His face showed an expression of feeling
inferior, wanting to hide in a corner.(卑陬失色)
Zhuangzi was one of the most famous
thinkers and philosophers in Chinese history. Despite living a life of poverty,
he deeply enjoyed this simplicity.
He believed that spiritual freedom was far
more important than physical pleasure. His attitude towards life had a profound
influence on later generations of Chinese people.
He lived during the Warring States period
and is considered a leading figure in Daoist thought.
He wrote a book, from which a short excerpt
is summarised below.
Confucius had a student named Duanmu Ci,
who was also known as Zigong. Most later generations referred to this student
of Confucius as Zigong.
One day, while travelling to the southern
state of Chu, Zigong saw a vegetable garden by the roadside. An elderly farmer
was laboriously watering his crops with a large, heavy earthenware jar.
During their conversation, Zigong was
astonished by how far beyond his comprehension the farmer's ideas were.
After the farmer had finished talking,
Zigong looked as if he wanted to hide in a corner, his face showing an
expression of self-deprecation.
Several hours after bidding farewell to the
farmer, Zigong's face showed an expression of feeling inferior, wanting to hide
in a corner.
'Why did you become so serious and silent
after talking to that old farmer?'
'That old farmer looked quite ordinary. Was
there something special about him?'
Zigong replied,
'My teacher is Confucius, whom I have
always considered to be the epitome of wisdom and morality. He once told me
that we should strive for rationality and success in what we do. We should
think about how to achieve the greatest efficiency with the least effort.'
Zigong paused and continued:
'That old farmer completely shattered my
understanding. I believe he was someone who truly grasped the Way.
He had an extremely high moral standard,
yet he lived a simple life like ordinary people." He didn't pursue power,
fame, profit or wealth. He looked down on intelligence and wisdom, knowing they
were illusory and unimportant.
He had his own path in life, unaffected by
others, untainted by opposition and unmoved by praise. His mind was remarkably
calm and his heart was unshaken by changes in people or circumstances.
In contrast, my teacher and I seem to have
fallen into these illusory pursuits. Compared to him, I deeply feel my own
shallowness.
I believe that the old farmer's
understanding of life far surpasses ours.
The idiom translates as "his face
showed an expression of feeling inferior, wanting to hide in a corner".
It is used to describe someone whose
expression evokes extreme shame.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Do you care about what others think of you? Have you ever experienced a similar collapse of your cognitive framework?
I hope this story provides you with some
new insights.
卑陬失色(His face showed an expression of
feeling inferior, wanting to hide in a corner.)
莊周是中國歷史上最著名的思想家與哲學家之一。他一生生活在貧困之中，卻十分享受這種簡單。
莊子認為精神的自由遠比肉體的享樂更重要。他的生活態度，深深影響了後世的中國人。
莊周生活在戰國時代，後世將他視為道家思想的代表人物。
他寫過一本書，這本書中有一個故事的中間一小段的大意如下。
孔子有一個名字叫做端木賜的學生，這個學生還有另外一個名字，這名字叫做(子貢)，後代大部分都用(子貢)來稱呼孔子的這個學生。
有一天，子貢到南方的楚國途中，他看見路旁有一塊菜園，一位年邁的農夫正抱著一個又大又沉的陶甕，艱難地為農作物澆水。
在與這個老農夫對談中，子貢驚訝地這個老農夫所提出的思想的高度竟然超過自己所可以理解的範圍。
那個老農夫結束對話後，(子貢) 的臉上露出一種感覺自己很卑微想要躲到角落裡的表情。
子貢告別了那個老農夫好幾個小時後，他臉上的表情才慢慢地恢復正常，跟他同行的幾個人看到他的表情變得和緩後就問他。
為何你跟你那個老農夫對話之後，你的表情變得很嚴肅又不說話呢?
那個老農夫的外貌看起來很普通啊，難道他有甚麼特別的地方嗎?
子貢回答。
我的老師是孔子，我一向認為他是智慧與道德都已經到達最高的程度。他曾經對我說一個人做事要追求合理、做事業要追求成功。我們應該思考如何用最少的力氣去達成最高的效率。
子貢停頓了一下繼續說。
跟才那個老農夫完全打破了我的認知框架，我認為那個老農夫是一個真正的掌握了(道)的人。
他的道德水平非常的高，但是他跟普通百姓過著一樣的簡單的生活。他不追求權力名譽利益與財富，他看輕聰明與智慧，他知道這些東西都是虛妄而且不重要的。
他有他自己的人生方向，他不會被別人所影響，他不會因為別人的反對而難過，他不會因為別人的讚美而開心，他的心態非常的平靜，他的內心不會因為外界的人與環境的改變而動搖。
反觀我和我的老師，我們一生所求的似乎都落入了這些虛妄的範疇。與他相比，我深感自己的淺薄。
我認為那個老農夫的人生境界已經遠遠超過了我們。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是他的臉上露出一種感覺自己很卑微想要躲到角落裡的表情。
這句成語被用來形容一個人的表情讓人家感覺到極度羞愧
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。
你會在意別人對你的評價嗎?你曾經發生過類似的認知框架崩塌的經驗嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為莊子-外篇-天地-11條