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Conlangery Podcast

Conlangery SHORTS #02: George’s Favorite Chengyu

Nov 26, 2012
11:10

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The Chengyu 'banman nongfu' refers to displaying novice skills in front of an expert, highlighting the concept of overestimating one's abilities and realizing the expertise of others afterwards.
  • Drawing inspiration from cultural and literary history can add depth and richness to constructed languages, allowing conlang creators to create idioms that contribute to the authenticity and complexity of their conlangs.

Deep dives

Origin of the Changyi 'banman nongfu'

The podcast discusses the origin of the Changyi 'banman nongfu', which means to display novice skills in front of an expert. The host explains that the term refers to the idea of thinking you are better than you actually are and realizing someone is an expert after the fact. The host draws a parallel between this Changyi and the English idiom 'to teach a fish how to swim.' The story goes that a poet named Li Bai, from the Pang dynasty, got drunk and drowned while trying to reach for the reflection of the moon in the water. The host mentions that the story may be a folk tale. Additionally, the podcast highlights another Tang dynasty poet who wrote a satirical poem about poets posting on Li Bai's tomb, further connecting the Changyi to a literary reference.

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