Chengyu

[1][2] Chinese idioms are one of four types of formulaic expressions (熟语; 熟語; shúyǔ), which also include collocations (惯用语; 慣用語; guànyòngyǔ), two-part allegorical sayings called xiehouyu, and proverbs (谚语; 諺語; yànyǔ).

Chengyu are mostly derived from ancient literature, including the pre-Qin classics, poetry from all periods of Chinese history, and late imperial vernacular novels and short stories.

More commonly, however, chengyu are created by succinctly paraphrasing or summarizing the original text, usually by selecting the most salient characters from the passage in question and inserting any necessary classical grammatical particles.

In both speech and writing, they serve to succinctly convey a complex or multifaceted situation, scene, or concept, and used fittingly and elegantly, they also mark a speaker or writer's erudition.

For example, the phrase "破釜沉舟" (pò fǔ chén zhōuⓘ, lit: "break the pots and sink the ships") is based on a historical account where the general Xiang Yu ordered his troops to destroy all cooking utensils and boats after crossing a river into the enemy's territory.

Thus, the idiom is used as a verb phrase with the meaning "to make an all-out effort to achieve success by the deliberate removal of recourse or backup."

The poem includes the lines 'don't adjust your shoes in a melon field, and don't tidy your hat under the plum trees' (瓜田不納履，李下不整冠, guā tián bù nà lǚ, lǐ xià bù zhěng guānⓘ), admonishing the reader to avoid situations where, however innocent, he might be suspected of doing wrong.

Likewise, 'bare-faced facing the emperor' (素面朝天) is now used to describe beauty that does not require make-up, e.g., when entering court, while its original meaning was "to be confident in one's true look".

The idiom is succinct in its original meaning and would likely be intelligible to anyone learned in formal written Chinese, though yán (言) is no longer commonly used as a verb.

The Chinese not having conducted maritime explorations of the North Atlantic during imperial times, the expression 冰山一角 'one corner of an ice mountain' is a rare example of a chengyu that emerged in the early 20th century after contact with the West as a translation of the expression "tip of the iceberg," thus sharing both their literal and idiomatic meanings.

Though they are recent in origin, they are constructed using the vocabulary and syntax of Literary Chinese and fits within the four-character scheme, making them chengyu.

Works considered masterpieces of Chinese literature – such as the Four Great Classical Novels[4] – serve as the source for many idioms, which in turn condense and retell the story.

The plot of the Taiwanese comedy-drama GG Precinct centres on people murdered for misquoting Chinese idioms.