He was in a precarious situation, with nowhere to go either forwards or backwards.(進退維谷)
During the Jin dynasty in China, there was
a famous minister named Yin Zhongkan. His story is recorded in history books.
He was a kind and dutiful man who possessed
a wealth of knowledge. The king greatly favoured him and they had a close
relationship. The king even entrusted him with assisting and teaching the crown
prince at the time.
One day, while chatting with the king, I
said something that made him laugh.
'I suddenly remembered something
interesting.' I recently heard that an official's father had an unusual
illness. For some reason, his hearing had suddenly become extremely acute.
Normal people wouldn't be able to hear the
sound of two ants fighting on the ground.
But this official's father could actually
hear the sound of two ants fighting.
The king laughed heartily. This is
hilarious! I find this strange illness unbelievable. Do you find it amusing? Do
you know who the official was?
After hearing the king's words, the
official remained silent for about a minute. Then, with tears welling in his
eyes, he replied to the king. The first Chinese poetry collection contains a
few lines that mean the following:
'Look at how friendly and happy the deer in
the forest are, while the relationship between me and my friends is full of
discord and suspicion.'
I have no way forward or backward; I am now
in a predicament.'
When the king saw Yin Zhongkan speak these
words with tears in his eyes, he realised he had made a serious mistake. He
realised that the man with the strange illness he had mocked must be Yin
Zhongkan's father.
The king said to Yin Zhongkan,
'I feel deeply ashamed and embarrassed by
my reckless behaviour. Please forgive me.'
This idiom literally means that he is in a
predicament with no way forward or back.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts have
you gained from this story?
Would you join the king in mocking your own
father if you were Yin Zhongkan? Have you ever unintentionally hurt someone?
I hope this story provides you with some
new insights.
進退維谷(He was in a precarious situation,
with nowhere to go either forwards or backwards.)
中國的晉王朝時代有一個著名的大臣，他的名字叫做殷仲堪，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他是一個仁慈又孝順的人，他的學識也很豐富，晉王朝的國王很喜歡他，他與國王的關係非常的親近，國王還讓他負責協助與教導當時的太子。
有一天，國王跟他在聊天的時候，國王對他說。
我突然想到一件很有趣的事情，我最近聽說有一個官員的父親生了一種很奇怪的病，這個官員的父親的耳朵不知道為何突然變的聽力非常的敏銳。
如果地上有兩隻螞蟻在打架，我們正常人不可能聽到螞蟻打架的聲音，但是在這個官員的父親的耳朵中所聽到的就好像是兩隻牛在決鬥一樣。
國王大笑著說。
這件事情真的太好笑了，我覺得這種奇怪的病真令人感覺到不可思議，你覺得好笑嗎?你知道這個官員是誰嗎?
他聽到國王的話後，他沉默了大約一分鐘後，他眼眶泛紅地回答國王。
中國的第一本詩歌集中，有幾句詩的意思如下。
你看那個樹林裡的鹿群是多麼的友愛而快樂，我和我的朋友間的關係卻很不和睦又相互猜忌。
我前進或後退都沒有路可以走了，我現在陷入了一種困窘處境。
國王看到殷仲堪邊流眼淚邊說完這些話後，國王意識到自己犯了一個嚴重的錯誤，他意識到自己嘲笑的這個生了奇怪的病的人，應該就是殷仲堪的父親。
國王對殷仲堪說。
我感到我非常的失禮，我為了我冒失的行為感到慚愧，請你原諒我好嗎?
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是他處於一種前進或後退都無路可走的困窘處境
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。
你如果是殷仲堪，你會跟著國王嘲笑自己的父親嗎?你曾經有過不小心傷害了別人的經驗嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晉書-卷84-殷仲堪傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%99%89%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7084
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%99%89%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7084