The origins of ten idiom stories

Sit back and wait for the rabbit

"Han Feizi·Five Beetles" records: There was a farmer in the Song Dynasty who worked in the fields every day. All year round, we get up at dawn in the morning and walk to the fields with a hoe on our shoulders; in the evening, when the sun is about to set, we go home again with a hoe on our shoulders. It was really hard for him.

One day, the farmer was working in the fields, and suddenly a hare jumped out of the grass. The hare was frightened when he saw someone. He ran desperately, but unexpectedly hit a tree stump in the farmer's field, broke his neck and died. The farmer put down his farm work and walked over to pick up the dead rabbit. He was very grateful for his good luck.

When he got home in the evening, the farmer gave the dead rabbit to his wife. The wife cooked delicious hare meat, and the couple had a wonderful meal talking and laughing.

The next day, the farmer went to work in the fields as usual, but he was no longer as attentive as before. After working for a while, he glanced and listened into the grass, hoping that another rabbit would jump out and hit the tree stump. In this way, he worked absent-mindedly for a day, and he didn't even finish hoeing the land that was supposed to be hoeed. He didn't see any rabbits coming out until dark, so he went home reluctantly.

On the third day, the farmer came to the field and had no intention of hoeing. He put the farm tools aside and sat on the field edge next to the tree stump, waiting for the wild rabbit to come out. But I waited another day in vain.

Later, the farmer stayed by the tree stump like this every day, hoping to pick up another rabbit, but he never got another rabbit. But the weeds in the farmer's field grew taller and taller, submerging his crops. The farmer therefore became the laughing stock of Song people.

Treating an accidental event as a common phenomenon or an inevitable rule is unfounded and very rash. If a person looks at the problem that way, he will do stupid things like this Song Dynasty man

Looking at plum blossoms to quench thirst

One summer, Cao Cao led his troops to attack Zhang Xiu, and the weather was so hot Surprisingly, the sun was blazing and there was no cloud in the sky. The troops were walking on the winding mountain road. The dense trees on both sides and the rocks heated by the sun made people breathless. By noon, the soldiers' clothes were soaked through, their marching speed also slowed down, and several weak soldiers actually fainted on the roadside.

Cao Cao saw that the marching speed was getting slower and slower, and he was worried that he would miss the opportunity to fight, and he was very anxious. However, now tens of thousands of people cannot even drink water, so how can they speed up? He immediately called the guide and asked him quietly: "Is there any water source near here?" The guide shook his head and said: "The spring is on the other side of the valley. It is still a long way to go around." Cao Cao thought for a moment and said, "No. , there is no time." He looked at the woods in front of him, thought for a while, and said to the guide: "Don't say anything, I will think of a way." He knew that it would be useless to order the troops to speed up at this moment. After thinking about it, he came up with a solution. He clamped the horse's belly and rushed to the front of the team. He pointed forward with his riding crop and said: "Soldiers, I know there is a large plum forest ahead. The plums there are big and delicious. Let's hurry up." Hurry up and go around this hill to Merlin!" When the soldiers heard it, they seemed to have eaten it, and their spirits were high, and they couldn't help but speed up their pace.

In ancient times, the king of Qi State, King Qi Xuan, loved music, especially listening to the playing of the yu. He had 300 musicians who were good at playing the yu. King Xuan of Qi liked liveliness and ostentation, and always wanted to show his majesty as a king in front of others, so every time he heard the Yu played, he always asked these 300 people to join together and play for him.

Mr. Nanguo heard about this hobby of King Xuan of Qi and felt that it was a good opportunity to make money. So he ran to King Xuan of Qi and boasted about himself: "Your Majesty, I am a famous person." "I am a great musician. Everyone who has heard me play the yu has been moved. Even the birds and animals will dance gracefully, and the flowers and plants will tremble in time. I am willing to dedicate my unique skills to the king." King Xuan of Qi heard this. He was so happy that he readily accepted him without any further investigation and incorporated him into the 300-person Yu playing team.

After that, Mr. Nan Guo accompanied the 300 people to perform for King Qi Xuan. He enjoyed the generous treatment like everyone else and felt very proud.

In fact, Mr. Nanguo told a big lie. He didn’t know how to play the yu at all. Whenever they were playing, Mr. Nan Guo would hold the Yu and mingle among the team. He would shake his body when others shook his body, and his head when others would move his head. He pretended to be emotional and selfless, and he seemed to be playing as well as everyone else. If you put yourself into it, you really can’t see any flaws. Mr. Nan Guo just relied on deception to get through day after day, getting his salary for nothing.

But the good times did not last long. A few years later, King Qi Xuan, who loved to listen to the Yu ensemble, died, and his son King Qi Min succeeded to the throne. King Min of Qi also liked to listen to Yu playing, but unlike King Xuan of Qi, he thought that it was too noisy for 300 people to play together, and it was not as melodious and carefree as playing solo. So King Qi Min issued an order asking these 300 people to practice well and be prepared. He would let 300 people take turns playing the Yu for him to appreciate one by one. After receiving the order, the musicians all practiced actively and wanted to show off their skills. Only Mr. Nan Guo, who was just pretending to play the guitar, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot and was in panic all day long. After much deliberation, he felt that he could no longer get through this time, so he had to pack up his luggage and run away overnight.

Hiding one's ears and stealing the bell

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the noble Zhi Bo of Jin destroyed the Fan family. Someone took the opportunity and ran to Fan's house to steal something, and saw a big bell hanging in the yard. The bell is made of fine bronze and has exquisite shapes and patterns. The thief was very happy and wanted to carry this beautiful clock back to his home. But the clock was so big and heavy that it couldn't be moved. After much deliberation, he found only one way, which was to break the clock into pieces and then move them home separately.

The thief found a big hammer and hit the clock with all his strength. A loud bang made him jump. The thief panicked, thinking that this was too bad, didn't this sound tell people that I was stealing the clock here? He was so anxious that he threw himself on the clock and opened his arms to cover the sound of the bell, but how could he cover it! The sound of the bell still sounds long and distant.

The more he listened, the more frightened he became. He could not freely withdraw his hands and cover his ears with all his strength. "Hey, the bell has become smaller and can't be heard anymore!" The thief became happy. "It's wonderful! If you can't cover your ears, you can't hear the bell!" He immediately found two cloth balls and covered his ears. Stop it, thinking, now no one can hear the bell. So he let go and hit the clock. Every time, the bell sounded loudly and spread far away. People heard the bell and swarmed to catch the thief.

The fox fakes the tiger's power

The tiger looks for various wild animals to eat them and catches a fox. The fox said: "You dare not eat me! God sent me to be the leader of the beasts. Now if you eat me, you are disobeying God's command. If you think my words are dishonest, I will go in front of you and you will follow me." "Look at all the wild beasts. Do you dare not run away when they see me?" The tiger thought that what the fox said was reasonable, so he went with it. When the beasts saw them they all ran away. The tiger doesn't know that the wild beasts are afraid of itself and run away, thinking that they are afraid of the fox.

They work together in confusion

It comes from Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Zazu" in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that wolves and wolves are the same animal. The wolf has long front legs and short hind legs; the wolf has the opposite, with short front legs and long hind legs. Every time Yan goes out, he must rely on the wolf and put his front legs on the wolf's hind legs to move. Otherwise, he will be unable to move. Once, the wolf and Hao walked outside a person's sheepfold. Although there were many sheep inside, the sheepfold was high and strong, so they came up with a good idea: let the wolf ride on Hao's neck, and then let the wolf ride on Hao's neck. Yan stood upright with his two long hind legs and carried the wolf very high. Then, the wolf used its two long front feet to climb onto the sheepfold and snatch the sheep away.

Yu Gong Moves Mountains

There were two big mountains blocking the road in front of Yu Gong's house. He was determined to level the mountains. Another wise old man laughed at him because he was too stupid and thought he couldn't. The Foolish Old Man said: "When I die, I will have a son, and when my son dies, I will have grandchildren. The children and grandchildren are endless. The two mountains will eventually be leveled." Later, the Emperor of Heaven was moved, so the Emperor of Heaven ordered Hercules to move the two mountains. It means that as long as you have perseverance, you can succeed.

Repairing the situation

This story comes from the "Warring States Policy". During the Warring States Period, a minister of Chu State named Zhuang Xin said to King Xiang of Chu one day: "When you are in the palace, the Marquis of Zhou is on your left and the Marquis of Xia is on your right; when you go out, Lord Yanling and Lord Shouhe are always together. It’s up to you. You and these four people specialize in luxury and pleasure, and don’t care about national affairs. Ying (the capital of Chu, in the north of Jiangling County, Hubei Province) must be in danger!" King Xiang was very unhappy after hearing this and cursed angrily. He said: "Are you confused? Are you deliberately saying these sinister words to confuse people's minds?"

Zhuang Xin replied calmly: "I really feel that things must come to this point, I dare not If you continue to favor this person, Chu State will surely perish. If you don't believe me, please allow me to hide in Zhao State and see what happens." Five months later, Qin sent troops to invade Chu, and King Xiang was forced to exile to Yangcheng (now northwest of Xixian County, Henan Province). Then I felt that Zhuang Xin's words were good, and quickly sent someone to find Zhuang Xin and asked him what he could do. Zhuang Xin said sincerely: "I've heard that it's not too late to think of hounds only when you see a rabbit; when sheep run away It’s not too late to mend the sheepfold after it falls.…” This is a very meaningful story. If you only know how to enjoy yourself and don’t know how to do things, the result will undoubtedly be a tragic failure. The idiom "make up for it before it's too late" is based on the two sentences above. It expresses the meaning that if something goes wrong, it's not too late to save it as soon as possible. For example, a businessman makes a mistake in estimating the development of things, advances rashly, and falls into failure. But he was not discouraged, and patiently thought about the matter again, learned from this mistake, and believed that it was not too late to "make up for it" and start from scratch!

The rabbit dies and the fox grieves

Once upon a time, a rabbit and a fox swore an alliance to deal with the same enemy - the hunter, vowing to live and die together and fight against adversity. One day, when they were enjoying the beauty of nature in the fields, a group of hunters suddenly came and shot the rabbit to death with one arrow, and the fox was also in danger. After the hunter left, the fox ran to the rabbit and cried and mourned.

An elder passed by and saw the fox crying next to the rabbit. He felt strange and asked the fox why he was crying. The fox said sadly: "The rabbit and I are also tiny animals, the targets of hunters. We have agreed to fight against the same enemy, to live and die together, and to suffer the same hardships."

Now my ally is shot to death by a hunter. His death today means my death tomorrow. We are true friends, how can I not cry in sadness! " After hearing this, the elder sighed and said, "You are justified in mourning for such a companion! "The idiom "The rabbit dies and the fox is sad" comes from this story. It expresses sadness at the death or misfortune of the same kind

A blessing in disguise

During the Warring States Period, near the northern border town, there lived an old man. His name was Sai Weng. Sai Weng raised many horses. One day, one of his horses suddenly went missing. When the neighbors heard about it, they came to comfort him and advised him not to worry too much. Sai Weng was old and should pay more attention to his health. He comforted me and said with a smile: "Losing a horse is not a big loss, and it may bring some blessings. "

The neighbor felt very funny after hearing what Sai Weng said. The loss of the horse was obviously a bad thing, but he thought it might be a good thing, obviously just to comfort himself. After a few days, the lost horse not only He returned home on his own initiative and brought back a Hun horse.

The neighbor heard about it and was very impressed by Sai Weng's foresight. He congratulated Sai Weng and said, "You had the foresight. Not only was the horse not lost, but it was also brought back." What a blessing to have a good horse back. "After hearing the neighbor's congratulations, Sai Weng didn't look happy at all. He said anxiously: "Getting a good horse for free is not necessarily a blessing, it may cause some trouble. ”

The neighbors thought that his pretense was purely the cunning of the elderly. He was obviously happy in his heart, but deliberately did not say it.

Sai Weng had an only son who liked riding horses very much. The horse that came back was very good-looking, with long body and big hooves, loud neighing, and a strong and powerful horse. He went out on horseback every day, and he felt very proud.

One day, he felt very proud. He was so happy that he galloped away from the horse, staggered, fell off the horse and broke his leg. When the neighbors heard about it, they came to express their condolences.

Sai Weng said: "It's nothing, my leg is broken." Maybe it was a blessing to save his life. "The neighbors thought he was talking nonsense again. They couldn't imagine what good fortune a broken leg would bring. Soon, the Huns invaded in large numbers, and young people were drafted into the army. Sai Weng's son could not go to work as a soldier because he broke his leg. soldiers.

All the young men who enlisted in the army died in the battle, but Sai Weng's son survived.

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia/?ref=view