1. Be content with old customs and drown in old news? [ān yú gù sú, nì yú jiù wén] Custom: custom. Drowning: to indulge in or sink into. Stick to old habits and be limited to old experiences. Describe conformism and complacency.
Source: Biography of Shang Jun in Historical Records by Sima Qian in the Western Han Dynasty: Ordinary people are content with the old customs, but scholars are addicted to what they hear.
Translation: Ordinary people cling to old habits, while scholars are limited to old experiences.
2. The saddle never leaves the horse, and A never leaves the body? [ān bù lí mǎ ù, jiǎ bù lí shēn] A: Armor, the protective clothing worn by ancient people in war. A horse can't understand armor until it's unloaded. Be on high alert.
Source: Tang Dynasty's Collection of Dunhuang Changes, Volume I, Changes of the Tomb of the Han General: "The saddle never leaves the horse's back, and the armor never leaves the body."
The saddle does not leave the horse's back, and the armor does not leave the soldiers' bodies.
3. When the Eight Immortals crossed the sea, they all showed their magical powers [bā xi ā n guò h ? i, gè xi ? n shé n t not ng] Eight Immortals: Eight immortals in Taoist legends. Metaphor has its own way of doing things. It's also a metaphor for competing with each other with their own skills.
Origin: Ming Wu Cheng'en The Journey to the West 81: "It was the Eight Immortals who crossed the sea and showed their magical powers alone."
4. Don't ask for meritorious service, but ask for no fault [bù qiú yǒu gōng 33ng, dàn qiú wú guò]. Don't ask for meritorious service, just hope there are no mistakes. Metaphor is a person who doesn't make progress, or a person who keeps his place.
Source: A Ying's "Notes on China in the Late Qing Dynasty Literature" the second time: "In a word, I don't want any merit in the present situation, but I want nothing."
5. Compared with the previous one, there is more than [bǐ shàng bù zú, bǐ xià yǒu yú], which can't catch up with the previous one, but exceeds the latter one. This is what people who are satisfied with the status quo and don't work hard to comfort themselves. Sometimes it is also used to persuade people to be content.
Source: Han Zhaoqi's Final Record of Three Assistants: "The upper level is less than Cui Du, and the lower level is more than Luo Zhao."
Although I can't compare with Cui Du, I am more than enough compared with Max Loehr.