The fox hiding in the long wall and the
mouse hiding in the temple(城狐社鼠)
In the Jin Dynasty of China, there was a
famous general named Wang Dun.
He has an aide whose name is (Xie Kun).
History books record a story about them.
Wang Dun's family was one of the most
powerful families in the Jin Dynasty, and he had great military power in his
hands.
In order to maintain the balance of power
in the central government, the new king promoted another person.
This person's name is (Liu Wei).
Wang Dun hates (Liu Wei) very much.
One day, he had a conversation with (Xie
Kun).
He said.
(Liu Wei) is a treacherous villain, I hate
him very much. He often influences the king's decisions, and I think he will be
very harmful to our dynasty.
I will find a way to kill him, otherwise I
think he will have a very bad influence on the king.
Xie Kun replied after thinking for a few
minutes.
If a fox has dug a hole next to the city
wall to hide, when we want to catch the fox, we must consider whether we will
damage the solid city wall by catching the fox,
If a mouse digs a hole in the temple to
hide, then when we want to catch the mouse, we have to consider whether we will
damage this important temple by catching the mouse.
I also think (Liu Wei) is a treacherous
person, but because the king is very close to him, I think we need to think
more carefully before we act.
We must avoid this action causing the king
to misunderstand us and create a situation that is not good for us.
This idiom means that it is difficult for
us to directly eliminate the bad guys who are attached to the leader.
Dear friend, what kind of inspiration or
thought do you have after hearing this story?
Do you hate these people? Do you consider
the effect of your actions before you make a decision?
I hope this story can give you a new
harvest.
城狐社鼠(The fox hiding in the long wall and
the mouse hiding in the temple)
中國的晉王朝有一個著名的將軍，他的名字叫做王敦。
他有一個幕僚，這個幕僚的名字叫做(謝鯤)。
歷史書上記載了一個他們的故事。
王敦的家族是晉王朝最有權力的家族之一，他的手上掌管著極大的軍權。
新上任的國王為了保持中央政府內的權力平衡，所以提拔了另一個人。
這個人的名字叫做(劉隗)。
王敦很討厭(劉隗)。
有一天，他跟(謝鯤)對話。
他說。
(劉隗)是一個奸邪的壞人，我很討厭他。他常常影響國王做決定，我認為他會對我們王朝造成極大的危害。
我要想辦法殺了這個人，不然我認為他會對國王造成許多壞的影響。
謝鯤思考了幾分鐘後回答。
如果有一隻狐狸在城牆旁挖了一個洞躲藏，那麼我們要抓這隻狐狸時，我們要考慮到是否會因為抓這隻狐狸而損害了這面堅固的城牆，
如果有一隻老鼠在廟宇裡挖了一個洞躲藏，那麼我們要抓這隻老鼠時，我們要考慮到是否會因為抓這隻老鼠而損害了這間重要的廟宇。
我也認為(劉隗)是一個奸邪的人，但因為國王與他非常的親近，所以我認為我們要更加謹慎的評估後再行動。
我們必須要避免這個行動造成國王對我們的誤解與造成對我們不利的情勢。
這句成語的意思是形容我們很難直接消滅那些依附在領導者身旁的壞人。
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。
你是否有討厭那些人呢?你在做決定前會事先評估你的行動效果嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晉書-卷49-謝鯤