I can't have a loud snorer sleeping next to
my bed. (臥榻之側豈容他人鼾睡)
The name of the founding king of China's
Song Dynasty was Zhao Kuangyin, and a story about him is recorded in history
books.
When he founded the Song Dynasty, China was
divided into several kingdoms.
His goal was to unify all of China, so in
971 AD he sent an army to attack the Southern Tang Kingdom.
The king of the Southern Tang Kingdom at
that time was called (Li Yu).
Li Yu sent two special envoys to the
capital of the Song Dynasty. The names of these two special envoys were (Xu
Xuan) and (Zhou Weijian).
(Xu Xuan) is a very smart man, he has a lot
of knowledge, and his eloquence is also very good. He thinks that he can
definitely persuade Zhao Kuangyin not to attack the Southern Tang Kingdom.
(Zhou Weijian) was a scholar who had
studied the Book of Changes. Li Yu thought he was very farsighted, so he sent
him as a special envoy.
After (Xu Xuan) and (Zhou Weijian) met with
Zhao Kuangyin, they tried to persuade Zhao Kuangyin not to send troops, but
Zhao Kuangyin did not agree to their request. The two of them returned to the
Southern Tang Kingdom in despair.
(Xu Xuan) and (Zhou Weijian) reflected on
this failure. They felt that they should not give up so easily, so a few weeks
later they returned to the capital of the Song Dynasty. They asked to see Zhao
Kuangyin again. Zhao Kuangyin met with them again.
This time, unlike the first time, when Xu
Xuan spoke to Zhao Kuangyin in a very positive and strong manner, Xu Xuan spoke
to Zhao Kuangyin in a soft manner.
Li Yu respects you very much, but he has
been seriously ill recently, so he asked two of us to act as special envoys to
see you.
We hope that you will not attack the Southern
Tang Kingdom. If you agree to our request, we will be very grateful to you. We
are willing to obey your orders as long as you are willing to order the army to
stop attacking the Southern Tang Kingdom
Zhao Kuangyin's attitude was still very
firm, and he still refused to agree to Xu Xuan's request.
The conversation between Xu Xuan and Zhao
Kuangyin never reached a consensus, so the atmosphere of the conversation
gradually changed from peaceful to tense
Xu Xuan accidentally said something rude,
which made Zhao Kuangyin angry.
Zhao Kuangyin suddenly stood up and put his
right hand on the sword handle hanging on his left side.
Zhao Kuangyin said to (Xu Xuan) and (Zhou
Weijian) in a very stern tone.
Don't try to convince me anymore. I think
China must be unified.
China is one whole country, and we should
not be divided into many kingdoms.
I think the existence of the Southern Tang
Kingdom gave me the same feeling as if someone was snoring loudly next to my
bed.
This loud snorer kept me awake all night,
so I had to change this uncomfortable situation.
The direct translation of this idiom is
that I cannot tolerate a person who snores loudly sleeping next to my bed.
This phrase has been extended to describe a
person who cannot tolerate his or her sphere of influence being infringed upon
by others.
Dear friend, how do you feel or what do you
think after listening to this story?
Do you snore when you sleep? Have you ever
had the experience of being influenced by someone who snores, leading to
insomnia?
I hope this story will give you some new
insights.
臥榻之側豈容他人鼾睡(I can't have a loud snorer
sleeping next to my bed.)
中國的宋王朝的開國國王的名字是趙匡胤，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他建立宋王朝的時候，中國分裂成好幾個王國。
他的目標是要統一整個中國，因此在西元971年，他派出軍隊要攻打南唐王國。
南唐王國當時的國王叫做(李煜)。
李煜派遣兩個特使到了宋王朝的首都，這兩個特使的名字是(徐鉉)與(周惟簡)。
(徐鉉)是一個很聰明的人，他有很豐富的學識而且他的口才也很好，他認為自己一定可以說服趙匡胤不要攻打南唐王國。
(周惟簡)是一個研究易經的學者，李煜認為他很有遠見，所以派遣他成為特使。
(徐鉉)與(周惟簡)見到趙匡胤後，他們試圖說服趙匡胤不要出兵，但是趙匡胤沒有答應他們的請求。他們兩個人就很頹喪地回到南唐王國。
(徐鉉)與(周惟簡)針對這次的失敗進行檢討，他們認為他們不應該輕易的放棄，所以他們兩個人在幾個禮拜之後又再度回到宋王朝的首都，他們再度請求與趙匡胤碰面，趙匡胤也再次與他們兩個人見面。
這次徐鉉不像第一次見面時用很積極與強勢的態度與趙匡胤對話，徐鉉改用柔軟的態度對趙匡胤說。
李煜非常的尊敬你，但是他最近病得很嚴重，所以他請我們兩個人擔任特使來見你。
我們希望你不要攻打南唐王國，如果你們答應我們的要求，我們會非常感謝你，我們願意聽從你的任何命令，只要你願意下令軍隊停止發動對南唐王國的攻擊。
趙匡胤的態度依舊非常堅決，他始終不肯答應徐鉉的請求。
徐鉉與趙匡胤兩個人的對話一直無法達成共識，所以這場對話的氣氛漸漸地從原本的平和轉變成為緊張。
徐鉉不小心說了一句比較沒有禮貌的話，這話引發了趙匡胤的怒氣。
趙匡胤突然站了起來並且把右手放在掛在自己左邊的劍把上。
趙匡胤用很嚴厲的語氣對(徐鉉)與(周惟簡)說。
你們不要再費心想要說服我了，我認為中國必須統一。
中國是一個整體，我們不應該分裂成許多王國。
我認為南唐王國的存在帶給我的感覺，就像是有一個人打呼很大聲的人睡在我的床邊一樣。
這個打呼很大聲的人讓我整夜無法入睡，所以我一定要改變這個令我覺得不舒服的情況。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是我不能容忍有一個打呼很大聲的人睡在我的床邊。
這句成語被引申用來形容一個人無法接受自己的勢力範圍被他人侵犯。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你睡覺會打呼嗎?你是否曾經有被打呼的人影響而導致失眠的經驗呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為續資治通鑑長編-卷16