Evil Thoughts Hidden in the Heart(包藏禍心)
The period from 770 BC to 476 BC was called
the Spring and Autumn Period in Chinese history.
The supreme leader of China at that time
was the king of the Zhou dynasty. The kings of the Zhou dynasty divided the
land of China among 140 princes, each of whom established his own kingdom.
These kingdoms fought many fierce wars to
compete for land and resources. It was a time of extreme chaos.
These kingdoms unite and confront each
other for their own interests. To strengthen their friendship and gain mutual
trust, marriages between these kingdoms are common.
In 542 BC, to strengthen the relationship
between the two kingdoms, the weak Zheng Kingdom and the powerful Chu Kingdom,
the royal families of the two kingdoms decided to marry. The two parties
decided that the prince of the Chu Kingdom would marry the princess of the
Zheng Kingdom.
The Chu Kingdom sent an ambassador and led
a huge mission and legion to the Zheng Kingdom. The ambassador's mission was to
bring the princess of the Zheng Kingdom back to the Chu Kingdom.
A few days later, a large delegation
arrived outside the capital of the Kingdom of Zheng, demanding to enter the
capital of the Kingdom of Zheng.
A high-ranking official of the Kingdom of
Zheng said to the King of the Kingdom of Zheng
Even though we have agreed to marry the Chu
Kingdom, we must still be wary of the Chu Kingdom.
This mission was large in number and
accompanied by a large army.
What if they don't really want a political
marriage with us?
What if they want to take advantage of our
trust and seize our capital?
We should be on guard against them, we
should not allow this mission into our capital.
The king thought that what the minister
said was very reasonable, so he said to the ambassador of the Chu Kingdom
There are too many people in your mission,
our capital is too small, and there is not enough room in our city to receive
you.
I will only allow you to enter our capital.
All other members of the mission will have to pitch tents outside our capital
for the night.
When the ambassador heard what the king had
said, he became very angry and said to the king
Your behaviour is so rude, you can't treat
us like this. Your behaviour is inappropriate.
The king replied to the ambassador.
We sincerely want to strengthen our
relations. But please put yourself in my place and think about it, and you will
understand why I have made this decision.
Our kingdom is very weak, so we want to
marry with the Chu Kingdom to make ourselves more secure.
But we have to be careful of the powerful
Chu Kingdom, because we don't know if the Chu Kingdom really wants to marry us
or if they have bad intentions. We will be worried that the Chu Kingdom will
use the opportunity of marriage to annex us.
Your mission is very large and accompanied
by a huge army, so I cannot fully trust you until we are officially married. I
must be wary of you.
The direct translation of this saying is
that there are evil thoughts hidden in the heart.
It is used to describe a person who appears
kind but has an evil plan hidden inside.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Are you a person who trusts others easily?
Do you think the Zheng Kingdom can fully trust the Chu Kingdom after the formal
marriage of the two kingdoms?
I hope you can gain something new from this
story.
包藏禍心(Evil Thoughts Hidden in the Heart)
西元前770年到西元前476年，中國歷史上稱這一段期間為春秋時代。
當時中國最高領導者是周王朝的國王。周王朝的國王把中國的土地分封給140個諸侯，這些諸侯各自成立了屬於自己的王國。
這些王國們之間為了爭奪土地與資源彼此發生許多慘烈的戰爭，那是一個極度混亂的年代。
這些王國們為了自已的利益彼此聯合與對抗，為了強化彼此之間的情誼與取得彼此的信任，這些王國之間常常會有聯姻的情況出現。
西元前542年，弱小的鄭王國與強大的楚王國這兩個王國為了加強彼此的關係所以兩個王國的王室便決定聯姻，雙方決定好讓楚王國的王子取鄭王國的公主。
楚王國派出一個大使率領著一個龐大的使團與軍團到了鄭王國，這個大使的責任是要帶鄭王國的公主回到楚王國。
幾天之後，個龐大的使團來到鄭王國的首都外，他們要求要進入鄭王國的首都。
鄭王國的一個高階官員對鄭王國的國王說。
我們雖然已經跟楚王國有了協議要聯姻，但是我們仍舊要對楚王國保持戒心。
這個使團的人數很多，而且隨行的還有一支龐大的軍隊。
萬一他們不是真心想要跟我們進行政治聯姻呢?
萬一他們是要利用我們對他的信任來藉機佔領我們的首都呢?
我們應該防備他們，我們不應該讓這個使團進入我們首都。
國王認為這個大臣的話很有道哩，所以國王對楚王國的大使說。
你們這個使團的人數太多，我們首都太小了，我們城內沒有足夠的空間接待你們。
我只允許你進入我們首都，其他的所有使團的人員要自己在我們的首都外面搭帳棚過夜。
這個大使聽到國王的話後就很生氣的對國王說。
你的行為太不禮貌了，你不能這樣對待我們。你的行為是不合宜的。
國王回答這個大使。
我們很誠心地想要加強彼此的關係。但是請你站在我的立場去思考，你就可以裡理解我為何會做出這個決定。
我們的王國很弱小，所以我們想要跟楚王國聯姻已讓自己更有安全的保障。
但是我們必須防備強大的楚王國，因為我們不知道楚王國是不是真心地要與我們聯姻還是楚王國抱持的壞心眼，我們會擔心楚王國藉著聯姻的機會來併吞我們。
你的使團的人數非常多又有隨行的一支龐大的軍隊，所以在我們正式聯姻之前我不能夠完全信任你們，我必須要提防你們。
這個成語直接翻譯的意思是內心中隱藏著邪惡的念頭。
這句成語被用來形容一個人的外表和善但這個人的內心隱藏著邪惡的計謀。
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。
你是否是一個很容易信任別人的人呢?你認為在這兩個王國正式聯姻後，鄭王國就可以完全信任楚王國了嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一點新的收穫。
出處為左傳-昭公元年
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2024/12/11更新