Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 车水马龙 (Chē shuǐ mă lóng)

Cóngqián yǒu gè huánghòu xìng Mǎ, tā shēnghuó fēicháng jiǎnpǔ. Mǎ huánghòu hěn xǐhuān dúshū, zuòshì hěn jiǎng dàolǐ. Hòulái, tā chéng le huáng tàihòu, hěnduō rén dōu xiǎng qù bājié tā. Lián huángdì hé dàchén men dōu xiǎng le gèzhǒng bànfǎ lái jiǎngshǎng Mǎ tàihòu de jiārén.
从前有个皇后姓马，她生活非常简朴。马皇后很喜欢读书，做事很讲道理。后来，她成了皇太后，很多人都想去巴结她。连皇帝和大臣们都想了各种办法来奖赏马太后的家人。

once upon a time, there was a Queen whose surname was Ma. She lived very simply. She liked to read and was very sensible. When she became Queen, many people wanted to please her. Even the King and ministers tried to reward her families.

Mǎ tàihòu zhīdào hòu, hěn shēngqì, tā shuō:” wǒ de jiārén bù zhīdào jiējiǎn, suǒyǐ bù néng jiǎngshǎng.” Huángdì wèn:” tāmen yǒu duō shēchǐ ne? Nín shuō lái tīngtīng.”
马太后知道后，很生气，她说：“我的家人不知道节俭，所以不能奖赏。”皇帝问：“他们有多奢侈呢？您说来听听。”

When she came to know of it, she was very angry. She said, “My family members are not frugal, so you should not reward them.” The King asked her, “Tell me, just how luxurious are they?”

Mǎ tàihòu shuō:” tāmen mén qián de chē xiàng liúshuǐ yī yàng, mǎpǐ xiàng yì tiáo tiáo yóulóng, dōu shì lái sònglǐ de ya! Tā men zhī zhīdào xiǎng lè, bù zhīdào wèi guójiā dānxīn, yídìng bùnéng gěi tāmen jiǎngshǎng!”
马太后说：“他们门前的车像流水一样，马匹像一条条游龙，都是来送礼的呀!他们只知道享乐，不知道为国家担心，一定不能给他们奖赏!”

The Queen replied, “The long line of chariots and horses at their front gates which come bearing gifts are like flowing water and a swimming dragon. They only know how to enjoy themselves, but don’t know to share the burden with the country. So you mustn’t reward them.”

Words：
简朴jiănpǔ： simple and unadorned (adj.)
巴结bājie: to flatter ( v.)
奖赏jiăngshăng：to reward (in money, etc.) (v.)
奢侈shēchǐ: luxurious (adj.)
游龙yóulóng: flying dragon( n.)
送礼sònglǐ: to give sb. a present( v.)
享乐xiănglè: to enjoy ( v.)
Meanings：

“车水马龙”本意是车像流水马像游龙，形容车多马多，后来 用来比喻人来车往，非常热闹。

The original meaning of “车水马龙”is many carts and horses. Later it’s used to describe the bustling of many people and vehicles.

Sentences：

1.Běijīng miàohuì chēshuǐ-mǎlóng, rénshān-rénhǎi, shífēn rènào.
北京庙会车水马龙,人山人海,十分热闹。

Beijing Temple Fair is bustling with huge crowds of people.

2、Dàjiē shàng chēshuǐ-mǎlóng, nǐ guò mǎlù yídìng yào xiǎoxīn.
大街上车水马龙，你过马路一定要小心。

The street has a lot of traffic, so you must be careful when you cross the road.