He is very frugal(烏舅金奴)
From 907 AD to 960 AD, China was very
turbulent for more than 50 years.
Many kingdoms rose quickly, and many
kingdoms died quickly. This period is called the Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms.
The name of the first king of the Southern
Tang Kingdom during this period was Li Bian.
History books tell a story about him.
He was an orphan who was adopted by a
famous general.
But the general's sons didn't like him, so
the general ordered a lieutenant in the army to raise him.
When he grew up, he founded a new kingdom.
He has great power and a lot of money, but he still has a frugal personality.
Take two examples.
In the bedroom where he slept at night,
candles were lit according to the custom of the time.
He felt that it was wasteful to light many
candles in one night, so he ordered his servants to light the lamps with a kind
of burning vegetable oil.
The vegetable oil was cheaper, but the
light wasn't as bright as a candle, but he didn't mind.
On his desk there is a candlestick in the
shape of a man.
He got it from the stable of the general
who adopted him when he was a child.
He has used it for decades, but he still
cherishes it very much. He also gave this candlestick a name, which means
servant of metal.
People at that time combined this flammable
vegetable oil with this candlestick to form a four-character phrase that later
became this idiom.
This idiom describes a person who is very
frugal.
Dear friend, what are your feelings or
thoughts after listening to this story?
Do you believe in the virtues of thrift?
What do you think is the difference between frugality and miserliness?
I hope this story can give you a new
harvest.
烏舅金奴(He is very frugal)
中國在西元907-西元960年這段期間內，50多年的時間非常動亂。
很多王國快速興起，很多王國又快速消亡。這段時間被稱為五代十國。
這段時間內的南唐王國的第一任國王的名字叫做李昪。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。。
他是一個孤兒，他被一個著名的將軍收養。
但是這個將軍的兒子們不喜歡他，所以這個將軍命令部隊中的一個副將撫養他長大。
他長大後建立了一個新的王國，他擁有極大權力與極多的錢財，但是他仍舊保持著節儉的個性。
舉兩個例子來說。
他晚上睡覺的寢宮內，按照當時的習慣都要點上蠟燭。
他覺得一個晚上要點好多蠟燭的行為太浪費了，所以他命令僕人們用一種可以燃燒的植物油來點油燈。
這種植物油比較便宜，但是光線不如蠟燭明亮，但他完全不介意。
他的書桌上有一個人形的燭台。
這個燭台是小時候他從收養他的那個將軍的馬廄中所取得的物品。
他已經使用了好幾十年，但是他仍舊非常地珍惜這個燭台，他還給這個燭台取了一個名字，這個名字的意思是金屬做成的僕人。
當時的人們便把這種可以燃燒的植物油與這個燭台結合再一起組成一個四個字的詞句，這個詞句後來就成了這一句成語。
這句成語的意思是形容一個人非常節儉。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你認同節儉的美德嗎?你認為節儉與吝嗇兩者有何區別呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為清異錄-器具門
出處為堯山堂外紀-卷41-五代-烈祖昪