He is too greedy, he will never be satisfied. (貪慾無厭)
During the Warring States Period of China,
there were four major families in the Jin Kingdom.
The Zhi family forced the Wei family and
the Han family to send troops together to attack the Zhao family.
The patriarch of the Zhao family sent a
messenger named (Zhang Mengtan) to visit the patriarchs of the Wei and Han
families.
After the two patriarchs listened to (Zhang
Mengtan) analysis, both of them changed their positions.
They decided to join the Zhao family to
fight against the oppression of the Zhi family.
When (Zhang Mengtan) left the place where
he was meeting with the two patriarchs, he met a member of the Zhi family, who
was named (Zhi Guo).
(Zhang Mengtan) hurriedly lowered his head
and left. He prayed that (Zhi Guo) did not see himself.
But (Zhi Guo) saw him.
(Zhi Guo) Go to the patriarch of the Zhi
family immediately, whose name is (Chi Bo).
He said to (Zhi Bo).
I saw a messenger of the Zhao family
sneaking into our barracks. He seemed to be in a good mood and his steps were
light.
So I speculate that he must have come to
find the patriarch of the other two families.
They may have a secret agreement, and this
agreement is very beneficial to them.
(Zhi Bo) said this is impossible, our coalition
forces are about to win.
Since the victory is about to be achieved,
why did the Wei family and the Han family betray me?
Because (Zhi Bo) was so sure, (Zhi Guo) did
not insist on this view.
But he was still worried. He wanted to
confirm again.
He went directly to visit the patriarchs of
the Wei family and the Han family.
After he visited the two patriarchs, he
hurried to find (Zhi Bo).
He said to (Zhi Bo). My speculation is most
likely correct, because I visited the patriarchs of the Wei family and the Han
family.
In the conversation with them, I realized
that their attitude towards me has changed.
But (Zhi Bo) still didn't believe him.
(Zhi Guo) said to (Zhi Bo).
You still don't believe my judgment, but I
still have to give you a suggestion.
I am sure that the patriarchs of these two
families will betray us. We should act quickly at this time.
We should bribe the most important
retainers of these two families.
We should tell these two retainers that if
the Zhao family is successfully defeated by us these days, we will give them
gifts.
This gift must be attractive enough. I
suggest giving each of the two retainers a city.
As long as we take this action, we will be
able to eliminate the Zhao family smoothly.
But (Zhi Bo) answered him after hearing
this suggestion.
This is impossible. Our three families have
agreed to divide the interests of the Han family.
This ratio has already been agreed, but if
I give each of them a city now, my loss will be too great.
I can't do this.
When (Zhi Guo) heard (Zhi Bo)'s answer, he
was silent.
Then he went home. In the afternoon of the
day, he took all his family members and left his hometown immediately. He went
to other kingdoms.
It was the night of this day. The Wei
family, the Han family and the Zhao family united to launch a surprise attack
on the Zhi family.
All the members of the Zhi family were
killed.
In the entire Zhi family, only members of
the (Zhi Guo) family survived.
When people in other kingdoms heard this
news, they said.
(Zhi Bo) is too greedy. He was unwilling to
give up a little profit, but in the end he lost everything.
This idiom is used to describe a person who
is too greedy and unsatisfied.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you have after hearing this story.
Can you feel as keen as (Zhi Guo)? Have you
encountered in your life, because you refused to give up a little profit, you
will end up with great losses?
I hope this story will give you some new
gains.
貪慾無厭(He is too greedy, he will never be
satisfied.)
中國的戰國時代，晉王國中有四大家族。
智家族強迫魏家族與韓家族這兩個家族一起出兵去攻打趙家族。
趙家族的族長，派出了一個名字叫做(張孟談)的信使，去拜訪魏家族與韓家族的族長。
這兩個族長聽完(張孟談)的分析後，兩個人都改變立場。
他們決定聯合趙家族一起來反抗智家族的欺壓。
當(張孟談)離開與兩個族長會談的地方時，他遇見了一個智家族的人，這個人名字叫做(智過)。
(張孟談)趕緊低著頭離開，他祈禱(智過)沒有看見自已。
但是(智過)看見他了。
(智過)立刻去找智家族的族長，族長的名字叫做(智伯)。
他對(智伯)說。
我跟才看見趙家族的一個使者偷偷來到我們的軍營，他看起來心情很好，而且腳步很輕快，
所以我推測，他一定是來找另外兩個家族的族長。
他們可能有秘密協議，而且這個協議對他們很有利。
(智伯)說這是不可能，我們的聯軍即將取得勝利。
既然已經要勝利了，魏家族與韓家族為何要背叛我。
由於(智伯)如此肯定，所以(智過)也不堅持這個看法。
但是他還是很擔心。他想要再次地確認。
他就直接去拜訪魏家族與韓家族的族長。
他拜訪完兩位族長後，他趕緊去找(智伯)。
他對(智伯)說。我的推測極有可能是正確的，因為我去拜訪了魏家族與韓家族的族長。
在與他們的對話中，我覺察到他們對我的態度已經不一樣了。
但是(智伯)還是不相信他。
(智過)對(智伯)說。
你始終不相信我的判斷，但是我還是要給你一個建議。
我確定這兩個家族的族長會背叛我們，我們這時候應該要趕快採取行動。
我們應該去賄絡這兩個家族中最重要的家臣。
我們應該告訴這兩個家臣，如果趙家族這幾天順利被我們擊敗，我們會送他們禮物。
這個禮物一定要足夠有吸引力，我建議給這兩個家臣各一座城市。
只要我們採取這個行動，我們就一定可以順利消滅趙家族。
但是(智伯)聽到這建議後回答他。
這是不可能的，我們三個家族已經約定好要瓜分韓家族的利益，
這個比例已經說好了，但若是我現在給這他們各一座城市，那我的損失太大了。
我不可能這樣做。
當(智過)聽到(智伯)的回答後，他沉默了。
接著他就回家，在這一天的下午，他帶著所有的家人，立刻離開自己的家鄉。他去了別的王國。
也就在這一天的晚上。魏家族與韓家族和趙家族三個家族聯合起來對智家族發動奇襲。
智家族所有的人全被殺光。
整個智家族中，只有(智過)家庭的人活了下來。
其他王國的人們聽到這個消息，他們就說。
(智伯)太過於貪心。他不願意放棄一點小利益，但結果卻失去了全部啊。
這句成語被用來形容一個人太過於貪心而不滿足。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你可以像(智過)一樣感受敏銳嗎?你的生活中有遭遇過，因為不肯放棄一點小利益，最後產生極大損失的經驗嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。