His ambitions are high, but his talents are limited.(志大才短)

His ambitions are high, but his talents are limited.(志大才短)

 

There was a famous minister in the Eastern Jin Dynasty of China, his name was Zhou Yi.

There is a story about him in the history books.

 

He has three brothers. He is the eldest of several brothers.

 

One winter solstice, he and his family got together to drink and eat.

The winter solstice was a very important festival in ancient China.

 

His mother said to her three sons.

You are all senior officials in the central government. You have brought glory to our family. I am proud of you.

I am so happy to be with my beloved family on this important day.

I hope that we can gather every winter solstice until I die of old age.

 

After hearing his mother's words, he and his little brother nodded happily to show their agreement with their mother.

But his second brother had no smile on his face after hearing this.

 

his mother asked his middle brother.

Why aren't you smiling? Don't you want to get together with us every winter solstice?

 

his second brother replied.

Of course I like to eat and get together with my family every year, but I feel a little uneasy in my heart. I am very afraid that your wish will not come true?

 

asked his mother, confused.

Why do you feel that way?

 

His second brother replied.

All three of us brothers have our own strengths and weaknesses.

The eldest brother has high ambitions, but his talents are limited. He is famous but not knowledgeable enough.

When he sees someone else making a mistake, he will put them down to show that he is smarter than them.

This is a major flaw in his character, one that I think will cause him trouble one day.

 

My personality is impatient and prone to anger, and I often offend others unintentionally.

I want to change this flaw, but I can't. I believe that this flaw will bring me disaster one day.

 

The current era is very chaotic, and it is very likely that my eldest brother and I will inadvertently offend other people because of our character flaws, which will lead to death.

 

Among our three brothers, I think the younger brother has no outstanding advantages, but he also has no obvious shortcomings.

I think that of our three brothers, the younger one has the best chance of living his life in peace.

 

His brother's fears were later realised, and he and his brother were killed in a military coup in 322 AD.

 

This idiom is used to describe a person whose ambitions are high but whose talents are limited.

 

Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts do you have after listening to this story?

Do you think your character has any serious flaws? Have you ever inadvertently offended others?

I hope this story can give you some new insights.

 



                                 圖片出處為百度百科



志大才短(He has great ambitions but limited talents)

 

中國的東晉王朝有一個著名的大臣,他的名字叫做(周顗)

歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。

 

他有三個兄弟。他是幾個兄弟之中年紀最大的。

 

有一年的冬至,他與他的家人們聚一起喝酒吃飯。

冬至在古代的中國是一個很重要的節日。

 

他的媽媽對她的三個兒子說。

你們都擔任中央政府的高級官員,你們光揚了我們家族的名聲,我為妳們感到驕傲。

今天可以在這個重要的日子與我最愛的家人聚在一起,我真的太開心了。

我希望到我老死之前,我們每年的冬至都能夠一起聚會。

 

聽到媽媽這句話後,他與他的小弟都開心的點頭表示同意媽媽的看法。

但是他的二弟聽到這句話後臉上卻沒有笑容。

 

他的媽媽問他的二弟。

你為何沒有笑容呢?難道你不希望每年的冬至都跟我們再一起聚會嗎?

 

他的二弟回答。

我當然喜歡每年都跟家人一起吃飯一起相聚,但是我的心中覺得有點不安,我很恐懼你的這個希望不能成真。

 

他的媽媽很疑惑地問。

你為何會有這種想法呢?

 

他的二弟回答。

我們三個兄弟都有各自的優缺點。

大哥志向很高但是他的才能有限。他很有名望但是他的見識不夠。

當他發現別人犯錯時,他會貶低這個人以顯示自己比這個人更聰明。

這是他性格上的很大的缺點,我認為這個缺點總有一天會為他帶來麻煩。

 

我的個性比較急躁且容易暴怒,我常常在不經意間得罪他人。

我這個缺點我想改但是我都改不了,我認為這個缺點總有一天會為我帶來災害。

 

現在的時代很混亂,我與大哥很有可能會因為我們姓格上的缺點不小心得罪了其他人而帶來殺身之禍。

 

我們三個兄弟中,我認為小弟雖然沒有卓越的優點但是他也沒有很明顯的缺點。

我認為我們三個兄弟中,小弟最有機會安穩的過完這一生。

 

他的二弟的擔憂後來成真,西元322年,他與他的二弟在一場軍事政變中被殺害。

 

這句成語被用來形容一個人的志向遠大但是才能有限。

 

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。

你認為你的性格有那些嚴重的缺點嗎?你是否曾經不小心得罪他人的經驗呢?

我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。

 

出處為世說新語-識鑒-14

https://ctext.org/shi-shuo-xin-yu/shi-jian/zh