The bamboo sticks used to measure time filled
the whole house(海屋添籌)
Su
Shi was a famous politician and gourmet in China's Song Dynasty. He was also an
excellent writer and calligrapher. He is also one of the most popular poets in
Chinese history.
He wrote a book in which he recorded all
kinds of absurd, interesting and unbelievable stories that he encountered in
his life.
There is one story in this book whose
general meaning is as follows.
One day he met three old men and started
talking to them.
In the middle of the conversation he asked
the three old men a question.
How old are you? Which one of you is the
oldest?
The first old man replied.
I have forgotten how old I am, I have lived
too long, but I remember seeing Pangu when I was a teenager. Do you know who
Pangu is? Pangu is the man who created the world in our Chinese mythology.
The second old man replied.
I also forget how old I am, I have lived
too long, but I know roughly how long I have lived.
When the seawater in this world turns into
land and the whole world changes its appearance, I will make a bamboo stick of
a special style and put it in the house where I live.
More than a dozen rooms in my house are
filled with bamboo sticks. When I come home, I can take out these bamboo sticks
and count them to find out how old I am.
The third old man said to the second old
man.
I really envy you, I can't even count how
long I've lived.
I have lived a very long life. Since I was
young, I liked to eat peaches. Every time I ate a peach, I threw the pit in
front of my house. Now the mountain in front of my house, which is tens of
kilometres long and thousands of metres high, is made up of those peach stones.
After the three old men answered Su Shi's
question, the three of them asked Su Shi together.
How old are you this year?
Su Shi replied to the three old men with a
smile.
I have forgotten how old I am. I met Pangu,
but he died the next day. I can see the world change appearance tens of
thousands of times in a day. I can also pile up peach stones into a mountain in
a day.
One of my days is almost as long as your
lifetime.
Like you, I have no idea how long I have
lived.
This proverb comes from the second old
man's answer. It means that the bamboo sticks used to measure time have filled
the whole house.
This idiom is often used to describe a
person who is extremely long-lived.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Are you a person who likes to brag? Do you
have friends who like to show off?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
海屋添籌(The bamboo sticks used to measure
time filled the whole house)
蘇軾是中國的宋王朝的一個著名的政治家與美食家，他還是一名傑出的文學家與書法家。他更是中國歷史上最受人喜愛的詩人之一。
他寫過一本書，他在這本書上記載了他在生活中遇到的各式各樣的荒誕與有趣與不可思議的小故事。
這本書中有一個故事的大概意思如下。
有一天他遇到了三個老人，他跟這三地老人聊天。
聊天聊到一半了時候，他問了這三個老人一個問題。
你們幾歲了啊?你們三個人之中誰的年紀誰最大啊?
第一個老人回答。
我已經忘記我幾歲了，我活得太久了，但我還記得我十幾歲的時候見過盤古，
你們知道盤古是誰吧?盤古就是我們中國神話中創造出世界的那個男人。
第二個老人回答。
我也忘記我幾歲了，我活得太久了，但是我可以知道我大概活了多久。
當這個世界上的海水變成陸地，整個世界改變樣貌後，我就會製作一根特別樣式的竹籤並把這根竹籤放在我住的房子裡。
我的家中的十幾個房間內都已經堆滿了竹籤，等我我回家把那些竹籤拿出來算看看就可以知道我大概幾歲了。
第三個老人對第二個老人說。
我真羨慕你，我已經無法計算我活多久了。
我這一輩子已經活得好久好久，我從年輕時就喜歡吃桃子，我每次吃完桃子就會把果核丟在我家的前面，現在我家前面那座長達好幾十公里與高好幾千公尺的高山就是那些桃子的果核堆出來的。
這三個老人回答為蘇軾的問題後，他們三個人一起問蘇軾。
那你今年幾歲了呢?
蘇軾微笑著回答這三個老人。
我也忘記我幾歲了，我也曾與盤古見過面，但一天後他就死了，我可以用一天經歷過好幾萬次的世界改變樣貌，我也可以用一天的時間就把桃子的果核堆成一座高山。
我的一天幾乎要等於你們的一輩子了。
我跟你們一樣都搞不清楚自己到底活多久了。
這一句成語是根據第二個老人的回答而來。這一句成語的意思用來計算時間長度的竹籤已經堆滿了整間房屋。
這一句成語通常被用來形容一個人非常長壽。
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。
你是一個喜歡說大話的人嗎?你有那種很喜歡說大話的朋友嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為東坡志林-卷2-三老語
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1%E5%BF%97%E6%9E%97/%E5%8D%B7%E4%BA%8C