C
Titles like taoli and kaimo have rooted themselves deeply into Chinese history and culture. What do they refer to? Have you ever wondered what the stories behind these ideas are?
Modesty and respect
Chinese people in the past or even sometimes today call their sons quanzi. When Chinese parents use quanzi to refer to their sons, they are being modest. Of course, most parents do have high expectations for their children. However, they don't usually talk about this in front of others. This is similar to how even rich Chinese people call their big houses hanshe.
People are modest about themselves, but they compliment others a lot. They call their own sons quanzi, but others' sons linglang, which is a respectful way to say “your son”.
Trees of character
In Chinese, kaimo means “role model”. Both of these Chinese characters have a “木” on their left side. This means kai and mo might have been two kinds of trees in ancient China.
It's said that there were many trees called kai growing near Confucius' tomb (坟墓). They grew very straight. People thought they were like Confucius' character — straight and upright.
The mo trees grew near the tomb of the Duke of Zhou. The colour of the mo trees' leaves was pure, making the tree a symbol of purity and honesty. Since the kai and mo trees grew near the tombs of two respected people, kaimo was then used to refer to role models in general.
Spreading seeds (种子) of education
There is a Chinese saying taoli man tianxia, referring to a teacher who has taught so many students that they spread across the country.
The saying comes from a story about Zizhi, a knowledgeable teacher during the Warring States. He chose students without thinking about their wealth or social status (地位). He often pointed at a peach and a plum tree in his yard. “You should make a difference to the society, just like when the peach and plum trees bloom and produce fruit,” he said. Keeping these words in their minds, many of Zizhi's students made great achievements.
Since then, taoli has been used to refer to students who are successful after leaving school.
( ) 7. The underlined word “compliment” has a similar meaning to “______”.
A. greet B. praise C. complete D. understand
( ) 8. According to the passage, what do the kai and mo trees stand for?
A. Great characteristics. B. Famous people.
C. The importance of education. D. Successful students.
( ) 9. What kind of person did Zizhi wish his students to be?
A. Kind and wise. B. Knowledgeable. C. Straight. D. Useful.
( )10. We can probably read this passage from a ______ magazine.
A. sports B. culture C. science D. music