Lesser-known classical chengyu

Foresight, Prevention, and Proportion

• 曲突徙薪 (qū tū xǐ xīn) — “bend the chimney, move the firewood” → fix risks before they ignite.
  Use: “Security hardening now is 曲突徙薪, not overkill.”
• 抱薪救火 (bào xīn jiù huǒ) — “bring firewood to put out a fire” → a fix that feeds the problem.
  Use: “Cutting QA to ‘save time’ is 抱薪救火.”
• 杯水车薪 (bēi shuǐ chē xīn) — “a cup of water for a cart of firewood” → help far too small for the task.
  Use: “One temp hire is 杯水车薪 for peak season.”

Friendship, Trust, and Integrity

• 刎颈之交 (wěn jǐng zhī jiāo) — friends who would “cut their necks” for each other → life-and-death friendship.
  Use: “They’re 刎颈之交 from their service years.”
• 移樽就教 (yí zūn jiù jiào) — “carry your wine cup over to seek instruction” → humbly ask advice from a peer/junior.
  Use: “I’ll 移樽就教 with the new PM on workflow tricks.”

Learning, Method, and Imitation

• 按图索骥 (àn tú suǒ jì) — “seek a steed by the diagram” → apply a manual mechanically, miss living reality.
  Use: “Hiring by rigid checklists is 按图索骥.”
• 邯郸学步 (hán dān xué bù) — “learn to walk in Handan” → copy style, lose your own.
  Use: “The clone app 邯郸学步—pretty, but soulless.”
• 披沙拣金 (pī shā jiǎn jīn) — “sift sand to pick gold” → extract the valuable from the mass.
  Use: “Literature review requires 披沙拣金.”

Timing, Fortune, and Perspective

• 东隅已逝，桑榆非晚 (dōng yú yǐ shì, sāng yú fēi wǎn) — “the morning sun is gone; evening light isn’t late” → missed the early chance, but it’s not too late.
  Use: “Career switch at 35? 东隅已逝，桑榆非晚.”
• 望洋兴叹 (wàng yáng xīng tàn) — “stand by the ocean and sigh” → feel overawed/helpless by something vast.
  Use: “Facing the codebase, juniors often 望洋兴叹.”

Conflict and Outcomes

• 鹬蚌相争 (yù bàng xiāng zhēng) — “snipe and clam fight” → two sides exhaust each other; a third party profits.
  Use: “Vendor and reseller feud; rivals gain—鹬蚌相争。”
• 唇亡齿寒 (chún wáng chǐ hán) — “lips gone, teeth cold” → mutual dependence; if A fails, B suffers.
  Use: “Cut support and uptime drops—唇亡齿寒.”

Character, Demeanor, and Self-Reflection

• 自惭形秽 (zì cán xíng huì) — feel ashamed/inadequate by comparison (formal, literary).
  Use: “Reading her essay, I 自惭形秽 and reworked mine.”
• 讳疾忌医 (huì jí jì yī) — “hide illness, shun doctors” → refuse help, fear diagnosis.
  Use: “Skipping audits is 讳疾忌医.”

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Usage Notes (Register, Placement, and Tone)

• Register: These skew literary/formal. Natural in essays, op-eds, speeches; in casual chat, add a plain gloss.
• Placement: Most are predicate or adverbial: 部署仍然 有条不紊; 我们 披沙拣金 整理资料. Aphoristic ones can be sentence-initial frames: 东隅已逝，桑榆非晚，仍可再启程。
• Pairing: Many form elegant contrast or cause–effect pairs:
  • Prevention → result: 曲突徙薪，方能避免 抱薪救火。
  • Trade-off framing: 鹬蚌相争，旁观者得利。
• Exam/HSK: Rare in HSK basics; useful for advanced reading/writing.

Mini Dialogues (natural, concise)

• A: “Should we skip threat modeling to save time?”
  B: “That’d be 抱薪救火—we’ll pay later.”
• A: “We missed spring admissions.”
  B: “东隅已逝，桑榆非晚—aim for fall with a stronger portfolio.”

Quick Practice (choose the best rare chengyu)

1. A fix that secretly worsens the problem → 抱薪救火.
2. Prepare early to remove hidden dangers → 曲突徙薪.
3. Copy others and lose your own strengths → 邯郸学步.
4. Two rivals fight; a third benefits → 鹬蚌相争.
5. Help far too small to matter → 杯水车薪.

Common Pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

• Using a rare idiom without context: add a short plain clause after it.
• Register mismatch: don’t drop 自惭形秽 in casual DMs—swap to simple wording or add a gloss.
• Confusing near-neighbors: 按图索骥 (rigidly follows the manual) vs 邯郸学步 (imitation loses self).

Takeaway: Keep a compact rare set—曲突徙薪、抱薪救火、杯水车薪、刎颈之交、移樽就教、按图索骥、邯郸学步、东隅已逝桑榆非晚、望洋兴叹、鹬蚌相争、唇亡齿寒、自惭形秽、讳疾忌医—and deploy them sparingly with one plain-English (or plain-Chinese) gloss for elegant, precise writing.