爱华网There was a state called zhou (周) in the chinese history.
中国历史上有一个国家名叫“周”。
One day, the king of zhou asked his officials for advice on deal with prisoners of war.
一天，周王问他的官员，应该怎样处理战俘。
An official said, "i once heard if you love someone, you are intended to love even the crows on the roof of his house; if you hate someone, you are intended to hate even the walls and the parapets of his. The prisoners of war were enemies fighting against us. In my opinion, we'd better kill them all."
一个官员说：“我以前曾听说：如果喜欢某个人，就连停留在那人住的屋顶上的乌鸦都喜欢;如果厌恶某个人，就连那人家里的墙壁和围墙都厌恶。战俘是我们的敌人，和我们是对立的，我觉得最好把他们全部杀了。”
But the king didn't agree with him."I think we should treat the prisoners of war differently by differing them into those who are guilty and those who are not. The guilty ones will be sentenced to death in order to avoid future disasters." Another official put forward his suggestion.
周王认为这样做不行。另外一个官员也提出了自己的意见：“依我看应该把战俘区分对待，把有罪的和无罪的、好的和坏的区分开来。有罪的战俘要处死，不能留下祸患。”
The king didn't think it was a proper way, either.
周王认为这样做也不大妥当。
Then a third one said, "Your majesty, I think all the prisoners should be set free and sent back home to work in the fields and support themselves by their own labor. Moreover, you should keep strictly the rules for reward and punishment and treat your relatives and friends impartially.The people are sure to believe in you if you administer our country by morals and laws."
接着，又有一个官员说：“大王，我认为应该把这些战俘全都放了，让他们回到自己的家里，耕种田地，自食其力。而大王对自己的亲人和朋友，也要赏罚分明，不能偏心。通过道德和法律来治理国家，人民肯定会对大王信服的。”
The king thought the official's proposal was quite reasonable so he accepted and followed it.As a result, the domestic situation soon settled down and gradually the country became more stable and stronger.
周王听后觉得很有道理，就按这个办法去做，结果国家真的很快安定下来了，变得越来越稳定和强大。
The idiom is then used to mean that if you love someone,you'll love people and things relative to him as well.
成语“爱屋及乌”后来就被用来比喻：因为喜爱一个人，连带和他有关的人或事物也喜爱、关心。
成语故事英文精选 food handed out in contempt嗟来之食One year during the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期,770-476 BC), there was a the Qi State (齐国) was severely strickend by a famine.
春秋时代，有一年齐国发生大饥荒。
Qian Ao (qián ào 黔敖), a very rich but arrogant man took the occasion to showcase his generosity through preparing food by the roadside and giving it to the passing refugees in charity.
有一位叫做黔敖有钱贵族，在街边准备食物分发给来往的难民，以显示自己的慷慨。
A man with shabby clothes happened to walk by with his shoes trailing along, he was so hungry as not to open his eyes.
有一个饥民，用衣袖蒙着脸，拖着鞋，饿得眼睛都睁不开的样子，慢慢地走过来。
Seeing the poor man, Qian Ao held the food by left hand and the drink by right hand, and shouted at him,"Hi, come to eat !”
黔敖见了，就左手拿着吃的，右手捧着喝的，向他喊道：“喂，来吃吧!”
Hearing the word, the man glared his eyes and said, “It is because I am not willing to eat the food handed out in contempt that I have been famished to such a degree. "
那人一听这话，立即瞪着眼睛，说道：“我就是因为不吃‘嗟来之食，才饿到这般地步的。"
Though Qian Ao made an apology to him for that, the man still resolutely refused to eat the food and thus he died of hunger in the end.
尽管黔敖向他道歉，那人仍然坚决不吃，终于饿死了。
This set phrase now extensively denotes the disrespectful aims. This story means that a person who has a strong sense of self-respect would rather die of hunger than be despised.
此故事讲的是一个怀有强烈自尊心的人，宁可饿死也不肯接受人轻视。现在这个成语泛指带有侮辱性的施舍。
成语故事英文精选 mere copycat东施效颦In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期,770-476 BC), there was a beauty in the State of Yue called Xishi (西施).
传说春秋时期，越国有一美女，名唤西施。
She often suffered from pains in her chest, and so she would often walk around doubled over and with her brows knitted.
但是西施有心口疼的毛病，所以她经常手捂胸口，皱着眉头走着。
There was an ugly girl in the village called Dongshi who envied Xishi.
村子里还住着一位丑姑娘，叫做东施，她十分嫉妒西施。
Striving to emulate Xishi, she imitated her stoop, knitting her brows at the same time.
于是东施时常效仿西施，手捂胸口，紧皱眉头。
She thought that this made her elegant, but in fact, it only made her more ugly.
东施觉得她效仿西施就会变得很美丽，但是实际上，只会使她变得更难看而已。
Later, this idiom came to be used to indicate improper imitation that produces the reverse effect.
这个典故比喻不恰当的模仿，带来相反的效果。
