Languages / Mandarin / Level 4 · Unit 4

画龙点睛 — Metaphor & Idiom

Lesson 114 of 170 · Level 4 of 6All lessons
In this lesson

You are learning metaphor & idiom: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (food idioms & metaphorical language), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.

The scene

A calligraphy-and-tea studio above a bookshop on Shaoxing Road, Shanghai, discussing the art of food writing

The Language of Food

茶馆的老板是个美食专栏作家。他说:「好的美食写作不是记流水账——你要用比喻,用成语,让文字有味道。」他泡了一壶龙井茶,让我先品。

「你喝到什么?」他问。我说:「先苦后甘。」他点头:「对,这就是回味无穷。好茶和好文章一样,都要有回味。你再想想,怎么用成语来描述这壶茶?」

我想了想:「茶叶和水的温度相得益彰。泡茶的手法炉火纯青。每一口都恰到好处。」他笑了:「不错。最后加一句画龙点睛的,让整段话活起来。」

我说:「这壶茶像一首诗——起承转合,欲罢不能。」他拍了一下桌子:「好!这就是美食写作的秘密:不是写食物本身,而是写食物给你的感受。成语就是你的颜料,比喻就是你的画笔。」