Vocabulary

(mutual) interaction; reciprocal action; interplay

state of ecstasy; state of rapture; trance; reverie

oracle bone script

good at socializing; sociability; being a good mixer

social circles; arena of (fashionable) society

bad at socializing; bad in social situation; being a bad mixer

high mountains and running water; the beauty of nature

undergo a complete change; turn over a new leaf

happy events are often accompanied by difficulties; unsullied joy is rare

obstinate and self-assertive

the young should be regarded with respect

attack as a form of defense; attacking (active) defense

fair and impartial; just and unselfish

behavioral principle; principle (value) governing one's conduct

very shrewd in preparing a means of escape; being very good at escaping danger

being somewhat excited (agitated)

rise and fall; prosperity and decline; vicissitudes

bold and boorish

unparalleled for valor; unmatched for bravery

abnormally and inhumanly greedy; cruel and rapacious

scene looking desolate and forlorn

enhancing national prestige; expanding national influence

cosmopolitan (international) way of thinking; feeling for the wider world

the international arena

dynamics of international (foreign) relations

(a woman of) unparalleled beauty; (a woman's beauty being) matchless throughout the land

absolute heaven; sheer bliss

the crucial moment; the moment of truth; do-or-die situation; crucial juncture; crucial stage

huge harvest (of the five grains); bumper crop; abundant crop

poem of four lines, each of five (Chinese) characters

poem of eight lines, each of five (Chinese) characters

idiom derived from historical events or classical literature of China

at age fifty, one comes to know the will of Heaven

extremely important or once in a lifetime (request); only once in one's lifetime

feeling apprehensive; feeling (looking) lone and helpless; being down-and-out (ruined); helplessness of those in reduced circumstances

horse-headed and ox-headed demons in the Buddhist hell

contest held in the presence of a daimyo, shogun or the Emperor

with no physical defects; in perfectly good health; sound in wind and limb

fixed idea; idée fixe; obsession; fixation

the fate of a nation; life-or-death (situation) for a nation; national crisis