Chinese Idiom Stories 3 · chapter 5 of 6
Bamboo in the Heart
胸有成竹
Every day a painter comes to stare at bamboo and never picks up a brush. His student thinks he is lazy, until a rainy afternoon shows what the painter sees.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“胸有成竹”。文同是一个画家，他最爱竹子。
Zhège gùshi jiào “xiōng yǒu chéng zhú”. Wén Tóng shì yí gè huàjiā, tā zuì ài zhúzi.
This story is called “Having the Whole Bamboo in Your Chest.” Wen Tong was a painter who loved bamboo above all.
- Xiao Ming 老师，你天天都来看竹子。
Lǎoshī, nǐ tiāntiān dōu lái kàn zhúzi.
Teacher, you come to look at the bamboo every day.
- Xiao Ming 一天，两天，三天……你怎么不画？
Yì tiān, liǎng tiān, sān tiān… nǐ zěnme bù huà?
One day, two days, three days… why don't you paint?
Chapter 5 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Chinese Idiom Stories 3 is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Wen Tong 别说话，我在看。你也来看。
Bié shuōhuà, wǒ zài kàn. Nǐ yě lái kàn.
Don't talk. I'm looking. You look too.
- Xiao Ming 竹子有什么好看？都一样！
Zhúzi yǒu shénme hǎokàn? Dōu yíyàng!
What's so nice about bamboo? They're all the same!
- Wen Tong 不一样。早上的竹子，和晚上的不一样。
Bù yíyàng. Zǎoshang de zhúzi, hé wǎnshang de bù yíyàng.
Not the same. Morning bamboo is different from evening bamboo.
- Xiao Ming 是吗？我看都是绿的，都是长的。
Shì ma? Wǒ kàn dōu shì lǜ de, dōu shì cháng de.
Really? To me they're all green and all long.
- Wen Tong 你再看。有高的，有小的，有新的，有老的。
Nǐ zài kàn. Yǒu gāo de, yǒu xiǎo de, yǒu xīn de, yǒu lǎo de.
Look again. Some are tall, some small, some new, some old.
- Xiao Ming 老师，我们回家吃饭吧。
Lǎoshī, wǒmen huí jiā chī fàn ba.
Teacher, let's go home and eat.
- Wen Tong 再等一下。我在等竹子。
Zài děng yíxià. Wǒ zài děng zhúzi.
Wait a little longer. I'm waiting for the bamboo.
- Xiao Ming 竹子不会说话！它怎么会来？
Zhúzi bú huì shuōhuà! Tā zěnme huì lái?
Bamboo can't talk! How can it come?
- Wen Tong 它会来。它会进我的心里。
Tā huì lái. Tā huì jìn wǒ de xīnlǐ.
It will come. It will come into my heart.
- Xiao Ming 老师，下雨了！快回家！
Lǎoshī, xià yǔ le! Kuài huí jiā!
Teacher, it's raining! Let's go home quick!
- Wen Tong 我不回去。雨里的竹子，更好看！
Wǒ bù huíqù. Yǔ lǐ de zhúzi, gèng hǎokàn!
I'm not going. Bamboo in the rain is even lovelier!
- Xiao Ming 可是你的衣服都是水！
Kěshì nǐ de yīfu dōu shì shuǐ!
But your clothes are dripping!
- Wen Tong 没关系。你看，风来了，竹子低下头。
Méi guānxi. Nǐ kàn, fēng lái le, zhúzi dī xià tóu.
It doesn't matter. Look, the wind comes and the bamboo bows its head.
- Wen Tong 风走了，它又站起来。
Fēng zǒu le, tā yòu zhàn qǐlái.
The wind goes, and it stands up again.
- Xiao Ming 真的！它像在跳舞！
Zhēn de! Tā xiàng zài tiàowǔ!
You're right! It looks like it's dancing!
- Wen Tong 好！快，拿纸和笔！
Hǎo! Kuài, ná zhǐ hé bǐ!
Good! Quick, bring paper and brush!
- Xiao Ming 老师，现在画吗？
Lǎoshī, xiànzài huà ma?
Teacher, are you painting now?
- Wen Tong 现在！我心里，已经有一根竹子了。
Xiànzài! Wǒ xīnlǐ, yǐjīng yǒu yì gēn zhúzi le.
Now! In my heart, there is already a whole bamboo.
- Xiao Ming 心里有竹子？
Xīnlǐ yǒu zhúzi?
Bamboo in your heart?
- Wen Tong 对。我不用想。手自己会画。
Duì. Wǒ bú yòng xiǎng. Shǒu zìjǐ huì huà.
Yes. I don't need to think. My hand knows how to paint.
- Wen Tong 一，二，三……好了！
Yī, èr, sān… hǎo le!
One, two, three… done!
- Xiao Ming 啊！这个竹子，好像真的一样！
À! Zhège zhúzi, hǎoxiàng zhēn de yíyàng!
Oh! This bamboo looks just like the real thing!
- Wen Tong 因为我看了很多年。
Yīnwèi wǒ kàn le hěn duō nián.
Because I've looked at it for many years.
- Xiao Ming 老师，我也想画！
Lǎoshī, wǒ yě xiǎng huà!
Teacher, I want to paint too!
- Wen Tong 好。你先看三年。开玩笑！先看三天吧。
Hǎo. Nǐ xiān kàn sān nián. Kāi wánxiào! Xiān kàn sān tiān ba.
Good. First, look for three years. Just joking! Start with three days.
- Wen Tong 说到三年……有一个国王，三年什么都不做。
Shuō dào sān nián… yǒu yí gè guówáng, sān nián shénme dōu bú zuò.
Speaking of three years… there was a king who did nothing for three years.
- Xiao Ming 后来怎么了，老师？
Hòulái zěnme le, lǎoshī?
What happened then, teacher?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What puzzles Xiao Ming about his teacher?
“你天天都来看竹子。”……“你怎么不画？”
- What does Wen Tong do when it starts to rain?
“我不回去。雨里的竹子，更好看！”
- What does Xiao Ming say the bamboo looks like in the wind?
“它像在跳舞！”
- What does Wen Tong mean by “a bamboo in my heart”?
“我心里，已经有一根竹子了。”……“手自己会画。”
- Why does the painted bamboo look alive?
“好像真的一样！”……“因为我看了很多年。”