A lampstand can illuminate a distant place,
but not the area closest to it(燈臺不自照)
There are four novels in China that are
recognised by future generations as the most classic. One of the books is
called (Water Margin).
This book is one of the earliest
full-length novels written in colloquial Chinese in Chinese history.
In the Yuan Dynasty, there was a playwright
named Kang Jinzhi.
Kang Jinzhi created a four-act play based
on a chapter from Water Margin.
This phrase comes from the third act of the
play.
There is a man called Wang Lin. His wife
has died and she and her daughter have opened a small inn.
One day, two middle-aged men came to his
inn, claiming to be the leaders of a group of people who live in Liangshanbo.
One of the middle-aged men saw Wang Lin's daughter, who looked very beautiful,
and said to Wang Lin
I am the leader of Liangshanbo and my name
is Song Jiang. You must give your daughter in marriage to me.
I took your daughter back to Liangshan Bo
to perform the wedding ceremony. Three days later, according to custom, I asked
her to return to this inn to stay for a few days. Then she would move to
Liangshan Bo to live with me forever.
(Liang Shanbo) There is a small boss who
has a great sense of justice. His name is Li Kui.
When he heard about the incident, he
immediately accused Song Jiang without checking.
To prove his innocence, Song Jiang and Li
Kui went to see Wang Lin.
After seeing Song Jiang, Wang Lin said to
Li Kui
My daughter was indeed taken away by a man
called Song Jiang, but the man called Song Jiang was not the man in front of
me.
After hearing this, Li Kui felt very
ashamed and remorseful.
He said to himself.
There is a saying that it is difficult for
one person to truly understand the thoughts of another. A lampstand can illuminate
a place far away, but it cannot illuminate the place closest to it.
I heard these two sentences a long time
ago, but today I finally understand what they mean.
I thought I saw the mistakes of others, but
I didn't see my own recklessness.
I made this serious mistake today, and I
will definitely be punished very severely.
Li Kui and Song Jiang returned to
Liangshanbo together. Li Kui kept thinking in his head about how to avoid the
very severe punishment that his recklessness had caused.
Wang Lin was still very sad after seeing Li
Kui and Song Jiang leave.
He was very grateful to Li Kui for his
enthusiasm, but he still missed their daughter in his heart.
Shortly after Song Jiang and Li Kui left
the inn that Wang Lin had opened, the man who claimed to be Song Jiang and who
had taken Wang Lin's daughter away by force brought Wang Lin's daughter to the
inn.
The man said to Wang Lin
I married your daughter and you are my
father-in-law.
Today is the third day of our marriage.
According to custom, I have sent your daughter back to your home to be reunited
with you.
Wang Lin looked at the man and an idea
suddenly came to him.
He said to the man.
I am very happy that you can become my
son-in-law. I think if my daughter can marry you, she will be very happy in her
future life.
Come to my inn quickly, and I will prepare
delicious food and lots of Chinese rice wine for you to enjoy. Marriage is a
great event and we must celebrate it.
After hearing Wang Lin's words, the man
happily entered the inn to eat and drink Chinese rice wine.
After a few hours
After a few hours, the man passed out drunk
at the inn.
The literal translation of this idiom is
that a lampstand can illuminate a very distant place, but cannot illuminate the
nearest place below the lampstand.
It is used to describe a person who is
unable to see his own faults and shortcomings.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
When you see the shortcomings of others, do
you remember if you have the same shortcomings? Have you ever heard words of
wisdom that you find valuable?
I hope this story can help you gain
something.
燈臺不自照(A lampstand can illuminate a distant
place, but not the area closest to it)
中國有四本被後代公認為最經典的小說。其中一本書名叫做(水滸傳)。
這本書是中國歷史上最早用口語化的中文寫成的長篇小説之一。
元王朝有一個劇作家，這個劇作家的名字叫做康進之。
康進之針對水滸傳中的一個章節，再創作出一部四幕劇。
這句成語就是出於其中第三幕戲劇。
有一個男人，他的名字叫做王林。他的妻子已經逝世，她和她的女兒開了一間小客棧。
有一天，他的客棧中來了兩個自稱是住在(梁山泊)的一群人的領袖的中年男子，其中一個中年年子看見王林的女兒長得很漂亮便對王林說。
我是梁山泊的首領，我叫宋江。你必須把妳女兒嫁給我。
我帶妳女兒回到梁山泊舉辦婚禮，三天後我按照禮儀讓他回到這間客棧住幾天，接著她就要搬到梁山泊中跟我永遠住在一起。
(梁山泊)有一個很有正義的感的一個小頭目，他的名字叫做李逵。
他聽到這件事情之後，他沒有經過查證，他就直接責備宋江。
宋江為了證明自己的清白，他與李逵去找王林。
王林看到宋江後對李逵說。
我的女兒的確被一個名字叫做宋江的男人強行帶走，但是那個名字叫做宋江的男人並不是我面前的這個男人。
李逵聽到這句話後，他覺得很羞愧也很自責。
他對自已說。
有一句俗話說，一個人很難真正了解另外一個人的想法，一個燈檯可以照亮很遠的地方卻照不到這個燈檯下方最近的地方。
這兩句話我很久以前就聽過了，但我我今天終於理解這兩句話的意思。
我以為我看到了別人的過失，但我卻沒有看到自己太過魯莽。
我今天犯了這個嚴重的錯誤，我一定會面臨到非常嚴厲的懲罰。
李逵跟宋江一起回梁山泊，李逵的腦海中不停地思考著如何才可以免除掉因為自己的莽撞所導致的非常嚴厲的懲罰。
王林看著李逵與宋江離開後他仍舊非常苦惱。
他很感謝李逵的熱心，但他的內心仍舊掛念著她的女兒。
宋江與李逵離開王林所開設的客棧後不久，那個強行把王琳的女兒帶走的自稱是宋江的男子，帶個王林的女兒來到這間客棧。
那個男子對王林說。
我已經跟你的女兒結婚了，你已經是我的岳父。
今天是我們結婚的第三天，我依照習俗把你的女兒送回來你家中與你團聚。
王林看著這個男子，他的心中突然有了一個想法。
他對這個男子說。
我很開心你可以成為我的女婿，我認為我的女兒能夠嫁給你，她之後的生活一定會很幸福。
你快進來我的客棧，我趕緊去準備美食與很多中國米酒讓你享用，結婚是一件大喜事，我們要好好慶祝。
這個男子聽到王林的話後就很開心地進入客棧吃飯與喝中國米酒。
經過幾個小時
經過幾個小時後，這個男子就醉倒在客棧中。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是一個燈檯可以照亮很遠的地方卻照不到這個燈檯下方最近的地方。
這句成語被用來形容一個人難以覺察自己的過失與短處。
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。
你看到別人的缺點時，你會提醒自己是否有一樣的缺點嗎?你曾經聽過那些令你覺得很有價值的智慧的言語呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一點收穫。
出處為元-康進之-梁山泊李逵負荊