Oranges in southern China and Citrus in
northern China(南橘北枳)
(Yan Ying) was an outstanding politician of
the Qi Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period of China. A story about him is
recorded in history books.
He is very short and his appearance is very
ordinary, but he is very wise.
The King of Qi appointed him as Qi's
ambassador and sent him to visit Chu, hoping to strengthen the cooperation
between the two kingdoms.
The King of Chu planned to gain an
advantageous position in the negotiations by humiliating Yan Ying.
The King of Chu and his ministers hatched a
plan.
After Yan Ying arrived in the Kingdom of
Chu, the King of Chu held a state banquet to welcome Yan Ying. Halfway through
the banquet, two soldiers suddenly escorted a prisoner into the banquet hall.
The King of Chu asked the two soldiers,
feigning confusion.
Why did you suddenly break into our banquet
hall? Can't you see that we are entertaining distinguished guests from the
Kingdom of Qi?
the two soldiers replied.
We just caught this thief in the capital's
bazaar. We were surprised to find out that he was a citizen of the Kingdom of
Qi. We have no extradition treaty with the Kingdom of Qi. What should we do
with this thief?
After hearing the soldier's answer, the
King of Chu turned to Yan Ying and said.
Oh my! There is actually a citizen of the
Qi Kingdom working as a thief here! The quality of people from the Qi Kingdom
is so low.
When Yan Ying saw what was happening in
front of his eyes, he knew that this situation had been deliberately arranged
by the King of Chu. He did not panic or make excuses. He stood up and spoke
slowly to the King of Chu.
I have heard an interesting thing, there is
a very sweet fruit in the south of China, the name of this fruit is orange.
Some people who lived in northern China took orange seeds to northern China and
planted them, but something unexpected happened: the fruit of these orange
trees, when they grew up, was very bitter.
The people of northern China call this very
bitter fruit 'Citrus'.
The people of the Qi Kingdom were very kind
and upright, but why would a kind and upright citizen of the Qi Kingdom become
a thief after arriving in the Chu Kingdom?
I think it is because the people of the Chu
Kingdom are of very poor quality, and this affects the people of the Qi
Kingdom. Do you think my opinion is reasonable?
The King of Chu blushed in embarrassment
upon hearing these words.
The literal translation of this idiom means
oranges in southern China and Citrus in northern China.
It is used to describe a person or thing
that has undergone a great change due to changes in the objective environment.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Do you think that people can be changed by
their environment? Do you like your current environment?
I hope this story will help you gain some
new insights.
南橘北枳(Oranges in southern China and Citrus
in northern China)
(晏嬰)是中國的春秋時代的齊王國的一位傑出的政治家，歷史書上記載過一個關於他的故事。
他的身材很矮小，他的長相很普通，但是他很有智慧。
齊王國的國王任命他擔任齊國的大使並且派遣他到楚王國訪問，這次訪問的目的是希望加強兩個王國之間的合作關係。
楚王國的國王計畫藉由羞辱晏嬰的方法來取得會談上的優勢地位。
楚王國的國王與楚王國的大臣們安排了一個計謀。
晏嬰到達楚王國後，楚王國的國王舉辦了一場歡迎晏嬰到訪的國宴，宴會進行到一半時突然有兩個士兵押解著一個犯人走入宴會廳中。
楚王國的國王假裝疑惑地問這兩個士兵。
你們為何突然闖入我們的宴會廳，你們沒有看到我們正在接待齊王國的貴賓嗎?
這兩個士兵回答。
我們剛才在首都的市集中抓到這個小偷，我們驚訝地發現他是齊王國的人民，我們與齊王國之間尚未簽訂關於罪犯的引渡條例，我們應該如何處理這個小偷呢?
楚王國的國王聽完士兵的回答後轉頭對晏嬰說。
哎呀，竟然有一個齊王國的百姓在我們這裡當小偷呢、齊王國的人民的素質太差了。
晏嬰看到他眼前所發生的這些事，他知道這個情況是楚王國的國王故意安排的，他沒有慌張也沒有辯解，他站起來慢慢地對楚王國的國王說。
我聽說一件有趣的事，中國的南方有一種很甜的水果，這種水果的名字叫做橘子。有一些住在中國北方的人把橘子的種子拿到中國的北方種植，但是出乎人們意料之外的情況發生了，這些橘子樹長大後的水果非常的苦。
中國北方的人把這種很苦的水果稱呼為枳子。
生活在齊王國的百姓都非常的善良也非常地正直，但是為何一個又善良又正直的齊王國的百姓到了楚王國之後會變成一個小偷呢?
我認為這是因為楚王國的人民素質很差所以影響了這個齊王國的百姓，你覺得我的看法有沒有道理呢
楚王國的國王聽到這些話後尷尬的臉紅了。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是中國南方的橘子與中國北方的枳子。
這句成語被用來形容一個人或一件事情因為客觀環境的改變而產生了極大的變異。
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?
你認為人會因為環境而被改變嗎?你喜歡你現在的生活環境嗎?
我希望這故事有助於你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晏子春秋-內篇雜下