why some music just isn't for everybody. For a full list of the ...
01.29.2017 S1E10 \| Betting the Bank In this last episode of the first season of the Chinese Sayings Podcast, Laszlo explains the scuttlebutt behind the loyal official who wagered a dynasty in one single bet. Gū Zhù Yī Zhì For a full list of the terms ...
01.22.2017 S1E09 \| Payback! Laszlo serves up yet another good one, Gǎn Ēn Tú Bào. An ancient story teaches us when someone does ya a solid...don't forget to show your gratitude by paying them back one day. For a full list of the terms ...
01.18.2017 S1E08 \| The Hu and the Hu Back to the Warring States period once again to a story that brings us a story that many of us are all too familiar with. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website ...
01.10.2017 S1E07 \| The Entourage A noble lord accepts an ill-fated job offer and relies on his entourage to extricate him from his situation. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Want to support the ...
01.02.2017 S1E06 \| Welcome to the Jar This week Laszlo digs up another doozie, starring some Tang Dynasty inquisitors in the employ of China's one and only Empress to rule as the head of state. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please ...
12.26.2016 S1E05 \| Should I Save or Should I Throw? Laszlo digs up another oldie but goodie from 1,800 years ago. Everyone has nibbled on chicken ribs at one time or another. Bon appétit mesdames et messieurs! For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit ...
12.18.2016 S1E04 \| A Lousy Place to Fish 缘木求鱼 This week's Chengyu phrase features no less a personage than the great philosopher Mencius himself, Mengzi to the cognoscenti. In this chengyu Mengzi preaches a lesson of peace to the King of Qi State in Shandong province. For a ...
12.12.2016 S1E03 \| A Sincere Gift of a Mere Trifle The next time someone looks down on your gift because its value isn't much, now you have the perfect rejoinder. For a full list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the website at teacup.media Want to support ...
12.05.2016 S1E02 \| Fen-Wise and Yuan-Foolish In this new episode (weekly, as advertised), Laszlo introduces a story from the early 4th Century BCE, the Warring States period that preceded the unification of China under Qin Shihuang. It concerns the ruler down in the southwest kingdom of ...
11.27.2016 S1E01 \| Take Care in That Melon Field In the inaugural episode of the Chinese Sayings Podcast Laszlo introduces one of his favorites from his earliest days: Guā Tián Li Xià. 瓜田李下. This one goes all the way back to the early days of the Three Kingdoms Period. ...
11.26.2016 Welcome to the Chinese Sayings Podcast A warm welcome to the Chinese Sayings Podcast, new from Teacup Media. Each episode Laszlo introduces a new "chengyu" or Chinese idiomatic expression or saying. You'll get the backstory behind these ancient sayings and from this, you can unlock the ...