A person points to the palm of their other hand with the fingers of one hand to indicate that they can see their own palm clearly.(瞭若指掌)
A person points to the palm of their other
hand with the fingers of one hand to indicate that they can see their own palm
clearly.(瞭若指掌)
The famous book The Analects was not
written by Confucius. It was compiled by his students after his death, who
recorded some of his sayings.
The Zhou dynasty was the last feudal
dynasty in Chinese history and the longest-lasting.
The nobles of the Zhou dynasty were
required to learn many skills. According to historical records, these were:
Etiquette, music, archery, chariot driving,
calligraphy and mathematics.
The famous Confucius lived during this era.
He was proficient in all six areas of
knowledge. He was the first to teach these skills to many willing and eager
commoners, who were previously reserved for nobles, thus becoming a role model
for many later teachers.
In terms of etiquette alone, as well as
personal etiquette norms, a good Confucian scholar also needed to understand
the ceremonies and execution details of a kingdom's national-level sacrificial
rituals. These rituals were performed infrequently by a select few on special
occasions, so only a few people fully understood their execution.
The Analects of Confucius records many
dialogues between Confucius and his students, including the following:
One day, several of Confucius's students
asked him,
'We have heard of a very special
sacrificial ceremony called (Di), which only the Zhou dynasty rulers were
qualified to perform. Do you know the procedures and details of this ceremony?'
Confucius answered his students frankly:
'I don't know.'
After pausing for about half a minute,
Confucius continued, saying...
'The personal etiquette we have learned
contains the principles that govern our lives in this world.'
National-level sacrificial ceremonies such
as the (Di)are more complex than they seem; the rituals performed contain laws
that govern the whole world.
Confucius then spoke with longing, pointing
to his palm.
Regarding the special ceremony you
mentioned, the (Di) ceremony,
Those who truly understand the laws and
rules of performing the Di ceremony can see the world we live in very clearly.
If I were to describe their perspective, it
would be akin to someone holding their hand out in front of their eyes and
being able to discern even the finest details.
This idiom translates directly as follows:
A person points to the palm of their other hand with the fingers of one hand to
indicate that they can see their own palm clearly.
It is used to describe someone with a
thorough understanding of a thing, person or state.
Dear friend, what insights did you gain
from this story?
Is
there any knowledge you yearn to acquire? If you were Confucius, would you be
able to openly admit to your students that you didn't understand certain
things?
I hope this story brings you some new
insights.
瞭若指掌(A person points to the palm of their
other hand with the fingers of one hand to indicate that they can see their own
palm clearly.)
著名的(孔夫子論語)這一本書不是孔子寫的，這本書是孔子死後，他的學生們記錄下他生前所說過的一些話後彙編成這本書。
周王朝是中國歷史上最後一個封建世襲的王朝。也是中國歷史上延續時間最久的王朝。
周王朝的貴族都要學習許多的知識，根據歷史書的紀載，當時的貴族要學習的技能有下列六項。
禮儀、音樂、射箭、駕馭馬車、書法、數學。
知名的孔子就生活在這個年代。
孔子精通這些知識與技能，他率先把這些只有貴族才能學習的知識與技能教導給當時的許多願意學習而且渴望學習的平民，因此他被許多後代的老師視為楷模。
單就禮儀這個項目，除了個人生活上的禮儀規範之外，一個優秀的儒家學者還要了解一個王國的國家級的祭祀的典禮與執行細節，這種國家級的祭祀典禮因為舉辦的次數非常的少而且只有少數的特定階層在非常特殊的日子才會執行，因此只有極少數的人可以完全了解執行時的細節。
孔夫子的論語這本書中紀錄了很多孔子的他的學生們之間的對話內容，其中有一段紀錄如下。
有幾個孔子的學生有一天對孔子說。
我們聽說有一種非常特殊的祭祀典禮，這種祭祀典禮的名稱叫做(禘)，只有周王朝的統治者才有資格舉辦這種祭祀典禮，請問你了解這種祭祀典禮的流程與細節嗎?
孔子很直率地回答他的學生們。
我不知道。
說完這句話後，孔子停頓了大約半分鐘後說。
我們所學的這些個人有關的禮儀中蘊含著我們一個人生活在這個世界上的法則。
像是(禘)這種國家級的祭祀典禮中不像表面上那麼簡單，操作的那些儀式中蘊含著整個世界運行的法則。
孔子接著用很嚮往的語氣並同時用手指著自己的手掌說。
關於你們提到的名稱叫做(禘)的這種特殊的祭典。
那些真正可以完全理解與熟悉如何執行(禘)這種祭典的法則與規則的人，我認為他們可以很透徹地看清楚我們生活的這個世界。
如果要我形容他們看待這個世界的感覺，我認為他們應該像是一個人伸手放在自己眼前，這個人以把自己的手掌上的細紋都看得很清楚。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是有一個人用一隻手的手指指著自己另一隻手的手掌，這個人表示他能夠把自己的手掌看得很清楚。
這句成語被用來形容一個人對於一件事情或一個人或者一種狀態有著非常透徹的了解。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有什麼樣的或有什麼樣的啟發呢
你是否有那些你渴望且想要學習的知識呢?你如果是孔子，你能夠在自己的學生面前大方承認自己對於某些事情並不了解嗎?
我期待這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為論語-八佾
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%AB%96%E8%AA%9E/%E5%85%AB%E4%BD%BE%E7%AC%AC%E4%B8%89