index pinyin-less version
dōng shī xiào pín
chuán shuō chūn qiū shí yuè guó yǒu
měi míng huàn shī
西
dàn shì shī yǒu xīn kǒu téng de máo
西
bìng suǒ jīng cháng shǒu xiōng
kǒu zhòu zháo méi tóu zǒu zháo
cūn huán zhù zháo wèi chǒu
niáng jiào zuò dōng shī shí fēn
shī
西
shì dōng shī shí cháng xiào fǎng shī
仿 西
shǒu xiōng kǒu jǐn zhòu méi tóu
dōng shī jué xiào fǎng shī jiù
仿 西
huì biàn hěn měi dàn shì shí
shàng zhǐ huì shǐ biàn gèng
使
nán kàn ér
zhè diǎn qià dāng de
fǎng dài lái xiāng fǎn de xiào guǒ
仿
In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期,770-476 BC), there was a beauty in the State of Yue called Xishi (西施).
She often suffered from pains in her chest, and so she would often walk around doubled over and with her brows knitted.
There was an ugly girl in the village called Dongshi who envied Xishi.
Striving to emulate Xishi, she imitated her stoop, knitting her brows at the same time.
She thought that this made her elegant, but in fact, it only made her more ugly.
Later, this idiom came to be used to indicate improper imitation that produces the reverse effect.
index pinyin-less version