A reed and a piece of jade artwork are
placed together.(蒹葭玉樹)
During the Three Kingdoms period in China,
the Cao Wei Kingdom had a renowned scholar and minister with a profound
understanding of Daoist thought. His name was Xiahou Xuan, and his story is
recorded in history.
Xiahou Xuan's father was a brave general,
and many of his relatives held important positions in the Cao Wei Kingdom's
central government. He was proud of his family.
One day, the king invited Xiahou Xuan to a
banquet. When arranging the seating plan, the king placed the queen's brother
next to Xiahou Xuan.
Upon arriving at the banquet, Xiahou Xuan
saw that the queen's brother was indeed seated next to him. His face clearly
showed his displeasure. He did not speak to the queen's brother throughout the
banquet. When the queen's brother did speak to him, he responded with a few
dismissive pleasantries.
Why did Xiahou Xuan treat the queen's
brother this way? It was because Xiahou Xuan looked down on him.
Xiahou Xuan was born into a noble family,
whereas the queen was originally a commoner. She was married to the king for
her beauty, which elevated her family into high society.
The queen's younger brother was rather
shallow and lacked knowledge, so Xiahou Xuan was reluctant to speak to him.
Xiahou Xuan's interaction with the queen's
brother at the banquet was witnessed by everyone present. The queen was very
unhappy and often spoke ill of Xiahou Xuan to the king afterwards.
After witnessing Xiahou Xuan's behaviour at
the banquet, the king felt that his reaction was too extreme and disapproved of
it. Consequently, their relationship became less close from that day on.
Many of the other nobles present privately
commented that the image of the Queen's brother sitting next to Xiahou Xuan was
akin to placing a cheap reed next to a precious jade artwork.
This idiom translates literally as "a
jade artwork placed next to a reed".
This idiom describes the coming together of
two people of vastly different social status and appearance.
It can also describe a person of low status
relying on someone of high status and power.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did
you gain from this story?
If you were Xiahou Xuan, would you openly
show your contempt for the Empress's brother? Would you feel the urge to curry
favour with someone from a higher social class?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
蒹葭玉樹(A reed and a piece of jade artwork
are placed together.)
中國的三國時代的曹魏王國有一個著名的大臣，他也是一個著名的文學家，他對道家的思想有很深刻的研究與理解。他的名字叫做夏侯玄，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
夏侯玄的父親是一個很勇敢的將軍，他的家族中有很多人都在曹魏王國的中央政府內擔任重要的職務，他為自己的家族感到驕傲。
有一天，國王邀請夏侯玄一起參加一場晚宴，國王在安排座位時，讓皇后的弟弟坐在他的旁邊。
夏侯玄到了晚宴現場後，他看到自己的座位旁邊竟然坐著皇后的弟弟，他的臉上非常明顯地露出了很不開心的表情，在整場晚宴中，他沒有主動跟皇后的弟弟說話，而當皇后的弟弟主動找他說話時，他用很輕蔑的態度簡單的回答幾句客套的話。
為何夏侯玄會用這種態度對待皇后的弟弟呢?其原因是因為夏侯玄瞧不起皇后的弟弟。
夏侯玄出身於一個貴族的家庭，而皇后原本是一個平民，因為皇后長得很漂亮所以被國王所迎娶，皇后的家族成員也因此得以進入當時的上層社會。
皇后的弟弟沒有豐富的知識，他的見識也很淺薄，所以夏侯玄認為不願意主動跟他說話。
夏侯玄在晚宴上與皇后的弟弟的互動被所有參加這場宴會的人都看在眼裡，皇后覺得非常不開心，所以在這場宴會後，她就常常私底下在國王面前說夏侯玄的壞話。
國王在宴會中看到夏侯玄的表現後，國王覺得夏侯玄的反應太過激烈，國王很不欣賞夏侯玄的行為表現，所以他對夏侯玄的關係從那天開始變得不再那麼親近。
在場的很多貴族看到夏侯玄的表現時，這些貴族們私底下評論說，皇后的弟弟與夏侯玄坐在一起的畫面，就像是把一個廉價的蘆葦放在一個高貴的玉做的藝術品旁邊。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是一個玉做的藝術品與一個蘆葦放在一起。
這句成語被用來形容兩個地位與相貌差距非常大的人聚在一起。
這句成語被用來形容一個身分低微的人倚靠在一個很有地位權力的人身邊。
。
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。
你如果是夏侯玄，你最那麼明白的表現出自己對皇后的弟弟的輕視嗎?你會因為一個人的社會階層比你高而產生想要巴結的心理嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晉-世說新語-容止
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E4%B8%96%E8%AA%AA%E6%96%B0%E8%AA%9E/%E5%AE%B9%E6%AD%A2