Neither a Donkey Nor a Horse

Characters:

Pronunciation: fei (1) lu(2) fei(1) ma(3)

Explanation: Said of something which looks unseemly

Tone: Negative

The Story: During the Han Dynasty, there was a small kingdom named Guizi located in the west of Han. The King Jiangbin was very friendly to Han and paid several visits to the country. One year, when he visited Han again, the emperor, Hanwudi hosted him for a whole year in the palace to show his hospitality. Jiangbin became fond of Han's palace life (wouldn't you?).

After his return to Guizi, he changed the style of his palace totally in order to copy Han--the decorations, clothing, etiquette of his concubines, his servants, and even his ministers. When other kingdoms saw Jiangbin's blind imitation, they said his behavior was 'neither a donkey nor a horse, but rather like a mule'.

Don't forget: Always be yourself!

Usage Example (Pinyin): Hei, huo(3) ji(4), ni(3) de xin(1) fa(4) xing(2) kan(4) qi(3) lai(2) fei(1) lu(2) fei(1) ma(3).

Usage Example (English translation): Hi guy, your new hairstyle makes you neither a donkey nor a horse.

Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those above where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline study program.