He is like grass plucked from the mountains(出山小草)
In the Eastern Jin Dynasty of China, there
was a very knowledgeable and witty official named (Hao Long).
There is a story about him recorded in the
history books.
The name of one of the top military
generals in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was (Huan Wen).
(Huan Wen) controlled the military and
administrative power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and even the king of the
Eastern Jin Dynasty did not dare to offend him.
(Huan Wen) dominated the appointment of all
government officials at that time, and all government officials at that time
had to obey his orders.
(Huan Wen) I heard that there was a very
talented man who lived in seclusion in a mountain near the capital. This man's
name was Xie An.
(Huan Wen) sent an envoy to invite (Xie An)
to serve as an official in the central government of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
(Xie An) didn't like (Huan Wen), but
because (Huan Wen) was very powerful, he accepted (Huan Wen's) invitation.
Xie An ended his life of seclusion in the
mountains and went to the capital to serve as a low-level government official
in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
One day. (Huan Wen) and (Xie An) and (Hao
Long) had dinner together.
During the meal, (Huan Wen) picked up a
Chinese herbal medicine from a plate and said to (Xie An) and (Hao Long).
The herbal medicine in this dish is very
valuable.
The name of this herbal medicine is
Polygala, which literally means high ambition. From this name, we can sense
that the effectiveness of this herbal medicine must be very good.
But this herbal medicine has another
nickname, this nickname is Xiaocao. It literally means worthless grass.
I find it very interesting, why does this
traditional Chinese herbal medicine have two names with opposite meanings?
Do you know the reason?
When Xie An was about to answer this
question, Hao Long answered first.
Hao Long said.
I know the answer to that question, and
it's very simple.
When this kind of herbal medicine was
growing in the mountains, before it was discovered and harvested, the name of
this herbal medicine was (Polygala).
But after this herb was harvested and put
in a box, the name of this herb was (Xiaocao).
(Hao Long) After saying these two
sentences, he looked at Xie An with an expression that seemed to be a smile,
but was not a smile.
Xie An felt that Hao Long's words were
directed at him, and that Hao Long was using this Chinese herbal medicine to
ridicule himself.
Xie An felt a little ashamed.
(Huan Wen) felt that the atmosphere was a
bit awkward, so (Huan Wen) laughed and said.
Although (Hao Long's) explanation is
interesting, I think it's just nonsense.
His answer wasn't the real answer.
The meaning of this idiom is used to
describe a person who has been reclusive for a long time and suddenly emerges
as a government official.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
If you were Xie An, would you feel
ridiculed? If you were Huan Wen, how would you resolve this embarrassing
situation?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
出山小草(He is like grass plucked from the
mountains)
中國的東晉王朝，有一個很博學很機智的官員，他的名字叫做(郝隆)。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
東晉王朝的一個最高軍事將領的名字叫做(桓温)。
(桓温)掌握了東晉王朝的軍事權力與行政權力，連東晉王朝的國王都不敢得罪他。
(桓溫)主導了當時所有的政府官員的任命權，當時的所有的政府官員都必須聽從他的命令。
(桓溫)聽說有一個很有才能的人隱居在首都附近的一座山中，這個人的名字叫做謝安。
(桓温)就派遣使者去邀請(謝安)到東晉王朝的中央政府內擔任官員。
(謝安)並不喜歡(桓溫)，但是迫於(桓溫)的勢力非常的大，所以他答應了(桓溫)的邀約。
謝安結束他在山上隱居的生活，謝安到首都內擔任東晉王朝的一個低階政府官員。
有一天。(桓溫)與(謝安)與(郝隆)在一起吃飯。
吃飯中，(桓溫)夾起一盤菜中的一種中草藥對著(謝安)與(郝隆)說。
這一盤菜中的這一種中草藥非常的珍貴。
這一種中草藥的名字叫遠志，按照字面上的意思直接理解是遠大的志向的意思，我們從這個名字中可以感受到這個中草藥的藥效一定非常的好。
但是這個中草藥還有另外一個別稱，這個別稱是小草。按照字面上的意思直接理解是一株沒有價值的草的意思。
我覺得很有趣，為何這一種中藥有著意思相反的兩個名字呢?
你們知道其中的原因嗎?
謝安聽到這個問題正準備要回答的時候，郝隆搶先回答的這個問題。
郝隆說。
我知道這個問題的答案，這個答案非常的簡單。
這一種中草藥生長在山上尚未被人發現並採收時，這個中草藥的名字叫做(遠志)。
但是這個中草藥被人們採收並且裝在盒子中後，這個中草藥的名字叫做(小草)。
(郝隆)說完這兩句話後，用一種似笑非笑的表情看著謝安。
謝安感覺到郝隆這句話是針對自己所說，郝隆藉著這個中草藥諷刺自己。
謝安因此覺得有點羞愧。
(桓溫)感受到氣氛有點尷尬，(桓溫)就大笑著說。
(郝隆)的這種解釋雖然有趣，但我認為這是他瞎掰的。
他的這個回答並非真正的答案。
這句成語的意思被用來形容一個長期隱居的人突然出來擔任政府官員。
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。
你如果是謝安，你會覺得你被諷刺了嗎?你如果是桓溫，你會怎樣化解這個尷尬的局面呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為世說新語-排調-32條
