機關算盡太聰明，反算了卿卿性命

if one is too calculating, it will be the cause of one's own undoing (famous line in "A Dream of Red Mansions" 紅樓夢|红楼梦[Hong2 lou2 Meng4])

mechanism; gear / machine-operated / office; agency; organ; organization; establishment; institution; body / stratagem; scheme; intrigue; plot; trick / CL:個|个[ge4]

(bound form) machine; mechanism / (bound form) aircraft / (bound form) an opportunity / (bound form) crucial point; pivot / (bound form) quick-witted; flexible / (bound form) organic

mountain pass / to close; to shut; to turn off / to confine; to lock (sb) up; to shut (sb in a room, a bird in a cage etc) / to concern; to involve

to regard as / to figure / to calculate / to compute

to use up / to exhaust / to end / to finish / to the utmost / exhausted / finished / to the limit (of sth) / all / entirely

highest / greatest / too (much) / very / extremely

quick at hearing / wise / clever / sharp-witted / intelligent / acute

intelligent / clever / bright / smart / acute (of sight and hearing)

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) / surname Ming / Ming (c. 2000 BC), fourth of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God

bright / opposite: dark 暗[an4] / (of meaning) clear / to understand / next / public or open / wise / generic term for a sacrifice to the gods

contrary / in reverse / inside out or upside down / to reverse / to return / to oppose / opposite / against / anti- / to rebel / to use analogy / instead / abbr. for 反切[fan3 qie4] phonetic system

let it be / let it pass / forget about it

(completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) / (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

to finish / to achieve / variant of 瞭|了[liao3] / to understand clearly

(of eyes) bright / clear-sighted / to understand clearly

unofficial variant of 瞭[liao4]

high ranking official (old) / term of endearment between spouses (old) / (from the Tang Dynasty onwards) term used by the emperor for his subjects (old) / honorific (old)

nature / character / property / quality / attribute / sexuality / sex / gender / suffix forming adjective from verb / suffix forming noun from adjective, corresponding to -ness or -ity / essence / CL:個|个[ge4]

life

life / fate / order or command / to assign a name, title etc