He is holding a severed cow's ear(執牛耳)
The Zhou Dynasty was the last feudal
hereditary dynasty in Chinese history, and the Zhou Dynasty was also the
longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history.
The king of the Zhou dynasty distributed
the land within the dynasty to the nobles of the dynasty, and these nobles
became kings in their own territories. These nobles must pay a certain amount
of money and goods to the King of the Zhou Dynasty every year.
Decades after the establishment of the Zhou
Dynasty, there were more and more nobles in the dynasty. These nobles founded
more than 140 kingdoms in the Zhou Dynasty.
This system originally worked very well,
but as time went on, each kingdom developed differently. Some kingdoms
prospered from day to day, while others declined from day to day.
There were often countless wars between
these kingdoms over interests.
These kingdoms also often enter into
various military or economic alliances for each other's benefit.
When a military or economic treaty is to be
signed between these kingdoms, the parties to the treaty will gather and hold a
special ceremony together.
After they have exchanged their pacts, the
representative of the more powerful party would cut off the ear of a cow.
Then the representative of the more
powerful party will pour the blood from the cow's ears into a dish, and then
the representative will take a small sip of the blood from the cow in the dish.
Then the representative of the more
powerful party hands the plate to the representative of the other party who is
responsible for signing, and the representative of the other party who is
responsible for signing also takes a sip of the blood from the cow in the
plate.
Both parties who signed the pact used this
ceremony to express that they would abide by the pact.
According to records in history books, the
Kingdom of Lu and the Kingdom of Qi signed such a treaty in 478 BC.
In this signing ceremony, the signing
representative of the Lu Kingdom was responsible for cutting off the cow's
ears.
The literal translation of this idiom is a
person holding a severed cow's ear.
This idiom is used to describe a person who
is an authority in a certain field. This idiom is also used to describe a
person who is a leader in some aspect.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Have you ever heard of these special
signing ceremonies? Has your country signed economic treaties with these
countries?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
執牛耳(He is holding a severed cow's ear)
周王朝是中國歷史上最後一個封建世襲的王朝，周王朝也是中國歷史上延續時間最久的王朝。
周王朝的國王把王朝內的土地分給王朝中的貴族們，這些貴族在自己的領地各自稱王。這些貴族們必須每年進貢一定的金錢與貨品給周王朝的國王。
周王朝建立幾十年後，王朝內的貴族愈來愈多，周王朝中這些貴族們所建立的王國超過140個。
這套制度原本運行的非常好，但隨著時間的改變，每個王國的發展不同，有些王國日漸興旺，有些王國日漸衰敗。
這些王國之間會因為利益的原因常發生了數不清的戰爭。
這些王國也為了彼此的利益也會常常簽訂各自不同的軍事或經濟結盟。
這些王國之間如果要簽訂軍事或經濟的盟約時，簽約雙方會聚集再一起，他們會一起舉行一場特殊的儀式。
他們在交換彼此的盟約之後，比較有權力的一方的代表會割下一隻牛的耳朵。
接著比較有權力的一方的代表然會把牛的耳朵中所流出的鮮血滴入一個盤子裡，接著這個代表會自己先喝一小口這個盤子裡面的牛的鮮血。
然後比較有權力的一方的代表會把這個盤子交給另外一方負責簽約的代表，另外一方這個負責簽約的代表也會喝一小口這個盤子裡面的牛的鮮血。
簽訂盟約的雙方藉由這個儀式來表示自己一定會遵守這個盟約。
根據歷史書的紀載，西元前478年，魯王國與齊王國便簽訂了一份這樣的契約。
在這次的簽約儀式中，由魯王國的簽約代表負責割下牛的耳朵。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是指一個人拿著一隻被割下的牛的耳朵。
這句成語被用來形容一個人在某一方面是一個權威。這句成語也被用來形容一個人在某一方面具有領導的地位。
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。
你是否聽過那些特殊的簽約儀式呢?你的國家有跟那些那些國家簽訂經濟方面的契約呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
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。
你是否聽過那些特殊的簽約儀式呢?你的國家有跟那些那些國家簽訂經濟方面的契約呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為左傳-哀公17年
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E5%93%80%E5%85%AC