The person has to depend on others to live,
he has no independence of his own(傍人門戶)
The man's life is already half over(半截入土)
In ancient China there were two famous
gods. The names of these two gods were (Shen Shu) and (Yu Shu).
Their job is to catch the ghosts that harm
people.
During the Lunar New Year in ancient China,
each family would prepare a peach wood board and then draw pictures of the two
gods on this board and then hang this board on the door of the house.
It is believed that this will protect the
whole family for a whole year.
This board is replaced every year.
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is
the Dragon Boat Festival in China.
This day is an important turning point for
the seasons. After this day, the weather will become more and more humid and
hot, and many poisonous insects will appear in nature.
On this day, the Chinese tie a bundle of
wormwood in the shape of a man and hang the wormwood man on the door.
People use this behaviour to drive away
these poisonous insects in nature.
(Su Shi) is the most outstanding writer and
poet in Chinese history.
He wrote a fable about these two objects.
One day, at the end of the fifth month of
the lunar calendar, he was taking a nap, and in his sleep he heard the
peach-wood board hanging on the door say to the wormwood-grass man,
You rude fellow, why are you standing on my
head?
You came into this family later than I did,
how can you have a higher status than me?
Replied the wormwood man.
Almost half of this year has passed, you
only have half a year to live, and you will be discarded in half a year, your
value is much lower than mine.
The peach-wood plank and the wormwood man
argued for about ten minutes.
Suddenly the two gods on the peachwood
board spoke.
Said the two gods.
Why are you arguing? We are all in the same
situation. We will eventually be abandoned by this family, and we are only
temporarily attached to the door of this house. Our value comes from the head
of the family, we have no independence of our own.
The first idiom is used to describe a
person who is dependent on others to live, this person has no independence of
his own.
The second idiom is used to describe a
person who is halfway through life.
Dear friend, what are your feelings or
thoughts after listening to this story?
Have you ever had a heated argument with
someone? Looking back, was it necessary for you to have a heated argument with
someone?
I hope this story will give you some new
insights.
傍人門戶(The person has to depend on others to
live, he has no independence of his own)
半截入土(The man's life is already half over)
中國上古時代有兩個著名的神，這兩個神的名字是(神荼)與(鬱壘)。
他們兩個人的工作是抓捕那些些危害人的鬼。
古代中國的農曆新年，每一個家庭都會準備一塊桃木的木板，然後在這塊木板上畫上這兩個神的畫像，然後把這一塊木板掛在家門口。
人們認為這樣做就可以保護全部家庭成員一整年都平安。
這塊木板每年都會更換。
每年農曆的五月五日，是中國的端午節。
這一天是一個重要的季節交替點，過了這一天後天氣會愈來愈潮溼與炎熱，大自然中會出現很多有毒的昆蟲。
中國人會在這一天會把一束艾草綁成一個人的形狀，然後把這個艾草草人掛在門口。
人們藉由這個行為，驅趕這些大自然中的有毒昆蟲。
(蘇軾)是中國歷史上最傑出的文學家與詩人。
他用這兩個物品寫過一篇寓言。
農曆五月底的時候，有一天他在午睡，他在睡夢中聽到掛在門口的桃木木板對艾草草人說。
你這個沒有禮貌的傢伙，你為何站在我的頭頂上。
你比我晚到這個家庭，你為何可以擁有比我更高的地位。
艾草草人回答。
今年已經過了快一半，你只剩半年的壽命了，你再半年就要被丟棄了，你的價值遠低於我。
桃樹木木板與艾草草人彼此爭吵了大約有十分鐘。
突然之間，桃木木板上的兩個神說話了。
這兩個神說。
你們兩個人為何爭吵呢?我們其實都是一樣的處境啊。我們終究會被這一戶家庭丟棄，我們現在只是短暫的依附在這間房子的門上。我們的價值是被這個家庭的主人所賦予的，我們本身並沒有屬於自己的獨立性啊。
第一句成語被用來形容一個人必須依賴他人才能生活，這個人沒有自己的獨立性
第二句成語被用來形容一個人的生命歷程已經過了一半了。
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。
你曾經與他人激烈的爭辯嗎?你當初與他人激烈爭辯的事情、現在回想起來有其必要性嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為宋-蘇軾-東坡志林-卷12
