- 秀才遇到兵 xiùcaiyùdàobīng [xiehouyu] reasoning with the unreasonableA scholar meeting a soldier; a common saying used to describe a situation where a reasonable person cannot communicate with or talk sense into someone who is being stubborn, crude, or unreasonable
- 秀才遇到兵,有理说不清 xiùcaiyùdàobīngyǒulǐshuōbùqīng reasoning with the unreasonableit is impossible to reason with a person who only respects brute force; an educated person cannot get their point across to a soldier or an unreasonable person