He smashed a spittoon on the table.(擊碎唾壺)
There was a famous minister in the Southern
Song dynasty of China named He Menggui. Born in 1229, he lost his country when
the dynasty fell at the age of 50.
While many scholars and officials chose to
join the Yuan Dynasty's central government after the fall of the Southern Song
Dynasty, He Menggui made a different choice. He retired and returned to his
hometown to live as an ordinary citizen.
One year, he stood on a high platform and
looked towards the distant capital of the Southern Song Kingdom. It was autumn,
and the wind felt cold and desolate. Many thoughts flooded his mind.
First, he thought of the great chaos and
turmoil at the end of the Han dynasty, which eventually led to China being divided
into three kingdoms: Cao Wei, Eastern Wu and Shu Han.
Then he thought of the Jin Dynasty that
followed the Three Kingdoms period. When the Jin Dynasty was first established,
it was very weak.
In order to strengthen its domestic rule
and resist external nomadic invasions, the King of Jin divided the territory of
the Jin Dynasty among eight vassal states, each of which had its own army and
revenue.
While this decision brought temporary
stability to the Jin Dynasty, it also created significant hidden dangers.
From 291 to 306 AD, nine factions — the
eight vassal states and the central government — engaged in a severe political
struggle for control of the central government.
Due to this internal turmoil, from 304 AD
onwards, five ethnic groups in northern China seized the opportunity to launch
continuous attacks and invasions against the Jin Dynasty.
In 316 AD, the Former Han Kingdom, which
had been established by nomadic tribes in northern China, captured the capital
of the Western Jin Dynasty once again. The Western Jin king was killed, the
dynasty collapsed, and much of its territory north of the Yangtze River was
occupied by the Qianhan kingdom.
He then thought of the Northern Song
(960–1127) and Southern Song (1127–1279) dynasties of China.
Looking at the unchanging scenery before
him, untouched by human intervention, he reflected on China's past eras, the
alternation of turmoil and peace, and a flood of emotions welled up within him.
Considering his advanced age, he wondered
if he would live to see the revival of the Southern Song Dynasty. Suddenly, he
recalled a story about Wang Dun, a famous general of the Eastern Jin dynasty.
Following the collapse of the Western Jin
Dynasty, Wang Dun had fled to southern China with many of its ministers and
commoners.
In his lifetime, Wang Dun often longed to
reclaim the lands north of the Yangtze River that had originally belonged to
the Western Jin Dynasty, but he was powerless to do so. He would often spend
his nights alone, drinking Chinese rice wine and sadly reciting the poems of
Cao Cao, a famous hero of the Three Kingdoms period. As he recited these poems,
he would tap a spittoon on the table with a back scratcher to create rhythm.
Several times, overcome with emotion, he
broke the spittoon.
Suddenly, he realised that darkness had
fallen and the sun had set. He realised he had been standing on this high
platform for several hours. A light rain began to fall and he felt utterly
alone and sorrowful.
He knew that, except in his dreams, he
would likely never return to the capital of the Southern Song dynasty that he
knew so well.
That night, he wrote a poem expressing his
feelings and emotions from that day.
The idiom translates literally as 'he broke
a spittoon on the table'. It is used to describe someone expressing their
grief, indignation and other intense emotions.
It is also used to describe extreme
admiration for a literary work.
Dear friend, what did you gain from this
story? What inspiration did it give you? Is there a particular time you wish
you could return to? If you could choose, who would you like to dream about? I
hope this story will give you some new insights.
擊碎唾壺(He smashed a spittoon on the table.)
中國的南宋王朝有一個著名的大臣，他的名字叫做何夢桂。他出生於西元1229年，在他50歲的時候，南宋王朝滅亡，他成為了一個失去了自己的國家的人。
南宋王朝滅亡之後，有很多南宋王朝的學者與官員選擇加入元王朝的中央政府，但是何夢桂做出了不同的選擇，他選擇退休回到自己的家鄉做一個普通百姓。
有一年，他站在一個高台上向著遠方南宋王國的首都的方向看，那個時候的季節是秋天，秋天的風令人感覺到冰冷與淒涼，他的腦海中出現了很多的想法。
他先想到中國漢王朝末年陷入巨大的混亂與動亂，最後中國分裂成三個王國，這三個王國是曹魏王國、東吳王國與蜀漢王國。
他接著想到三國時代結束後的晉王朝，晉王朝剛建立的時候，國力非常的衰弱。
晉王朝的國王對內為了強化統治力量，對外為了抵抗遊牧民族的入侵，所以他把晉王朝的土地分封給八個諸侯，這八個諸侯可以擁有單獨的軍隊與財政收入。
這個決定雖然讓晉王朝獲得的短暫的穩定，但也造成了後來極大的隱患。
西元291年到西元306年，這16年的時間內，晉王朝中的八個諸侯與中央政府的國王共九股勢力為了爭奪中央政府的領導權發生的嚴重的政治內鬥
因為晉王朝內部發生動亂，所以從西元304年開始，中國北方的五個民族便利用這個機會不停地發動對晉王朝的攻擊與侵略。
西元316年，中國北方一個由遊牧民族建立的前漢王國再次攻佔了西晉王朝的首都，西晉王朝的國王被殺，西晉王朝滅亡，西晉王朝位於長江以北的許多土地都被(前漢王國)所佔領。
他接著有想到西元960年到西元1127年的這段期間的中國的北宋王朝與接下來西元1127年到西元1279年是中國的南宋王朝，
他看著眼前的亙古不變的景色並沒有因為人的因素所改變，他想到中國這些過往年代與動亂和平靜交替的歷史，他的內心出現了許多的感慨。
他接著又想到自己的年紀已經老邁，他這輩子可能再也無法看到南宋王朝的復興，他突然想到一個典故，那是中國東晉王朝的一個著名的名字叫做王敦的將軍。
西晉王朝滅亡之後，王敦跟著很多西晉王朝的大臣與百姓逃難到中國的南方。
王敦生前常常想要收回長江以北那些原本屬於西晉王朝的土地，但是無奈他沒有能力完成，他常常在晚上一個人喝著中國米酒，一個人悲傷的念著三國時代一個著名的名叫曹操的英雄所寫的詩歌，他在唸這些詩歌的時候，他通常會拿著一隻用來搔背癢的工具敲打一個他放在桌子上用來吐口水的壺來打節奏。
有好幾次，他因為情緒太激動，所以把他放在桌上的那個壺擊破了。
他想到這裡，他突然發現到四周已經變得漆黑，太陽已經落下，他這才發現自己已經站在這個高台上好幾個小時了，當時天空突然下起了細雨，他感覺極度的孤單與悲傷。
他知道除了做夢之外，他這輩子可能再也無法再次回到那個他所熟悉的南宋王朝的首都，
他當晚寫下了一首詩，將他當天的情緒與感受寫在這首詩中。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是他擊破一個放在桌上的用來吐口水的壺。
這句成語被用來形容一個人抒發自己悲憤且激動的情緒。
這句成語被用來形容一個人極度讚賞一部文學作品。
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
你是否有特別想要回去的時代呢?你如果可以選擇，你會想要夢見誰呢?
我期待這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為世說新語-豪爽-4條
https://ctext.org/shi-shuo-xin-yu/hao-shuang/zh
出處為宋元詩會-卷53-何夢桂-感寓詩