Chinese language study HK – Idiom learning -The Guizhou Donkey Has Exhausted Its Tricks

Mandarin Lesson

In ancient times there were no donkeys inGuizhouProvince. Somebody brought a donkey from somewhere and tied it to a tree at the foot of a mountain. A tiger saw the donkey, and thought that it must be a fearsome monster. It hid behind a tree and spied on the donkey. When the donkey brayed, the tiger was frightened, thinking that the donkey was about to devour it. After a while, seeing that the donkey had not moved, the tiger approached it and teased it. The donkey became angry, and kicked the tiger. The tiger thought to itself: ‘Is that all it is capable of?’ It then jumped on the donkey and ate it.

  This idiom is used to mean that one has exhausted one’s skills.

黔驢技窮
 從前,貴州沒有驢子。有人從外地帶回一頭驢子,拴在山下。一隻老虎看到了,以為是什麼怪物,急忙躲到樹林中去偷偷地瞧。驢子大叫一聲,老虎嚇了一跳,以為驢子要吃掉自己。時間一長,老虎覺得驢子並沒有什麼惡意,逐漸走近去戲弄它,觸犯它。驢子生氣了,用蹄子踢老虎。老虎心裡想:“你的本領不過就是如此啊!”於是立即撲過去,一口把它咬死吃掉了。
“黔驢技窮”這個成語比喻僅有的一點本事也用完了,再沒有別的辦法了。