Only when the ocean dries up can we see the
bottom.(海枯見底)
During the Tang Dynasty in China, there was
a famous poet named Du Xunhe.
He lived during the final years of the
dynasty, a period of extreme political instability. As the central government's
authority crumbled, warlords across China fought each other for power and
territory, leaving the population in a state of turmoil and economic hardship.
During this time of extreme scarcity, when
trust was fading and people were scheming against each other, Du Xunhe wrote a
poem to express his feelings.
The poem's general meaning is as follows:
The depth of the ocean is difficult for us
to imagine, but the human mind is far deeper than the ocean.
When the ocean dries up, we can see the
bottom, but even after a person dies, we cannot see into their heart.
This idiom literally means, 'When the ocean
dries up, we can see its bottom.' Its uniqueness lies not in the idiom itself,
but in its use to illustrate that even if the ocean were to dry up, we still
could not fathom another person's heart.
Thus, this idiom is used to describe the
complexity and unfathomable nature of the human heart.
Dear friends, what insights or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
Who do you think you know best? Do you
think it's possible for humans to truly understand another person's feelings?
I hope this story yields some new insights
for you.
海枯見底(Only when the ocean dries up can we
see the bottom.)
中國的唐王朝有一個著名的詩人，他的名字叫做杜荀鶴。
他生活在唐王朝的末年，當時的唐王朝的政治情勢非常地不穩定，由於中央政府的權威崩潰，中國各地那些掌握軍隊的軍閥們為了爭奪權力與土地而彼此爭戰，人民的生活非常的動盪且經濟情況非常的差。
在個物資極度缺乏、人與人之間的不再彼此信任而是彼此相互算計的年代中，他寫了一首詩來描繪他的感受。
這首詩的大概意思如下。
大海的深度我們難以想像，但是跟人類的心思相比較起來，人類的心思比大海的深度還要深的多。
海洋枯乾時我們可以看見其底部，當一個人死亡之後，我們都無法看透這個人的心。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是海洋枯乾時我們可以看見其底部。
這句成語的特色不在於這一句成語本身，這句成語被用來引伸出連大海乾涸這種幾乎不可能發生的情況都發生時，我們卻依舊無法看透另外一個人的心。
所以這句成語被用來形容人心的複雜與深不可測。
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。
你認為你最了解的人是誰呢?你認為人類有可能可以真正的去理解另外一個人的感受嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為全唐詩-卷693-唐-杜荀鶴-感寓
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%85%A8%E5%94%90%E8%A9%A9/%E5%8D%B7693