Chinese Idioms-About happiness-#001- Notebook

The literal translation of this idiom is 'I hope that the five most important blessings in life will come to this family'. This idiom is often used as a word of congratulation and is often written down by Chinese people and posted around the house. It represents a person's expectation for a better future. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 五 – (wu) - This word means the number 5 in Chinese. 福 – (fu) - This word means blessing. 臨 – (lin) - This word means to come. 門 – (men) -This word means door. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… The modern way of writing and reading Chinese characters is horizontally. The order of writing and reading is from left to right, top to bottom. The traditional way of writing and reading Chinese characters is straight. The order of writing and reading is from right to left, top to bottom. Both methods are widely used at present. The arrangement of the Chinese characters in this Chinese proverb is (五福臨門) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… The Shang Dynasty of China was the second dynasty of China. It ruled China from about 1600 BC to 1046 BC. At the end of the Shang Dynasty there was a famous member of the royal family called Jizi. He was a very upright and wise man and was an important advisor to the king of the Shang Dynasty. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the founding king of the Zhou Dynasty did not kill Jizi. On the contrary, the founding king of the Zhou Dynasty respectfully asked Jizi for advice. The founding king of the Zhou Dynasty hoped that Jizi would give him some words of wisdom. Jizi's answer was recorded in one of the oldest books in China, the Shangshu. One of the passages reads as follows I think there are five kinds of happiness that people seek. The first kind of happiness is to live a long life. The second type of happiness is to be rich. The third kind of happiness is to be safe and healthy. The fourth kind of happiness is to have a good character. The fifth kind of happiness is to die peacefully and naturally. Later generations of Chinese people recognised Jizi's wisdom after hearing his wise words. Chinese people believe that if any one of these five kinds of happiness is missing, it is incomplete. Therefore, Chinese people hope that their family members can have these five kinds of happiness at the same time.