My leather bag will be ashamed(阮囊羞澀)
There was a famous minister in the Eastern
Jin Dynasty of China, his name was Ruan Fu.
There is a story about him in the history
books.
He likes to drink Chinese rice wine. He
often drinks until his hair is messy, but he doesn't care about his image at
all. He believes this shows that he is not bound by social norms.
He had very little time for serious work
and could not control his drinking. He often drank from morning till night, and
often drank until he was dead drunk.
However, because the king of the Eastern
Jin Dynasty was his good friend, he was never dismissed or punished. He always
served as an important official in the central government.
When he was 45 years old, the king of the
Eastern Jin Dynasty died, and the king's son succeeded him as the new king.
The new king wanted him to continue serving
as an important official in the central government, but he refused.
He said to the king.
I'm getting older, I want to retire, I
don't want to go to the palace every morning for meetings.
When the king heard what he had said, he
smiled and said to him.
I expressly allow you to work from home.
Unless you have something very important to
tell me, you don't need to go to the palace for the meeting.
From that day on, his life became more
relaxed, he often went out to play and spent less time at work.
Once he carried a black leather bag to the
town of Kuaiji, where he met an old friend he had not seen for a long time.
His old friend invited him to have dinner
with him, and while they were eating, his friend casually asked him.
That black leather bag you are carrying is
so big. What do you have in it?
He replied with a smile.
I have only one thing in this leather bag.
Guess what it is.
His friend guessed several times, but
couldn't get it right.
Later he gave the answer.
He said to his friend, "I only have
one copper coin in this leather bag.
Said his friend doubtfully.
Why do you have such a big leather bag, but
you only have one copper coin in it?
He told his friend with a smile.
I suddenly wanted to take this leather bag
out today, but after thinking about it for a long time, I realised that I had
nothing to take with me.
I thought that if this leather bag of mine
were a person, he would definitely feel ashamed because he had no way of
exercising the value of what it could hold, so I put a copper coin in this
leather bag.
His friend laughed and said to him
You are a very interesting person.
The direct translation of this idiom is
that my leather bag will be ashamed.
This idiom is used to describe a person
whose financial situation is very bad. The person feels ashamed because they
have very little money.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Have you ever personified the objects you
use? Who do you think is the funniest person you know?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
阮囊羞澀(My leather bag will be ashamed)
中國的東晉王朝有一個著名的大臣，他的名字叫做(阮孚)。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他非常喜歡喝中國米酒，他常常喝酒喝到頭髮都亂了，但他完全不在乎自己的形象。他認為這樣表現出自己不被社會規範所約束。
他認真工作的時間很少，他無法克制自己的酒癮，他常常從早上就開始喝酒喝到晚上，他常常喝到爛醉。
但由於東晉王朝的國王是他的好朋友，所以他一直沒有被解職與被處罰，他一直擔任中央政府內的重要官員。
他45歲那一年，東晉王朝的國王死了，國王的兒子繼任成為新的國王。
新的國王希望他繼續擔任中央政府內的重要官員，但是他拒絕了。
他對國王說。
我的年紀已經大了，我想要退休，我不想要每天早起到皇宮內開會。
國王聽到他的話後，國王笑著對他說。
我特別讓你可以在家辦公。
除非你有特別重要的事情要跟我報告，不然你可以不用到皇宮開會。
從那一天開始，他的生活變得更加的輕鬆，他常常出去玩，他更少把時間放在工作上。
有一次，他背著一個黑色的皮袋子到會稽這座城市玩，他在這座城市中遇到一個他的一個很久不見的老朋友。
他的老朋友邀請他一起吃飯，他們吃飯的時候，他的朋友隨口問他。
你背著這個黑色的皮袋子好大啊，你裡面裝了些甚麼東西啊?
他笑著回答他的朋友。
我這個皮袋子中只裝了一樣東西，你猜一下是什麼。
他的朋友猜了好幾次都猜不到。
後來他公布了答案。
他對他的朋友說，我這個皮袋子中只裝了一個銅錢。
他的朋友疑惑地說。
你為何背一個那麼大的皮袋子，但皮袋子中只裝了一個銅錢呢?
他笑著跟他的朋友說。
我今天突然想背這個皮袋子出門，但我想了半天我發現我沒有東西需要帶。
我想如果我的這個皮袋子如果是一個人，他一定會覺得羞愧因為他完全沒有辦法發揮自己可以裝東西的價值，所以我在這個皮袋子中放了一個銅錢。
他的朋友聽完大笑的對他說。
你真的是一個很有趣的人。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是我的這個皮袋子會覺得羞愧。
這句成語被用來形容一個人的經濟條件很不好，這個人因為錢很少而感到羞愧。
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。
你是否曾經把你所使用的物品擬人化呢?你認識的人中，你認為最有趣的人是誰呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為詩律武庫後集-卷3-一錢看囊
https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=954285#%E4%B8%80%E9%8C%A2%E7%9C%8B%E5%9B%8A
出處為詩律武庫後集-卷3-一錢看囊