S4E04 | Showing Paul How to Write a Song | 班门弄斧
Saying: “show off one’s meager proficiency with the axe before Lu Ban, the master carpenter”
Pinyin: Bān Mén Nòng Fǔ
Chinese: 班门弄斧
Today's Chinese Saying, Bān Mén Nòng Fǔ | 班门弄斧 comes to us courtesy of the Tang and Song Dynasty luminaries Liu Zongyuan and Ouyang Xiu who teach us about the Zhou Dynasty hero Lu Ban. He knew how to use an axe to build stuff like no one else. You don't want to stand outside his doorway and brag about your axe-wielding skills. This is a good one to use when you see people talking up their skillset in front of a true master.
Don't forget, the Chinese terms from CSP episodes are all listed for you down below.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bān Mén Nòng Fǔ | 班门弄斧 | To show off one's skill with the axe before Lu Ban (鲁班),the master carpenter - to display one's slight skill before an expert. |
| Bān | 班 | class, team; shift, duty; squad; a name or surname |
| Mén | 门 | A door or gate |
| Nòng | 弄 | to play with; fool with |
| Fǔ | 斧 | an axe, hatchet |
| Eastern Zhou Dynasty | 东周 | The Eastern (or Later) Zhou Dynasty 779-256 BC |
| Gōngshū Bān | 公输般 | The original name of today's hero Lu Ban |
| Lǔ | 鲁 | A surname, also the abbreviation for all things Shandong |
| Shāndōng | 山东 | Coastal province in northern China |
| Ōuyáng | 欧阳 | An example of a two character compound surname |
| Sīmǎ | 司马 | An example of a two character compound surname |
| Sītú | 司徒 | An example of a two character compound surname |
| Chǔ | 楚 | A common surname, also the name of the Chu State during the Eastern Zhou |
| Húběi | 湖北 | Province in Central China where Chu was located |
| Lǔ Bān | 鲁班 | The name of our hero for this episode |
| Yǐng | 郢 | The capital of Chu State, in present day Jingzhou, Hubei |
| Jīngzhōu | 荆州 | A prefecture-level city in Hubei located on the Yangzi River |
| Yuè | 越 | An ancient state during the Zhou Dynasty locatred mostly in Zhejiang |
| Zhèjiāng | 浙江 | Coastal province in China |
| zǔshī | 祖师 | The founder of a school of learning or of a craft |
| Táng Dynasty | 唐朝 | Dynasty in China that lasted 618-907 |
| Liǔ Zōngyuán | 柳宗元 | 773-819, Tang essayist and poet, advocate of the classical writing and neo-classical movements |
| Wáng Bózhòng | 王伯仲 | The person mentioned in Liu Zongyuan's work, chapter 王氏伯仲唱和诗序. |
| Oūyáng Xiū | 欧阳修 | 1007-1072, Chinese essayist, historian, poet, calligrapher, politician, called one of the Eight Masters of the Tang and Song |
| Sòng | 宋朝 | The Song Dynasty 960-1279 |
| Ming Dynasty | 明朝 | The Ming Dynasty 1368-1279 |
| Méi Zhīhuàn | 梅之焕 | Ming Dynasty scholar |
| Ānhuī | 安徽 | Province in Central China |
| Dāngtú | 当涂 | Major city in Anhui Province |
| Mǎ’ānshān | 马鞍山 | Major city in Anhui Province |
| Lǐ Bái | 李白 | Considered one of the greatest poets in Chinese history. Lived 701-762 |
| Cǎi shí jiāng biān yī duī tǔ, Lǐ Bái zhī míng gāo qiāngǔ; lái lái wǎngwǎng yī shǒu shī, Lǔ Bān ménqián nòng dà fǔ | 采石江边一堆土，李白之名高千古；来来往往一首诗，鲁班门前弄大斧 | Along the banks of this river, there is a mound of earth (meaning Lǐ Bái’s grave)…Lǐ Bái’s name is eternal; people come and leave behind poems, but are like those handling an axe before Lǔ Bān’s door |
| Guān Gōng miànqián shuǎ dàdāo | 关公面前耍大刀 | To swing one’s sword around in front of the great Guān Gōng |
| chéngyǔ | 成语 | A Chinese idiom or saying |
| Làn Yú Chōng Shù | 滥竽充数 | Featured in Season 2, Episode 5 of the CSP, to pass oneself off as one of the players in an ensemble - (of incompetent people or inferior goods) to be there just to make up the number; pass oneself off as an expert or brand name; to fill a post without any real qualification |
