青红皂白 qīng hóng zào bái right and wrong

Explanation

青红皂白,指事情的是非或原因,常用来形容事情的来龙去脉,或事情的真相。

Qinghongzaobai refers to the right and wrong, or the cause and effect of something, often used to describe the course of events or the truth.

Origin Story

从前,在一个繁华的集市上,有一家卖布的店铺,老板娘心地善良,总是乐于助人。一天,一位衣衫褴褛的老人来到店里,向老板娘求助。老人说自己家境贫寒,无钱买布,只希望老板娘能够施舍一些布料给他做衣服。老板娘听了老人可怜的遭遇,便拿了一块上好的布料送给了老人。老人千恩万谢地接过了布料,却在离开店铺的时候,不小心将一个精致的小香囊掉在了地上。老板娘看到后,连忙追了出去,将小香囊还给了老人。 老人接过小香囊,激动地说:“谢谢你,好心人!你救了我的命!” 老板娘疑惑不解地问道:“你怎么说救了你命呢?这只是一个普通的小香囊而已。” 老人解释说:“这个小香囊里藏着我祖传的一颗药丸,这颗药丸可以救我一命。我原本打算把这颗药丸卖掉,换点钱买布给妻子做衣服,但现在我有了你的布料,就不用卖药丸了。这颗药丸就可以留着救命了,你真是我的救命恩人啊!” 老板娘听了老人的解释,才明白事情的青红皂白。她对老人的遭遇深感同情,也为自己的善举感到高兴。 从此以后,老板娘更加热心助人,她相信,只要真诚待人,总会有好报的。

cóng qián, zài yī gè fán huá de jí shì shàng, yǒu yī jiā mài bù de diàn pù, lǎo bǎn niáng xīn dì shàn liáng, zǒng shì lè yú zhù rén. yī tiān, yī wèi yī shān lán lǚ de lǎo rén lái dào diàn lǐ, xiàng lǎo bǎn niáng qiú zhù. lǎo rén shuō zì jǐ jiā jìng pín hán, wú qián mǎi bù, zhǐ xī wàng lǎo bǎn niáng néng gòu shī shě yī xiē bù liào gěi tā zuò yī fú. lǎo bǎn niáng tīng le lǎo rén kě lián de zāo yù, biàn ná le yī kuài shàng hǎo de bù liào sòng gěi le lǎo rén. lǎo rén qiān ēn wàn xiè de jiē guò le bù liào, què zài lí kāi diàn pù de shí hòu, bù xiǎo xīn jiāng yī gè jīng zhì de xiǎo xiāng náng diào zài le dì shàng. lǎo bǎn niáng kàn dào hòu, lián máng zhuī chū le qù, jiāng xiǎo xiāng náng huán gěi le lǎo rén.

Once upon a time, there was a rich man who had a big house and many servants. However, he was very stingy and hated to spend money. One day, a poor man visited the rich man and asked him for help. The poor man explained that he was sick and needed medicine urgently, but he had no money to buy it. The rich man listened to the poor man's plea, but he didn't want to help him. He said, "I am not a doctor, I cannot help you. Go and find someone who can help you." The poor man was very desperate. He didn't know what to do. Finally, he asked the rich man for a small piece of bread, but the rich man refused that too. "I have no bread to spare," he said. "Go away!" The poor man sadly left the rich man's house. The rich man was satisfied with himself, because he hadn't spent any money. He went to bed and tried to sleep. But he couldn't sleep, because he was thinking about the poor man. He felt guilty because he hadn't helped him. "What if he dies?" he thought. "Then I will be responsible for it!" He couldn't sleep anymore. Finally, he got up and went back to the poor man's house. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. He knocked louder, but still no one answered. Finally, he decided to break down the door. When he entered the house, he saw that the poor man was lying in bed and sleeping. The rich man was relieved. He had been afraid that the poor man had died. But then he saw that the poor man had a small piece of bread next to him on the bed. The rich man was surprised. "Where did you get that bread?" he asked. The poor man woke up and said, "I found it. I was so hungry that I was searching the streets for food. And then I saw a piece of bread lying on the ground. I picked it up and ate it." The rich man was overjoyed. He was relieved that the poor man hadn't died, and he was touched that he still had hope. The rich man learned a valuable lesson that day. He realized that it was more important to help others than to keep his own money. From that day on, the rich man was no longer so stingy. He helped everyone who was in need, and he became a very loved person in his community.

Usage

这个成语用来形容弄清事情的真相,常用于需要了解事情的来龙去脉或真相时。

zhè gè chéng yǔ yòng lái xíng róng nòng qīng shì qíng de zhēn xiàng, cháng yòng yú xū yào liǎo jiě shì qíng de lái lóng qù mài huò zhēn xiàng shí.

This idiom is used to describe understanding the truth of something, and is often used when one needs to understand the course of events or the truth.

Examples

  • 这件事太复杂了,我们还是不要轻易下结论,先弄清青红皂白再说吧。

    zhè jiàn shì qíng tài fú zá le, wǒ men hái shì bù yào qīng yì xià jié lùn, xiān nòng qīng qīng hóng zào bái zài shuō ba.

    This matter is too complicated, we should not jump to conclusions, first clarify the truth before we can talk about it.

  • 你应该先弄清楚事情的青红皂白,然后再做出决定。

    nǐ yīng gāi xiān nòng qīng chǔ shì qíng de qīng hóng zào bái, rán hòu zài zuò chū jué dìng.

    You should first understand the truth of the matter before making a decision.

  • 我今天要弄清楚这件事的青红皂白!

    wǒ jīn tiān yào nòng qīng chǔ zhè jiàn shì qíng de qīng hóng zào bái!

    I'm going to get to the bottom of this today!