I am hungry every day(臣朔之饑)
In the Han Dynasty of China, there was a
humorous, funny and upright official named (Dongfang Shuo).
He lived from 154 BC to 93 BC.
He was about the same age as the seventh
king of the Han Dynasty (Liu Che), and many stories about the two of them are
recorded in history books.
In 141 BC, (Liu Che) became king of the Han
Dynasty.
He also entered the palace that year, and
he became a low-ranking official with little salary.
One day, as he was passing by the stables
in the palace, he saw the man in charge of the horses, a dwarf.
He said to the dwarf.
I have heard a news about you, the news is
that the king wants to kill you.
The dwarf asked him in a panic.
Why does the king want to kill me.
He says.
The king thinks that you have made too
little contribution to our kingdom. You are no better than those farmers in
farming, you are no better than soldiers in war, and you have no talent for
managing people. You consume a lot of social resources, so the king wants to
kill you.
Said the dwarf.
So what should I do? I don't want to die.
He says.
If you see the king these days, take your
chances.
You shall kneel before the king and beg his
mercy. I think he should change his mind.
Said the dwarf.
That's a great suggestion, thank you.
That afternoon, when the king came to the
stable, he said to the dwarf.
I'm going to ride out, and you lead my
favorite horse out of the stable for me.
When the dwarf saw the king approaching
him, he immediately knelt down and begged the king for mercy.
The king was taken aback by his behavior,
and the king wondered why he had this strange behavior.
An hour later, the king summoned (Dongfang
Shuo).
The king asked him.
Why did you lie to that dwarf, why did you
say I was going to kill him.
He answered.
Because I want to tell you something that
could get me killed by you, but I will say it anyway.
The king felt very curious, the king asked.
What are you going to tell me?
He says.
My height is 210 centimeters, and the
height of the dwarf is only 70 centimeters.
My monthly salary is 240 yuan, and that
dwarf's monthly salary is also 240 yuan.
I get a sack of rice every month, and the
dwarf gets a sack of rice every month.
I am tall, and the bag of rice that is
rationed to me every month, I usually eat it in less than ten days.
The dwarf was short in stature, and he
couldn't finish the bag of rice that was rationed to the dwarf every month.
That dwarf is full every day, and I am
hungry every day.
I think my salary is really too little, I
hope you can increase my salary.
I hope to be promoted, I hope to contribute
to our dynasty, I think I can hold a more important position.
The king laughed when he heard these words.
The king gave an order that very day to put
him in charge of an important post in the palace.
The meaning of this idiom is used to
describe a person whose salary is so small that it is difficult for this person
to maintain a normal life.
This idiom is also used to describe a
person who is stuck in a predicament, or a person whose wishes cannot be
fulfilled.
Dear friend, what kind of inspiration or
thought do you have after hearing this story?
Is your current salary enough? Do you think
your current income is proportional to what you pay?
I hope this story can give you some new
harvest.
臣朔之饑(I am hungry every day)
中國的漢王朝有一個幽默又風趣又正直的官員，他的名字是(東方朔)。
他生活的年代是西元前154年到西元前93年。
他與漢王朝的第七任國王(劉徹)的年齡相近，歷史書上記載了很多關於他們兩個人的故事。
西元前141年，(劉徹)成為漢王朝的國王。
那一年他也進入皇宮，他成為一個薪水很少的低階官員。
有一天，他經過皇宮中的馬廄，他看見裡面負責管理馬匹的人，這個人是一個侏儒。
他對這個侏儒說。
我聽到一個跟你有關的消息，這個消息就是國王想要殺了你。
這個侏儒很恐慌的問他。
國王為何想要殺了我。
他說。
國王認為你對我們王國的貢獻太少，耕田你比不過那些農夫、打仗你比不過那些士兵、你也沒有管理人員的才能。你消耗了很多的社會資源，因此國王要殺了你。
這個侏儒說。
那我該怎麼做呢?我不想死啊。
他說。
如果你這幾天見到國王，你要把握機會。
你要跪在國王的面前懇求他的憐憫。我想他應該就會改變主意。
這個侏儒說。
這是個很好的建議，謝謝你。
那一天下午，國王走到馬廄，他對這個侏儒說。
我要騎馬出去，你替我把我最喜歡的那匹馬牽出馬廄。
這個侏儒看見國王來到他的面前，他就立刻跪下來懇求國王的憐憫。
國王被他的行為嚇了一跳，國王就為他為何會有這個奇怪的舉動。
一個小時之後，國王召見了(東方朔)。
國王問他。
你為何欺騙那個侏儒，你為何說我要殺了他。
他回答。
因為我想要告訴你一些話，這些話可能會讓我被你處死，但我還是要說。
國王覺得很好奇，國王問。
你要告訴我什麼話呢。
他說。
我的身高有210公分，那個侏儒的身高只有70幾公分。
我每個月的薪水有240元，那個侏儒每個月的薪水也是240元。
我每個月配給一袋米，那個侏儒每個月配給一袋米。
我的身材高大、每個月配給給我的那一袋米、我通常不到十天就吃完了。
那個侏儒的身材矮小，每個月配給那個侏儒的那一袋米，他每個月都吃不完。
那個侏儒每天都吃得很飽，我每天都處於飢餓的狀態。
我認為我的薪水真的太少了，我希望你可以調升我的薪水。
我希望可以獲得升遷，我希望對我們王朝有貢獻，我認為我能夠擔任更重要的職務。
國王聽到這些話後大笑。
國王當天就下命令，讓他負責皇宮中一個重要的職務。
這句成語的意思是被用來形容指一個人的薪水很少，這個人難以維持正常的生活。
這句成語也被用來形容一個人陷入一種困境，或者一個人的願望無法獲得滿足。
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。
你現在的薪水夠用嗎?你認為你現在的收入與你的付出成正比嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為漢書-東方朔傳
