Inferring two related events from hearing
about one.(聞一知二)
Confucius's name was Kong Qiu. 'Confucius'
was the respectful title used for him.
He was an exceptional teacher. He is one of
the most influential thinkers in Chinese history.
Confucius lived during the Zhou dynasty. At
that time, nobles were required to learn many skills. According to historical
records, these six skills were:
Etiquette, music, archery, chariot driving,
calligraphy and mathematics.
Confucius was proficient in all of these
subjects. He was the first to teach these skills, which were previously
reserved for nobles, to many willing and eager commoners. Consequently, he was
regarded as a role model by many subsequent generations of teachers.
Confucius had a student named Duanmu Ci.
Duanmu Ci was eloquent and quick-witted.
Once, Confucius asked Duanmu Ci:
'If you compare yourself to your classmate
Yan Hui, who do you think is the more intelligent one?'
Duanmu Ci answered respectfully:
'I believe Yan Hui is far more intelligent
than I am. I can deduce two related things from one event, but Yan Hui can
deduce ten.'
Just how intelligent was Yan Hui? History
books tell a story about him.
Confucius was from the Kingdom of Lu. As he
had many students, he enjoyed great prestige and influence in Lu, and his
students were well acquainted with the King of Lu.
One day, after a chariot-driving
competition, the king said to Yan Hui,
'Having seen the chariot-driving skills of
Dongye Bi, the man I recently hired, do you admire him? I think his skills are
truly superb.'
Yan Hui smiled and replied,
'Dongye Bi's chariot-driving skills are
indeed superb, but he must be careful. I think his horses will break down very
quickly.'
Upon hearing this, the King of Lu believed
that Yan Hui had spoken out of jealousy towards Dongye Bi.
Three days later, the King of Lu received
some shocking news.
Dongye Bi was involved in an accident while
driving his chariot: four of his horses broke free and ran away. Two of the
horses disappeared, while the other two returned to the stable of their own
accord.
Upon hearing this news, the King of Lu
immediately summoned Yan Hui. He asked Yan Hui, "Why did you conclude
three days ago that Dongye Bi's horses would encounter problems soon? Why did
you make this deduction at that time?'
Yan Hui replied respectfully, "I made
this deduction because I read history books."
The King of Lu asked, "Which events in
the history books led you to this conclusion?"
Yan Hui smiled and answered, 'There was a
famous king in ancient China named Shun. He was able to govern the country so
well because his methods of governance were neither too strict nor too lenient;
he maintained an appropriate degree of flexibility.' When Higashino Hiroshi was
driving the carriage, he and his horses were always on high alert. Even after
the race was over and his horses were supposedly exhausted, he continued to
urge them on.
I concluded from this detail that his
horses would soon run into trouble.
This idiom literally means "Inferring
two related events from hearing about one".
It is often used to describe someone who is
intelligent, quick-witted and skilled at reasoning.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did
you gain from this story?
Can you objectively evaluate yourself and
others? What behaviours do you think a truly intelligent person should exhibit?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
聞一知二(Inferring two related events from
hearing about one.)
孔子的名字是(孔丘)。孔夫子是人們對他的尊稱。
他是一位傑出的教育家。他是為中國歷史上最有影響力的思想家之一。
孔子生活的時代是周王朝，當時代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。
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。
孔子有一個學生的名字叫做端木賜，端木賜的口才很好而且腦筋非常的靈活。
有一次，孔子對端木賜說。
你認為你跟你那個名字叫做顏回的同學相比較，你們誰比較聰明呢?
端木賜很恭敬的回答。
我認為顏回比我更加的聰明，我聽聞一件事情之後就能推知兩件跟這件事情相關的事，但是顏回聽聞一件事情之後就能推知十件跟這件事情相關的事。
關於顏回有多聰明呢?歷史書中記載了一個他的故事。
孔子是魯王國的人，因為他的學生很多，他在魯王國中有著很高的名望與影響力，他的學生們也都因此跟魯王國的國王很熟。
有一天，在一場有關於駕車技巧的比賽結束後，魯王國的國王對顏回說。
你看到我最近聘請的那位名字叫做(東野畢)的男人的駕馭馬車的技巧之後你是否覺得很敬佩呢?我認為他駕馭馬車的技巧真的太棒了?
顏回微笑著回答。
(東野畢)駕馭馬車的技巧的確很棒，但是他必須要注意，我認為他的那些馬在很短的時間內就會發生問題。
魯王國的國王聽到這些話後，他的內心認為顏回是因為忌妒(東野畢)，所以才說了這些話。
這件事情發生的三天後，魯王國的國王聽到一個令他震驚的消息。
東野畢在駕馭馬車的時候發生了意外，有四匹馬掙脫韁繩跑掉了，其中兩匹馬不知道跑到那裡去了，另外有兩匹馬在跑掉之後就自己回到馬廄。
魯王國的國王聽到這個消息後，他就立刻召見顏回。他對顏回說。
你為何三天前就認定(東野畢)的那些馬在很短的時間內就會發生問題呢?你為何當時會這樣推論呢?
顏回恭敬地回答。
我是因為看了歷史書，所以才會這樣推論。
魯王國的國王很好奇的問。
你從歷史書中看到那些事情所以讓你產生這些推論呢?
顏回微笑著回答。
中國古代有一個著名的名字叫做(舜)的國王，他能夠把國家治理的非常好的原因是因為他治理國家的手段不會太緊繃也不會太放鬆，他保持著一種適當的彈性。
(東野畢)駕馭馬車的時候，他與他所駕御的那些馬在任何時候都保持一種非常緊繃的狀態，當比賽結束時，照理說他所駕御的馬匹的力量都已經用光了，可是東野畢仍然不停地驅趕他所駕御的那些馬匹。
因為我觀察到這個細節，所以我才會得到他的馬在短時間內會出問題的這個結論。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是聽聞一件事情之後就能推知兩件跟這件事情相關的事。
這句成語被延伸用來形容一個人非常聰明，這個人的反應很靈敏且擅長推理。
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。
你是否能夠客觀的評價自己與他人呢?你認為一個真正聰明的人應該要有怎樣的行為表現呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記-卷66-仲尼弟子列傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7067
出處為孔子家語-顏回