Chinese Fable

三顾茅庐🔊

Sān Gù Máo Lú
📚 Fables⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This fable tells of sincerely seeking out talent with great respect and persistence.

The Story 🔊

Sānguó shíqī Liú Bèi xiǎng qǐng Zhūgě Liàng chūshān fǔzuǒ zìjǐ
三国Sānguó🔊时期shíqī🔊刘备Liú Bèi🔊xiǎng🔊qǐng🔊诸葛亮Zhūgě Liàng🔊出山chūshān🔊辅佐fǔzuǒ🔊自己zìjǐ🔊
Tā dì yī cì qù Zhūgě Liàng de máolú méiyǒu jiàndào
🔊第一次dì yī cì🔊🔊诸葛亮Zhūgě Liàng🔊de🔊茅庐máolú🔊没有méiyǒu🔊见到jiàndào🔊
Dì èr cì qù háishì méiyǒu jiàndào
第二次Dì èr cì🔊🔊还是háishì🔊没有méiyǒu🔊见到jiàndào🔊
Dì sān cì Liú Bèi zhōngyú jiàndào le Zhūgě Liàng
第三次Dì sān cì🔊刘备Liú Bèi🔊终于zhōngyú🔊见到了jiàndào le🔊诸葛亮Zhūgě Liàng🔊
Zhūgě Liàng bèi tā de chéngyì gǎndòng juédìng chūshān bāngzhù Liú Bèi
诸葛亮Zhūgě Liàng🔊bèi🔊他的tā de🔊诚意chéngyì🔊感动gǎndòng🔊决定juédìng🔊出山chūshān🔊帮助bāngzhù🔊刘备Liú Bèi🔊
English Translation:
During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei wanted to invite Zhuge Liang to assist him. He went to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage for the first time but did not meet him. The second time, he still did not meet him. The third time, Liu Bei finally met Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was moved by his sincerity and decided to come out of seclusion to help Liu Bei.

Key Vocabulary

三顾茅庐
sān gù máo lú
three visits to the thatched cottage
茅庐
máolú
thatched cottage
诚意
chéngyì
sincerity
辅佐
fǔzuǒ
assist
感动
gǎndòng
moved
出山
chūshān
come out of seclusion

The Moral

Sincerity wins talent! This idiom means sincerely and persistently seeking out someone of great ability.

Cultural Insight

三顾茅庐 comes from "Records of the Three Kingdoms" (三国志), about Liu Bei visiting Zhuge Liang.