The Rise of the Great Powers

Whole-title review

Season 1 — The Rise of the Great Powers

大国崛起 dàguó juéqǐ

HSK 1
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Vocabulary

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天高皇帝远 天高皇帝遠 tiān gāo huáng dì yuǎn lit. the sky is high and the emperor is far away (idiom); fig. remote places are beyond the reach of the central government Idiom ∼HSK 6
突飞猛进 突飛猛進 tū fēi měng jìn to advance by leaps and bounds Idiom ∼HSK 6
千载难逢 千載難逢 qiān zǎi nán féng extremely rare (idiom); once in a blue moon Idiom ∼HSK 6
脱胎换骨 脫胎換骨 tuō tāi huàn gǔ to shed one's mortal body and exchange one's bones (idiom); born again Daoist; to turn over a new leaf; fig. to change wholly; to create from other material (story, artwork etc) Idiom ∼HSK 6
如日中天 如日中天 rú rì zhōng tiān lit. like the sun at noon (idiom); fig. to be at the peak of one's power, career etc Idiom ∼HSK 6
表面文章 表面文章 biǎo miàn wén zhāng superficial show; going through the motions Idiom ∼HSK 6
死于非命 死於非命 sǐ yú fēi mìng violent death (idiom); to die in a disaster; an unnatural death Idiom ∼HSK 6
离经叛道 離經叛道 lí jīng pàn dào to rebel against orthodoxy; to depart from established practices Idiom ∼HSK 6
特立独行 特立獨行 tè lì dú xíng to be unconventional; independence of action Idiom ∼HSK 6
足不出户 足不出戶 zú bù chū hù lit. not putting a foot outside; to stay at home Idiom ∼HSK 6
轰轰烈烈 轟轟烈烈 hōng hōng liè liè strong; vigorous; large-scale Idiom ∼HSK 6
时过境迁 時過境遷 shí guò jìng qiān things change with the passage of time (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 6
奋不顾身 奮不顧身 fèn bù gù shēn to dash on bravely with no thought of personal safety (idiom); undaunted by dangers; regardless of perils Idiom ∼HSK 6
大张旗鼓 大張旗鼓 dà zhāng - qí gǔ (idiom) with great fanfare; on a grand scale Idiom ∼HSK 6
四分五裂 四分五裂 sì fēn - wǔ liè (idiom) fragmented; scattered; in disarray; at sixes and sevens Idiom ∼HSK 6
直言不讳 直言不諱 zhí yán bù huì to speak bluntly (idiom); not to mince words Idiom ∼HSK 6
内忧外患 內憂外患 nèi yōu wài huàn internal trouble and outside aggression (idiom); in a mess both domestically and abroad Idiom ∼HSK 6
力挽狂澜 力挽狂瀾 lì wǎn kuáng lán to pull strongly against a crazy tide (idiom); fig. to try hard to save a desperate crisis Idiom ∼HSK 6
淋漓尽致 淋漓盡致 lín lí jìn zhì lit. extreme saturation (idiom); fig. vividly and thoroughly; in great detail; without restraint; (of a performance) brilliant Idiom ∼HSK 6
不堪一击 不堪一擊 bù kān - yī jī (idiom) unable to withstand a single blow; to collapse at the first blow Idiom ∼HSK 6
星星之火 星星之火 xīng xing zhī huǒ a single spark (idiom); an insignificant cause can have a massive effect Idiom ∼HSK 6
风雨飘摇 風雨飄搖 fēng yǔ piāo yáo tossed about by the wind and rain (idiom); (of a situation) unstable Idiom ∼HSK 6
自相残杀 自相殘殺 zì xiāng cán shā to massacre one another (idiom); internecine strife Idiom ∼HSK 6
卓尔不群 卓爾不群 zhuó ěr bù qún standing above the common crowd (idiom); outstanding; excellent and unrivaled Idiom ∼HSK 6
土崩瓦解 土崩瓦解 tǔ bēng wǎ jiě to collapse; to fall apart Idiom ∼HSK 6
长驱直入 長驅直入 cháng qū zhí rù to march straight in unchallenged (military) (idiom); (fig.) to push deep into the heart of sth; to flood in Idiom ∼HSK 6
行之有效 行之有效 xíng zhī yǒu xiào to be effective (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 6
直截了当 直截了當 zhí jié liǎo dàng direct and plainspoken (idiom); blunt; straightforward Idiom ∼HSK 6
风霜雨雪 風霜雨雪 fēng - shuāng - yǔ - xuě lit. wind, frost, rain and snow (idiom); fig. all kinds of trials and hardships Idiom ∼HSK 6
望而却步 望而卻步 wàng ér què bù lit. to shrink back at the sight of (sth daunting) (idiom); fig. to be deterred Idiom ∼HSK 6
心有余悸 心有餘悸 xīn yǒu yú jì to have lingering fears; trepidation remaining after a trauma (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 6
文治武功 文治武功 wén zhì wǔ gōng political and military achievements (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 6
捉襟见肘 捉襟見肘 zhuō jīn jiàn zhǒu lit. pulling on the lapels exposes the elbows (idiom); strapped for cash; unable to make ends meet Idiom ∼HSK 6
不胜枚举 不勝枚舉 bù shèng méi jǔ too numerous to mention individually or one by one Idiom ∼HSK 6
贫病交加 貧病交加 pín bìng jiāo jiā poverty compounded by ill health (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 6
呼之欲出 呼之欲出 hū zhī yù chū lit. ready to appear at the call (idiom); fig. on the verge of coming out into the open; (of a person's choice etc) on the point of being disclosed; (of an artistic depiction) vividly portrayed Idiom ∼HSK 6
以强凌弱 以強凌弱 yǐ qiáng líng ruò to use one's strength to bully the weak (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 6
戛然而止 戛然而止 jiá rán ér zhǐ with a grunting sound it stops (idiom); to come to an end spontaneously (esp. of sound) Idiom ∼HSK 6
波涛汹涌 波濤洶湧 bō tāo xiōng yǒng waves surging forth; roaring sea Idiom HSK 6
非同小可 非同小可 fēi tóng xiǎo kě extremely important; no small matter Xiehouyu ∼HSK 6
破天荒 破天荒 pò tiān huāng unprecedented; for the first time; never before; first ever Xiehouyu ∼HSK 6
不成 不成 bù chéng won't do; unable to; (at the end of a rhetorical question) can that be? Xiehouyu HSK 6
高手 高手 gāo shǒu expert; past master; dab hand Xiehouyu HSK 6
磨牙 磨牙 mó yá to grind one's teeth (during sleep); pointless arguing; (coll.) molar Colloquialism ∼HSK 6
却是 卻是 què shì nevertheless; actually; the fact is ... HSK 6
表面上 表面上 biǎo miàn shang outwardly; superficially; on the face of it HSK 6
瓦特 瓦特 wǎ tè watt (loanword) ∼HSK 6
沙皇 沙皇 shā huáng czar (loanword) ∼HSK 6
色泽 色澤 sè zé color and luster ∼HSK 6
蒸汽机 蒸汽機 zhēng qì jī steam engine ∼HSK 6