meet as equals

as an equal

The Chinese idiom, Pinyin is f ē NT í NGK à NGL ǐ, which means that the two sides are equal, equal in status and strength, and can compete. It comes from Zhuangzi fisherman by Zhuang Zhou.

The origin of Idioms

Zhuangzi Fisherman: "master of Wancheng, king of Qiancheng, I see my master with equal courtesy."

Idiom story

During the spring and Autumn period, Confucius and his disciples played the piano in the woods. An old man with white hair listened attentively. The old man asked Zilu and Zigong about Confucius. The old man said Confucius was partial to benevolence. Confucius accepted it with an open mind and presented it to the old man. Confucius said that it was impolite to be disrespectful to the old man and unkind to be disrespectful to the wise man. Unkind and impolite is the root of the trouble. Therefore, we must be sincere and courteous when meeting sages. If we can't compete with each other, it will be impolite.

Idiom usage

This time, the magistrate stayed with him for dinner and told him to be a teacher. The 17th chapter of Wu Jingzi's unofficial history of the scholars in the Qing Dynasty and the biography of the merchants in the historical records said: "the monarch would not refuse to stand up to Zi Gong."