1. The chicken flies and the dog jumps? [ jī fēi gǒu tiào ]: scare the chicken so much that it flies up, and scare the dog so much that it jumps around. Describes being in a panic.
Source: Mao Dun's "Exercise": "However, Chen Keming imagines here that on the one hand he is suspicious, and on the other hand he is afraid of the situation caused by resentment and everyone is in danger."
2. Monkey Year and Horse Month? [ hóu nián mǎ yuè ]: Monkey and Horse: one of the twelve zodiac animals. Refers generally to the years to come.
Example: As long as you are dilly-dallying, you won’t be able to open a canal or fill it with water.
3. Returning as fast as an arrow? [guī xīn sì jiàn]: The feeling of wanting to go home is as fast as an arrow. Describes eagerness to go home.
Source: Chapter 12 of "The Legend of Hao Qiu" by a famous Buddhist in the Qing Dynasty; "Inheriting the great love of my eldest brother, I should have learned from you, but my heart is like an arrow. I will start today."
4. The pen moves like a dragon and a snake? [ bǐ zǒu lóng shé ]: describes calligraphy as vivid and powerful.
Source: Gao Deng of Song Dynasty's "Farewell to Taiyuan": "The brocade is blooming in the chest; the dragon and snake are walking in the pen."
Liu Shaotang's "Little Lotus Reveals Its Sharp Corners": "He He is silent, but he is the head of the family; if his daughter likes it and his wife nods, he still has to give the final word."
5. The final word? [yī chuí dìng yīn]: the last blow when making the gong. Determines the sound of the gong. Make the final decision with one sentence.
Source: Liu Shaotang's "The Little Lotus Reveals Its Sharp Points": "He is silent, but he is the head of the family; if his daughter likes him, his wife nods, but he still has to listen to his final decision."