commodity grain (grain produced as a commodity rather than for self-sufficiency)
虚岁
xū suì
one's age, according to the traditional Chinese method of reckoning (i.e. the number of Chinese calendar years in which one has lived) &ndash / In this system, a person's age at birth is one, and increases by one at the beginning of the first solar term 立春[Li4 chun1] each year, rather than on one's birthday. / contrasted with 實歲|实岁[shi2 sui4]
(idiom) to refer to sth by the name its owners use / to refer to a place by the name its inhabitants use (e.g. refer to Seoul as 首爾|首尔[Shou3 er3] rather than 漢城|汉城[Han4 cheng2])
舍生取义
shě shēng qǔ yì
to give up life for righteousness (idiom, from Mencius) / to choose honor over life / would rather sacrifice one's life than one's principles
胯下之辱
kuà xià zhī rǔ
lit. the humiliation of having to crawl between the legs of one's adversary (as Han Xin 韓信|韩信[Han2 Xin4] supposedly did rather than engage in a sword fight) (idiom) / fig. utter humiliation
double income family who have pets rather than children (see also 丁克[ding1 ke4])
不以人废言
bù yǐ rén fèi yán
not to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects) / to judge on the merits of the case rather than preference between advisers
不求有功，但求无过
bù qiú yǒu gōng , dàn qiú wú guò
lit. not aiming to achieve the best possible result, but rather trying to avoid making mistakes (idiom) / fig. to take a risk-averse approach
以人废言
yǐ rén fèi yán
to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects) / to judge on preference between advisers rather than the merits of the case
吊瓶族
diào píng zú
"infusion clan", patients who prefer medication by drip rather than orally or by injection etc
宁左勿右
nìng zuǒ wù yòu
(of one's political views) to prefer left rather than right (idiom during the Cultural Revolution)
胳膊肘朝外拐
gē bo zhǒu cháo wài guǎi
lit. the elbow turns outward (idiom) / fig. to side with outsiders rather than one's own people
临渊羡鱼不如退而结网
lín yuān xiàn yú bù rú tuì ér jié wǎng
rather than admiring fish, go home and weave a net
读破
dú pò
to read extensively and thoroughly / nonstandard pronunciation of a Chinese character, e.g. the reading [hao4] in 愛好|爱好[ai4 hao4] rather than the usual [hao3]
韵书
yùn shū
rime dictionary (ancient type of Chinese dictionary that collates characters by tone and rhyme rather than by radical)
训读
xùn dú
a reading of a written Chinese word derived from a synonym (typically, a vernacular synonym) (e.g. in Mandarin, 投子[tou2 zi5] may be pronounced as its synonym 色子[shai3 zi5], and in Wu dialects, 二 / is pronounced as its synonym 兩|两 / "liahn") / to pronounce a word using such a reading / (Japanese linguistics) kun-reading, a pronunciation of a kanji derived from a native Japanese word that matches its meaning rather than from the pronunciation of the character in a Sinitic language at the time it was imported from China (Note: A kun-reading of a character is distinguished from its on-reading(s) 音讀|音读[yin1 du2]. For example, 山 / has a kun-reading "yama" and an on-reading "san".)
耶律楚材
Yē lu:4 Chǔ cái
Yelü / Chucai (1190-1244), Khitan statesman and advisor to Genghis Khan and Ögödei Khan, known for convincing the Mongols to tax the conquered population of the north China plains rather than slaughter it
长痛不如短痛
cháng tòng bù rú duǎn tòng
better to just get the pain over with, rather than prolong the agony
不患寡而患不均
bù huàn guǎ ér huàn bù jūn
do not worry about scarcity, but rather about uneven distribution (idiom, from Analects)
冤家宜解不宜结
yuān jiā yí jiě bù yí jié
It is better to squash enmity rather than keeping it alive (proverb)
宁做鸡头，不做凤尾
nìng zuò jī tóu , bù zuò fèng wěi
lit. would rather be a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail (idiom) / fig. to prefer to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond
自由行
zì yóu xíng
travel organized by oneself rather than in a tour group
誓死不从
shì sǐ bù cóng
to vow to die rather than obey (idiom)
重义轻利
zhòng yì qīng lì
to value righteousness rather than material gain (idiom)
头痛医头，脚痛医脚
tóu tòng yī tóu , jiǎo tòng yī jiǎo
to treat the symptoms rather than getting to the root of the problem (proverb) / reactive (rather than proactive)
宁拆十座庙，不毁一桩婚
níng chāi shí zuò miào , bù huì yī zhuāng hūn
rather destroy ten temples than a single marriage (idiom)
慢半拍
màn bàn pāi
(music) a half-beat behind / (fig.) rather slow (in performing a task, comprehending etc)
中央空调
zhōng yāng kōng tiáo
central air conditioning / (fig.) (neologism) ladies' man (contrasted with 暖男[nuan3 nan2], a guy who is attentive to his partner rather than to all and sundry)
(allusion to Tao Qian 陶潛|陶潜[Tao2 Qian2], who used this phrase when he resigned from government service rather than show subservience to a visiting inspector) to bow and scrape for five pecks of rice (that being a part of his salary as a local magistrate) / (fig.) to compromise one's principles for the sake of a salary
pō