There once was a man from the North who wanted to travel to Chu. He rode a chariot, traveling on a road heading north. His friend, quite surprised, asked him: "Chu is in the South. You should be traveling south. Why are you heading north?"

"Never mind," the Northerner replied obstinately. "My horse is a good steed. It runs very fast."

His friend said: "No matter how fast it runs, you can never reach Chu by going north."

The Northerner said: "I have prepared enough travel expenses."

His friend said: "Sufficient travel expenses can help you neither."

The Northerner was still more obstinate: "I have a strong and capable groom at my service."

His friend said: "No groom, how capable and strong he may be, can be of any use to you if you stick to going northward."

The traveler did not listen to his friend, so he never reached Chu.

The idiom derived from this story indicates that one's action was the opposite effect to one's intention.

nán yuán bĕi zhé
南辕北辙

    有个北方人想到楚国去。他坐着马车，沿着一条通向北方的大道奔驰。一个朋友觉得很奇怪，问他：“楚国是在南方，你应该向南方前进才对，你怎么往北走呢？”

    “没关系”，那个北方人固执地回答，“我的马是匹骏马，它跑得很快。”

    他朋友说：“你的马无论跑多快，你向北方走总是到不了楚国的。” 

    那北方人说：“我已经准备了足够的旅费。”

    他朋友说：“充分的旅费也无济于事。”

    那北方人还是固执己见：“我有个很健壮能干的马夫帮我。”

    他朋友说：“如果你坚持向北方走，虽然有能干强壮的马夫，也是没用的。”

    那北方人没有听他朋友的劝告，所以他也始终没有到达楚国。

    后来，人们就把这个故事概括为“南辕北辙”，比喻一个人的行动和他的目的正好相反。

xīn líng shŏu qiăo
心灵手巧
have a lively mind and a quick hand; be clever and deft

xīn zhí kŏu kuài
心直口快
be frank and outspoken; speak one's mind without any hesitation; be plain-spoken and straightforward
dăn xiăo rú shǔ
胆小如鼠
as timid as a mouse; chicken-hearted

dăn dà xīn xì
胆大心细
bold but cautious; courageous and wise

yī mù shí háng
一目十行
take in ten lines at a glance; read very rapidly

yī bù dēng tiān
一步登天
reach heaven in a single bound – attain the highest level in one step; have a meteoric rise; be rapidly successful

Source: China Internet Information Center