Sòngcháo de shíhou, yǒu yí gè jiào Wén Tóng de huàjiā, hěn shàncháng huà zhúzi.
宋朝 的 时候， 有 一 个 叫 文 同 的 画家， 很 擅长 画 竹子。
In the Song Dynasty, there was an artist whose name was Wen Tong; he was famous for his bamboo paintings.
Tā zài zhùzhái fùjìn zāi le hěnduō zhúzi, wúlùn yīntiān háishì xiàyǔ, tā yì yǒu shíjiān jiù guānchá zhúzi.
他 在 住宅 附近 栽 了 很多 竹子，无论 阴天 还是 下雨，他一 有 时间 就 观察 竹子。
He grew various bamboos everywhere around his house. He loved to observe the growth of the bamboo no matter whether it was sunny or rainy.
Shíjiān yì cháng, zhúzi zài bùtóng jìjié, bùtóng qìhou tiáojiàn hé bùtóng shíkè de xíngxiàng shēnshēn
时间 一 长， 竹子 在 不同 季节，不同 气候 条件 和 不同 时刻 的 形象 深深
kèzài le tā xīnzhōng.
刻在 了他 心中。
After a long time, the image of the bamboo in different seasons, under different weather conditions and different moments were deeply imprinted in his mind.
Suǒyǐ dāng tā ná zhe bǐ zhǔnbèi zuòhuà shí, zhúzi de xíngxiàng jiù lìkè chūxiàn zài yǎnqián.
所以 当 他 拿 着 笔 准备 作画 时，竹子 的 形象 就 立刻出现 在 眼前。
So when he stood before the paper and picked up a paint brush, the various forms of bamboo rose before his eyes at once.
Tā de péngyou jiù shuō: “Dāng Wén Tóng zài huà zhú shí，xīnzhōng zǎo yǒule zhúzi de xíngxiàng.”
他 的 朋友 就 说：“ 当 文 同 在 画 竹 时， 心中 早 有了 竹子 的 形象。”
His friend said: “When Wen Tong was panting the bamboos, he had their images in his mind.”
Usage:
The phrase “胸有成竹(xiōngyǒuchéngzhú)” means having plans or designs ready in one’s mind before doing a certain job so that its success is guaranteed. It also means being calm and sober-minded in dealing with things. “胸( xiōng)” means chest, “有( yǒu)” means have, “成( chéng)” means accomplish and “竹(zhú)” means bamboo.
Example:
Kuài yào kǎoshì le, dàjiā dōu hěn zháojí, kě Xiǎo Míng xiōngyǒuchéngzhú shuō: “Zhècì, wǒ yīdìng
快 要 考试 了，大家都 很 着急，可 小 明 胸有成竹 说：“ 这次，我 一定
néng ná dìyī.”
能 拿 第一。”
The examination is coming, so everyone is worried about it. But Xiaoming seems that he has a well-thought-out plan and says: “This time, I will be the number one.”
生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
竹子 (zhúzi): n. bamboo
擅长 (shàncháng): adj. be good at
观察 (guānchá): v. observe
形象 (xíngxiàng): n. image