He was burned on the forehead and his hair
was burned off while fighting the fire(焦頭爛額)
In the Western Han Dynasty of China, there
was a very famous minister called Xu Fu.
There is a story about him recorded in the
history books.
One day in a meeting, he said to the king
I suggest that you beware of this young
minister (Huo Yu).
the king asked him in astonishment.
Huo Yu's father helped me rule the Western
Han Dynasty. Huo Yu's family made very important contributions to our Western Han
Dynasty.
Why are you suggesting that I protect
myself from him?
Xu Fu said to the king.
Huo Guang is very loyal to you, but Huo Yu
is very proud and extravagant.
If you give Huo Yu more power, I think Huo
Yu will become even more arrogant.
The king did not follow Xu Fu's advice.
A few years later, just as Xu Fu had
predicted, Huo Yu staged a rebellion.
After the rebellion was put down, the king
held a banquet.
At the banquet, the king told all the
generals who attended the banquet.
Huo Yu's rebellion can be put down, and
everyone here has made great contributions, so I am holding this banquet to
express my gratitude to everyone.
A general who attended the banquet heard
this and said to the king
Why didn't we invite Xu Fu to this banquet?
The king said to the general in confusion.
As far as I know, Xu Fu did not work with
you to put down this rebellion.
The general replied.
I see this rebellion as a fire.
To put out the fire, we were burned on our
foreheads and all our hair was burned off while fighting the fire.
It's because of our merit that you're
holding this banquet to thank us.
But I understand that a few years ago, Xu
Fu reminded you not to give Huo Yu any more power.
If you had listened to him then, the fire
would not have happened.
Therefore, in my opinion, Xu Fu's
contribution is greater than ours, because he foresaw the disaster a few years
ago, so he reminded you to prevent it early.
If you had listened to his advice then,
this fire would never have happened.
After hearing the general's words, the king
nodded in agreement.
The king immediately sent a servant to
invite Xu Fu to the banquet.
The literal translation of this idiom is
that a person was burned on the forehead and had his hair burned off while
fighting a fire.
This idiom is used to describe a person who
is in a very difficult situation. It is also used to describe a person who has
suffered a great loss.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Do you agree with the general's view? Are
you usually prepared to prevent fires?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
焦頭爛額(He was burned on the forehead and his
hair was burned off while fighting the fire)
中國的西漢王朝，有一個很著名的大臣，這個大臣的名字叫做徐福。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
有一天，他在一場會議中對國王說。
我建議你應該要防備(霍禹)這個年輕的大臣。
國王很疑惑地問他。
霍禹的父親協助我治理西漢王朝，霍禹的家族對我們西漢王朝有很重要的貢獻。
你為何建議我要防備他呢?
徐福對國王說。
霍光對你非常忠誠，但是霍禹相當的驕傲與奢侈。
如果你授權給霍禹愈多權力，那麼我認為霍禹會變得更加的自大。
國王沒有聽從徐福的建議。
幾年後，就如同徐福所預言，霍禹發動一場叛變。
這場叛變被平定後，國王舉辦了一場宴會。
在這場宴會上，國王對所有參與這場宴會的將軍說。
霍禹的叛變可以平定，在場的所有人都有極大的功勞，因此我舉辦這場宴會表達我對大家的感謝。
參與這場宴會的一個將軍聽到這句話後對國王說。
為何我們這場宴會沒有邀請徐福參加呢?
國王很疑惑地對這個將軍說。
據我所知，徐福並沒有與你們一起平定這場叛亂啊。
這個將軍回答。
我認為這場叛亂就像是一場火災。
我們為了撲滅這場火災，我們在救火的過程中被額頭被燒傷而且的頭髮被燒光。
因為我們的功勞，所以你舉辦這場宴會感謝我們。
但是據我所知，幾年前，徐福就提醒你不應該再授予霍禹更多權力。
如果你當時就聽他的話，那麼後來的這場火災就不會發生。
因此根據我的看法，我認為徐福的功勞比我們更大，因為他在幾年前就已經預見到災禍有可能發生所以提醒你要早點預防。
你如果那時候聽他的建議，那麼這場火災根本不會發生啊。
國王聽完這個將軍的話後點頭表示認同。
國王立刻派遣一個僕人去邀請徐福來參加這場宴會。
這句成語的直接翻譯的意思是一個人在救火的過程中被額頭被燒傷而且的頭髮被燒光。
這句成語被用來形容一個人陷入了一個非常困窘的情況。也被用來形容一個人遭受很大的損失。
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。
你認同這個將軍的看法嗎?你平常是否有作好預防火災的準備呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為漢書-卷68-霍光傳