Welcome, little friends, to LingoAce's story time! Today, Teacher Xiaoyu is going to tell you a story about the idiom "Dongshi Xiaobin."
Let's begin!
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a beautiful girl named Xishi in the state of Yue.
Xishi not only had an outstanding appearance but also a kind personality, making her beloved by the villagers. Her smile was like the blooming flowers in spring, and her blinking eyes were like twinkling stars, always attracting people's attention.
However, Xishi had a troublesome ailment—heartache. Whenever the illness struck, she would cover her chest with her hands, her brows furrowed, making her even more charming. The villagers cared for her deeply and were willing to share the burden of her laundry work. All of this made Xishi feel warm and grateful.
However, on the east side of the village, there lived a girl named Dongshi, whose appearance was far less beautiful than Xishi's. Dongshi felt jealous and secretly thought, "Xishi looks so beautiful when she furrows her brows and covers her chest. I should imitate her; maybe I can become beautiful too." So, Dongshi decided to mimic Xishi's actions.
The next day, Dongshi also went to the river to wash clothes. Copying Xishi's movements, she covered her chest, furrowed her brows, and pretended to be in pain, saying, "It feels so uncomfortable, so uncomfortable." At first, the villagers were surprised and genuinely concerned about her condition. However, gradually, they understood Dongshi's true motive—she was just imitating Xishi.
Some villagers tried to persuade her, "Dongshi, you don't have to deliberately imitate Xishi every day. It won't make you more beautiful. Xishi is loved not only because of her appearance when she is in pain but also because of her beauty and kindness. We should have confidence because true beauty comes from confidence."
However, Dongshi did not heed the villagers' advice. She continued to mimic Xishi's posture every day, furrowing her brows and covering her chest. Gradually, the villagers started to avoid her. When people saw Dongshi passing by, they hurriedly closed their doors to prevent her from pretending again. Some even pulled their family members away to prevent children from learning Dongshi's affectation. Over time, Dongshi did not become more beautiful; instead, she became more unwelcome.
Question time!
Now that the story is finished, here's a question for the kids~ The question is: Do the kids know what lesson this story teaches us? The answer is revealed~ Dongshi's attempt to imitate Xishi ultimately taught her an important lesson: being oneself is the most beautiful thing, and imitating others only makes one look foolish and ridiculous. Confidence and authenticity are more beautiful than imitation. Instead of blindly copying, discover your own uniqueness.
Story source
"Dongshi Xiaopin" comes from "Zhuangzi. Tian Yun." "Xiaopin" means imitation, and "Xiaopin" means the look of furrowing brows. Originally used to metaphorize that random imitation has a bad effect, it later refers to people who imitate without self-awareness, appearing foolish and ridiculous.
Lingoace is a good teacher and friend for children to learn Chinese during their growth. More interesting interpretations of idiom stories, LingoAce, an international language education brand No.1, is an unmissable choice. At LingoAce, we are committed to providing high-quality courses for your children. Each course is the result of our team's over a hundred hours of course design, textbook production, simulated teaching, teacher training, and quality control. Help overseas parents better solve various difficulties and pain points their children encounter in Chinese learning! We invite you and your child to participate in a free trial class and experience LingoAce's extraordinary Chinese learning experience firsthand!
