（1）
Some Chinese idioms are actually expressions of the dialectical thinking of the ancient Chinese.
Many of them believed in the relativity of things and the interchange of two opposing factors like yin and yanɡ.
A good example of this in the Chinese language is the idiom Sai Weng Shi Ma, or "when the old man on the frontier lost his mare."
當代畫家範曾畫作《塞翁失馬》
The idiom originates in the "Writings of Prince Huainan," which was compiled by a group of thinkers during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD).
And the story goes like this:
塞翁失馬
Long ago, there was a young man living near the Great Wall who had a mare.
One day, his mare fled into an area ruled by tribes of ethnic minority people.
On learning this, his friends and relatives came to comfort him.
His father told him: "Cheer up, son. Who says this may not be a blessing?"
Several months later, the mare came back with a group of fine horses.
The friends and relatives were just as joyous as the young man and they all came to congratulate him.
But this time, the old man warned his son, saying: "Who says this won’t turn out to be a misfortune?"
The young man loved the new horses, and every morning he took a ride on one of them.
Since the new horses were not well tamed, the young man fell off one of them and became crippled.
Again, his friends and relatives came to comfort him and again the father said: "Who says this may not be a blessing in disguise?"
A year later, the minority tribes began invading areas inside the Great Wall.
Most young people in the frontier regions were drafted into the army to fight the invaders. And about nine out of every ten of the draftees were killed on the battlefields.
As a cripple, it is not compulsory for the owner of the mare to join the army and, together with his father, survived the border war.
"Therefore, a blessing may turn out to be a misfortune, meanwhile the contrary may also be true," the story in the "Writings of Prince Huainan" concludes.
In the idiom, instead of his son, the old man has become the owner of the mare.
And the idiomatic saying is usually followed by the phrase An Zhi Fei Fu, meaning, "Who could have guessed it was a blessing in disguise?"
Now, Sai Weng Shi Ma, and An Zhi Fei Fu (when the old man on the frontier lost his mare, who could have guessed it was a blessing in disguise?) is frequently cited by people when they try to console someone who has suffered an unexpected loss or mishap.
有一些中國成語其實是表達了中國古人的辯證思想。
他們中的許多人相信事物的相對性，以及兩個截然對立的因素之間的相互轉化，有如陰陽一般。
漢語中，成語「塞翁失馬」就是一個不錯的例子。
這個成語出自《淮南子》，一部由西漢（公元前206年—公元24年）的思想家們編纂的書籍。
故事是這樣的：
很久以前，一位住在長城邊的年輕人，養了一匹母馬。
一日，他的馬跑了，去了胡人部落的住地。
得知這一消息，親朋好友們紛紛前來安慰。
他的父親對他說：「孩子，振作起來。此事焉知非福？」
過了幾個月，那匹母馬回來了，還帶回一群駿馬良駒。
親朋好友們像那位年輕人一樣開心，紛紛前來表示祝賀。
但這一回，老父親卻告誡自己的兒子說：「此事焉知非禍？」
那位年輕人喜愛這些新來的良馬，每個早晨都跨上一匹，跑上一圈。
由於新馬初來乍到，未被馴服，年輕人從一匹馬上摔了下來，成了跛子。
親朋好友們又紛紛前來安慰，父親卻又說：「此事焉知非福？」
一年以後，胡人部落開始大舉進犯，侵入長城。
家住邊塞的年輕人大都應召入伍，抗擊犯敵。
這些應徵入伍者，十有八九都戰死沙場。
因為身體殘跛，母馬的主人免於入伍，父子二人在邊塞戰火中得以倖存。
「所以說，福之禍兮所倚，禍之福兮所伏」，福禍相依，就是《淮南子》中的這個故事得出的結論。
在成語故事中，母馬的主人不是兒子，而是換作了老父親。
同時，這則成語後面常常跟著「安知非福」一詞，意思是，「誰知道是不是隱藏著福份呢？」
現在，每當有人事逢不幸，人們都會引用這句「塞翁失馬，安知非福」（家住邊塞的老翁丟失了他的母馬，誰知道是不是隱藏著福份呢？）來安慰他們。
（2）
Everyone has something to worry about.
Their jobs, family, the deteriorating environment, the survival of wildlife or the global economic crisis.
Most worries are fully justified but others could be imaginary or irrational.
A good example is the popular Chinese saying Qi Ren You Tian or "the man of Qi who fears that the sky might fall down."
Easing Anxious States
The story of the saying dates back to the Zhou Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago.
It’s about a man living in the State of Qi who was haunted by a fear that someday the sky might fall down and the earth collapse.
He was so mentally tortured by this morbid anxiety that he could not eat or sleep.
One of his friends was concerned that the man could be driven insane by his imaginary apprehension so he decided to have a talk with him.
"You need not worry about the sky which is but a mass of air," the friend told the man.
"There is air everywhere and we are all surrounded by the air. So, the sky’s falling is never likely to happen."
The man replied: "Okay, maybe you are right. But how about the earth? If the earth collapses, what should I do? Then I might have no place to live."
The friend explained that the earth was made of huge masses of soil and rock.
They extended to every corner and there was no place they didn’t exist.
People walked and lived on such masses every day. Therefore, the collapse of the earth was simply impossible.
Thanks to the friend’s advice, the man was finally convinced that his fear about the sky falling and the earth collapsing was unfounded.
After the conversation, he led a normal life again.
Hearing that news, the friend was very much relieved, too.
Today, the idiom Qi Ren You Tian is often cited to describe anyone who entertains unwarranted anxiety.
人各有焦慮。
工作之憂，家庭之憂，擔心環境的惡化，擔心野生動物的生存狀態，或是擔心全球經濟會面臨危機。
這些擔憂大多數都合乎情理，但也有一些或許只是出於想像或是非理性的。
有一則流傳很廣的中國成語，叫作「杞人憂天」，就是一個很好的例子。
杞人憂天
這則成語故事可以追溯至3000多年前的周代。
故事講述的是一位杞國人，整日被憂懼所困擾，總是擔心有一天會天塌地陷。
他被這種病態的焦慮折磨得精神不濟，茶飯不思，徹夜無眠。
一位好友擔心他會被這種無端的憂懼逼瘋，於是決定找他談談心，做一番疏解。
好友對他說：「天空，只是一團積聚的空氣罷了，無需替天擔憂啊！」
「空氣無處不在，我們的周遭都被空氣包圍著。所以，天空是無論如何不會塌陷的啊。」
杞人答道：「好吧，也許你是對的。可是大地怎麼辦呢？如果大地崩陷了，我又該如何是好啊？那我就沒有容身之所了。」
好友解釋說，大地是由土壤和巖石聚積而成的。
這些成片聚積的大地延伸到每個角落，無處不在。
人們每天都在大地上行走並生活著。因此，大地是不可能塌陷的。
由於好友的忠告，杞人終於相信自己懼怕天塌地陷是毫無根據的。
經過此番交談，杞人重又恢復了正常的生活。
得知消息後，好友也如釋重負，鬆了一口氣。
今天，人們常常用成語「杞人憂天」來形容那些無端憂慮的人。