He paints the eggs that are about to be
eaten and carves the wood that is about to be burned.(畫卵雕薪)
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties
of China, there was a famous minister in the Northern Wei Kingdom, his name was
Yuan Chen. There is a story about him in the history books.
He has royal blood. He is a very greedy and
corrupt person. When he was a local official, he used unfair means to plunder
people's property.
The people of the town he was in charge of
hated him.
He built a house in the style of a royal
palace, and the well in his house was made of jade.
The water bottle he drank from was made of
gold, and he used fine silk for his rope.
He raised dozens of horses, which he bought
from the far west. He used silver to make cribs and gold to make horse gear.
He also has more than 300 very beautiful
maids, and he likes to show off his wealth to his friends.
Once, while drinking and chatting with his
friends, he said arrogantly.
The most famous rich man of China's Jin
Dynasty was called Shi Chong. According to the records in the history books, he
wore clothes made of expensive furs, and everything he used was very splendid.
He was very wasteful, drawing pictures on
eggs he was about to eat, carving on wood he was about to burn.
Compared to him, I come from a royal
family, I am a noble, and he does not have the status of a noble.
So my behaviour should be more extravagant
and wasteful than his.
I won't regret not being able to see Shi
Chong's luxury.
My only regret is that I couldn't let Shi
Chong see that my luxury is far greater than his.
After saying these words, he laughed
arrogantly.
The literal translation of this idiom is
that he draws pictures on the eggs that are about to be eaten, and he carves on
the wood that is about to be burned.
This idiom is used to describe a person's
life that is extremely luxurious and wasteful.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Do you think a rich person has good taste?
Do you value the limited resources on this earth?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
畫卵雕薪(He paints the eggs that are about to
be eaten and carves the wood that is about to be burned.)
中國的南北王朝時代，北魏王國有一個著名的大臣，他的名字叫做元琛。歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他具有皇室的血統，他是一個非常貪心又腐敗的人，他在擔任地方官員時用不正當的手段掠奪百姓的財產。
他所負責管理的城市的百姓都很痛恨他。
他仿造了皇宮的形式蓋了一間豪宅，他的家中的井是用玉造成的。
他喝水的水瓶用黃金打造，他用高級的綢緞拿來當作繩子使用。
他養了好幾十匹從遙遠的西方買來的駿馬，他用銀子做馬槽，用金子做馬身上的用品。
他還有超過300個長得非常漂亮的女僕，他的樂趣就是跟他的朋友們炫耀自己的財富。
有一次，他與他的朋友在一起喝酒聊天的時候，他很狂妄地說。
中國的晉王朝的最著名的大富豪叫做石崇，根據歷史書上的記載，他穿昂貴的皮草做成衣服，他的用的東西都非常的華麗。
他非常的浪費，他在要即將要吃的雞蛋上面畫圖，他在即將要燒的木材上面雕刻。
與他相比，我出身於皇室，我是一個貴族而他沒有貴族的身分。
所以我的行為理應要比他更奢侈更浪費。
我不會因為我沒有辦法見識到石崇的奢侈而感到遺憾。
我只遺憾我沒有辦法讓石崇見識到我的奢侈遠超過他。
他說完這些話後他狂妄的大笑。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是他在要即將要吃的雞蛋上面畫圖，他在即將要燒的木材上面雕刻。
這句成語被用來形容一個人的生活極度奢侈與浪費。
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。
你認為一個有錢的人就會很高的品味嗎?你是否珍惜這個地球上的有限的資源呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為洛陽伽藍記-卷四-法雲寺傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B4%9B%E9%99%BD%E4%BC%BD%E8%97%8D%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7%E5%9B%9B
