His grief took a severe toll on his body,
reducing him to a mere skeleton.(哀毀骨立)
During China's Jin dynasty, two famous
ministers lived: Wang Rong and He Jiao. History books tell a story about them.
They were both extremely devoted to their
parents, showing their love and respect through their actions. However, they
expressed their filial piety in very different ways, and their actions sparked
much reflection among their contemporaries.
After Wang Rong's mother died, he seemed
calm and continued his usual routine of drinking, eating and playing chess with
friends.
Although his behaviour appeared normal,
Wang Rong grew thinner day by day after his mother's death. Although he didn't
cry, those around him could sense his deep depression.
His grief took a severe toll on his health,
and he became extremely thin, to the point where it seemed as if only skin
remained attached to his bones.
After He Qiao's mother died, he strictly
followed the funeral etiquette of the time. He dressed neatly every day, ate
only a small amount of rice and publicly wept bitterly for his mother. Yet
those around him could sense that he was in excellent mental and physical
condition.
One day, the king was chatting with a
minister.
The king said to the minister, 'Wang Rong
and He Qiao are both very filial. Their mothers recently passed away. I'm a
little worried that they might fall ill from excessive grief. Who do you think
I should prioritise in expressing my concern and condolences?"
The minister replied, "I think He Qiao
expressed his grief at his mother's death by following socially accepted
etiquette. However, from what I have observed, he hasn't lost any weight and he
seems to be in good spirits, so I would say that his grief is moderate." I
believe Wang Rong failed to follow socially accepted etiquette in order to
express his grief over his mother's death. However, my observations suggest
that his excessive grief has severely damaged his physical and mental state.
You should prioritise expressing your concern and condolences to Wang Rong.
According to historical records, people at
that time considered Wang Rong's actions to be sincere and genuine, and he was
therefore highly respected.
This idiom literally means that his grief
severely damaged his body. He became so thin that it seemed as if only skin
remained attached to his bones.
The idiom is used to describe someone
experiencing extreme grief over the death of their parents.
Dear friends, what insights or thoughts have
you gained from this story?
Who do you admire more: Wang Rong or He
Qiao? Have you ever been overwhelmed by grief and struggled to recover?
I hope this story provides you with some
new insights.
哀毀骨立(His grief took a severe toll on his
body, reducing him to a mere skeleton.)
中國的晉王朝有兩個著名的大臣，一個名字叫做(王戎)，另外一個名字叫做(和嶠)，歷史書上記載了一個有關於他們兩個人的故事。
他們兩個人都非常的孝順，他們很愛他們的父母，他們也用具體的行為表達出對他們的父母的愛與尊敬，但是他們表現出有關孝順的行動非常的不同，他們的行為表現引起了很多他們那個時代的人們的思考。
王戎的母親逝世之後，他的外表感覺很平靜，他照著自己平常的生活習慣，他每天一樣喝酒，他一樣吃飯，他一樣跟他的朋友一起下棋。
雖然王戎的行為表現得很正常，但是自從他的母親過世之後，他一天比一天更瘦，他雖然沒有哭泣，但是他身邊的人們都可以強烈地感受到他低落的情緒。
悲傷的情緒嚴重地損害了他的身體，他變得非常的瘦，他瘦到全身好像只剩一層皮連在他的骨頭之上。
和嶠的母親過世之後，他按照當時的喪禮的禮儀規範去嚴格地執行。他每天打扮得很整齊，他每天只吃一點點的米飯，他在公開的場合為了他的母親的過世而痛哭，但是他身邊的人們都可以感覺到他的精神狀態與身體狀態都非常的良好。
當時的國王有一天跟一個大臣在聊天。
國王對大臣說。
(王戎)與(和嶠)這兩個人都很孝順，他們兩個人的母親剛好都在最近過世了，我有點擔心他們兩個人是否會因為過度悲傷而病倒，你認為我應該優先表達對誰的關心與慰問呢?
這個大臣說。
我認為(和嶠)執行這個社會上大家所遵循的禮儀規範來表現出他對他的母親的過世的悲傷，但根據我的觀察，他的體重沒以降輕，他的精神狀態很好，所以我認為他的悲傷程度適中。
我認為(王戎)沒有遵循這個社會大家所遵循的禮儀規範來表現出他對他的母親的過世的悲傷，但根據我的觀察，他的身體與精神狀帶的確因為過度悲傷而受到巨大損害，我認為你應該要優先對王戎表示你的關心與慰問。
根據歷史書的記載，當時代的人認為王戎的行為表現真誠而且不虛假，所以他受到很多人的推崇。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是他悲傷的情緒嚴重地損害了他的身體，他變得非常的瘦，他瘦到全身好像只剩一層皮連在他的骨頭之上。
這句成語被用來形容一個人因為父母親的逝世而極度的悲傷。
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。
你比較欣賞王戎還是(和嶠)呢?你有過因為深陷悲傷的情緒而難以走出的經歷嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為世說新語-德行-17條
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E4%B8%96%E8%AA%AA%E6%96%B0%E8%AA%9E/%E5%BE%B7%E8%A1%8C