Even taking a small step forward felt
difficult.(寸步難行)
During the late Ming dynasty in China, a
famous writer named Ling Mengchu wrote a collection of short stories. Most of
these stories were based on earlier works, and through his reinterpretations, readers
could experience the social realities and atmosphere of the time.
The gist of the latter part of one of the
stories in this book is as follows:
In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, there
lived a young man named Wang. His parents had died when he was young.
His aunt took responsibility for caring for
him, taking him into her home and treating him like her own child.
When Wang turned 18, he used his aunt's
financial support to start his own business.
Unfortunately, Mr Wang was very unlucky. On
his first trip out with his goods, he was robbed by bandits. Encouraged by his
aunt, he found the courage to try again, but unfortunately, his goods were
stolen by the same group of bandits once more.
These two setbacks left him feeling utterly
devastated. However, his aunt didn't blame him. Instead, she spoke to him
gently and positively.
Sometimes in life, we encounter hardships
that may just be bad luck. Even an unlucky person who stays at home every day
can still have their house broken into and their belongings stolen.
As the saying goes, 'A person who is too
cautious will find even a small step forward difficult; a person who bravely
forges ahead can reach anywhere they want to go.' You shouldn't be overly
discouraged by the previous two setbacks. You should bravely go out and do
business again.'
However, after hearing his aunt's words, Mr
Wang still felt uneasy. Seeing this, his aunt took him to see a very accurate
fortune teller.
After fortune-telling, the fortune-teller
told Mr Wang and his aunt, 'When you go out to do business this time, you
should set Nanjing as your destination. If you head towards Nanjing, you will
be very successful.'
Hearing this, Mr Wang's confidence was
restored. He bought more goods and set sail for Nanjing on an auspicious day.
On the evening of the third day, Mr Wang's
ship arrived at the rest port too late, so the captain secured it with ropes
and moored it deliberately near an official patrol boat. Mr Wang and the
captain believed this would ensure their safety, so they went to rest in the
cabin.
However, something unexpected happened. At
around midnight, Mr Wang was suddenly awoken by a commotion outside the cabin.
He could hear loud noises and see torchlight. He immediately jumped out of bed
and rushed to the deck of his ship. He saw that his ship had drifted to the
middle of the Yangtze River and was surrounded by several small boats carrying
armed bandits.
Mr Wang trembled with fear at the
situation. At that moment, he recognised a familiar figure among the robbers —
the same group that had robbed him twice before. He felt a surge of anxiety and
anger; he felt utterly wronged. He rushed over to the leader of the gang, stood
ramrod straight and loudly proclaimed, "Kill me now! Kill me before you
rob me again!"
Mr Wang's unusual action startled the
leader, who drew his knife and stared at him.
This idiom literally means that even taking
a small step forward is difficult.
It is used to describe a person in a
difficult situation or a matter that is stagnant and making no progress.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Do you think you could endure several
setbacks in a row? Do you have the courage to persevere through setbacks and
continue striving?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
寸步難行(Even taking a small step forward felt
difficult.)
中國的明王朝末年，有一個著名的文學家，他的名字叫做(凌濛初)，他寫過一本短篇小說集。他這本小說中的故事題材大多取自前代著述，經過他的再創作後，讀者可以從這些故事中感受到當時的社會現實和時代氣息。
這本書中的其中一個故事的中後段的大意如下。
在中國的江蘇省的蘇州市，有一個姓王的年輕人，他的父親與母親在他還是幼童得時候就過世了。
王先生的嬸嬸承擔起照顧他的責任，他的嬸嬸把他接到自己的家中居住，他的嬸嬸把他成像是自己的孩子一樣關心與照顧。
王先生18歲的那一年，在他的嬸嬸的資助下，他決定開始他的經商之路。
王先生的運氣很不好，他第一次帶著貨品出門就遇到了強盜打劫，在他的嬸嬸的安慰與鼓勵之下，他鼓起勇氣第二次帶著貨品出門，但是這一次他的貨品竟然又被同一批強盜搶走。
連續兩次的打擊讓她感覺到極度的崩潰，他的嬸嬸沒有責怪他，他的嬸嬸用很溫柔且正面的態度對他說。
有些時候我們人生中會遭遇到一些患難，但是這可能就是剛好我們的運氣不好。一個倒楣的人每天待在家中，但他都有可能遇到強盜跑進他的家中搶奪財物。
有句俗話說得很好，一個人如果太過謹慎，那麼這個人就會連前進一小步都感到困難，一個人如果勇敢向前，那麼這個人就可以到達任何他所想要去的地方。你不應該因為前兩次的打擊而過度沮喪，你應該再次勇敢地出門去做生意。
王先生聽到他的嬸嬸的話後，他的內心還是感到不安，他的嬸嬸見狀就帶他去找了一個很靈驗的占卜師卜卦。
這個占卜師卜卦之後對王先生的嬸嬸與王先生說。
你這次出門做生意時，你要把你做生意的目的地設定為南京市，如果你往南京市方向前進，你就可以有很好的收穫。
王先生聽完占卜師的話，他的信心終於恢復，他再度購買了一批貨品，他在一個吉祥的日子搭著船啟程前往南京市。
在第三天的傍晚，由於王先生所搭的船到達一個休息的港口的時間太晚了，船長便把船用纜繩綁緊，船長還特別把它們的船停泊在靠近官方的巡守船的旁邊。王先生與船長都認為這樣可以保證他們的安全，船長與王先生就進入船艙休息。
但是令人意外的事情發生了，到了半夜12點左右，王先生突然驚醒，因為他感覺到船艙外面有吵雜的人聲和火把的光線，他立刻爬起床衝到他所搭的船的甲板上，他看到他所搭的船竟然漂流到了長江的中央，船的周圍為了好幾艘小艇，小艇上有很多拿的武器的強盜。
王先生被這個情況嚇得渾身發抖，在這個時候，他看到強盜中一個熟悉的身影，這群強盜竟然就是前兩次強劫他的貨品的那一批強盜，就在這個時候，他的心中感覺到又焦急又生氣，他感覺到非常的委屈，他立刻衝到那批強盜的領導前面，他站著筆直的大聲地對那批強盜的領導說。
你快點殺了我，你們強劫我的貨品之前，你們先殺了我吧。
王先生這個反常的舉動讓那批強盜的領導受到了驚嚇，這批強盜的領導拿著刀注視著王先生。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是前進一小步都感到困難。
這句成語被用來形容一個人處境很艱難或是一件事情停滯不前沒有進展。
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。
你認為你可以忍受連續幾次的挫折呢?你是否具備忍受挫折然後持續不停地努力的勇氣呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為凌濛初-初刻拍案驚奇-卷8