Ok. I think some people will think that this is a stupid question but still I have to ask cos very curious.

These 2 idioms:

san ge chou pi jiang ting guo yi ge zhuge liang.

shuo cao cao, cao cao jiu dao


I am curious as to why do they use cao cao and zhuge liang name. There are many great and talented people during the 3 kingdoms so why don't they use other names like san ge chou pi jiang ting guo yi ge sima yi etc

Dear fireice,

Sorry to trouble you, but could you give me the chinese characters for the first idiom? I don't need the second one as I know what you mean. Thanks a lot!

Liu Bang

三个臭皮匠，胜过一个诸葛亮

Oh! It is this idiom, I see! Thanks a lot, Administrator.

Liu Bang

Are there still any idioms with their names? I heard one is qu you wu, zhou lang gu. This is about zhou yu. and fu bu qi de ah doh...about liushan...are there anymore?

can write it in chinese.

don't understand what is written

OK guys, don't you know it is not nice to talk about something if not everyone can understand?

Can you translate the idioms to English , and may be a bit of an explanation on what you are talking about, Please

my computer cannot type chinese and cannot read chinese, is not that i don't want to type. the first one mean when a note in a music is wrong, zhou yu knows it. The second one means liushan totally hopeless.

Thank you popcorn,
But I still am not sure what or how the idioms are used.

Am I to guess that when the first one is used it is to imply that a person is missing a detail that is off key?

As for the second one , is it used to imply someone is as hopeless at doing something as liushan?

the first is simply just mean that zhou yu is very good in music...i think it is seldom to be used to describbe anyone...the second one is correct.

Thank you popcorn.

welcome

I do a search on the internet and found some information about the phrase "Shuo Cao Cao, Cao Cao jiu dao"

In english, it means "Speak of the devil"

"Speak of the devil" is an idiom or phrase used in both written and spoken English. It is used when an object of discussion (normally a person) unexpectedly becomes present during the conversation. For example, if Alice and Bob start discussing Charlie while he isn't in the room, and Charlie walks into the room, Alice or Bob might say, "Speak of the devil!"

It can also be used about a topic that quickly becomes relevant, such as the onset of rain or a car breaking down. Used in this sense it can be seen as an alternative to the phrase "tempting fate".

The phrase is an abbreviation of the Italian proverb (also well known in English) which runs, "Speak of the devil and the horns appear" (Parli del diavolo e spuntano le corna).

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_of_the_Devil

Please refer to http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=982 on how to input chinese character. You certainly need to input some form of chinese characters if you were to participate actively in CHF discussion.