Dictionary

festive day; holiday

to untie; (fig.) to ease restrictions

monthly ticket

to partition; to divide up

scholar; literati

long and tedious; redundant; superfluous

sweet potato

far from the center; remote; outlying

mistaken ideas; misconceptions; the error of one's ways

base; foundation; bottom

tottering; on the verge of collapse

gorgeous; garish and beautiful

pungent (taste); bitter; fig. sad

shipping by sea

to not say a word

to put a roof (on a building); to cap the roof (finishing a building project); fig. to put a ceiling (on spending, prize, ambition etc)

remarkable (progress, improvement, expansion etc)

training in the basic skills; knowledge of the fundamentals

to retreat; to shrink back

triumphal hymn; victory song; paean

to enchant; fascinating

to present clearly; to give prominence to; to magnify

trader; peddler

shovel; spade; trowel

to set an example (idiom); to serve as a model

main aspects; essentials; gist

to develop and promote; to carry forward; to bring to great height of development

(of skills etc) to die out; lost; extinct

insignificant

to conclude (treaty, contract, agreement etc); to set up (a rule etc)

monosodium glutamate (MSG)

to make a loss

husband and wife

cooperative; workers' or agricultural producers' cooperative etc

bamboo; bamboo pole

latitude

to sketch out; to delineate

in other words

(idiom) to have a well thought out plan in mind; (idiom) to have a well-thought-out plan in mind

lit. to be in a high location, overlooking the scene below (idiom); fig. to occupy a commanding position; to assume a haughty attitude

glutinous rice and choice of filling wrapped in leaves and steamed or boiled

to pave (with paving stones); to lay a road; (fig.) to lay the groundwork (for sth)

to come out on top; to win (in an election, contest etc); success

old man; I (an old man referring to himself)

to dredge; to open up a path for; to remove obstructions

to recover (lost territory etc); to recapture

to call on sb; to drop in; to visit sb's home

sense of touch; tactile sensation

to lengthen and shorten; flexible; adjustable

mountains and rivers; landscape