from / through / via / (bound form) to follow / (bound form) to obey / (bound form) to engage in (an activity) / (used before a negative) ever / (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) retainer / attendant / (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) assistant / auxiliary / subordinate / (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor
to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2lai5]) / ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4gu3 yi3lai2]) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ... / the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lai2shi4]) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得[de2] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tan2de5lai2], or after 不[bu4] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chi1bu5lai2])
lit. to hang upside down / fig. topsy-turvy and inequitable, e.g. manufacturing and trading costs exceed the sale price (of some goods) / to borrow more than one can ever repay
afraid of the head, terrified of the tail (idiom) / ever fearful and nervous / afraid of the slightest thing
茶经
Chá jīng
the Classic of Tea, first monograph ever on tea and its culture, written by 陸羽|陆羽[Lu4 Yu3] between 760-780
宝刀不老
bǎo dāo bù lǎo
lit. a good sword always remains sharp (idiom) / fig. (of one's skills etc) to be as good as ever / the old man still has it
常胜军
cháng shèng jūn
Ever Victorious Army (1860-1864), Qing dynasty army equipped and trained jointly with Europeans and used esp. against the Taiping rebels
抱佛脚
bào fó jiǎo
lit. to clasp the Buddha's feet (without ever having burned incense) (idiom) / fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble / panic measures in place of timely preparation
地久天长
dì jiǔ tiān cháng
enduring while the world lasts (idiom, from Laozi) / eternal / for ever and ever (of friendship, hate etc) / also written 天長地久|天长地久
旬输月送
xún shū yuè sòng
pay every ten days, give tribute every month (idiom) / incessant and ever more complicated demands
绝代佳人
jué dài jiā rén
beauty unmatched in her generation (idiom) / woman of peerless elegance / prettiest girl ever
fighting and winning a series of battles (idiom) / ever victorious
道高一尺，魔高一丈
dào gāo yī chǐ , mó gāo yī zhàng
(idiom) as one climbs higher on the path of righteousness, one faces ever greater challenges from evil / no sooner does one overcome one obstacle than another arises
(idiom) to act like the scholar who wrote at length about buying a donkey without even mentioning the word "donkey" / to write at length without ever getting to the point
cóng