Let our experts in the jade market assess
this piece of jade and offer a price.(待價而沽)
The Zhou dynasty in China lasted from 1046
BC to 256 BC.
The period from 770 BC to 476 BC is known
as the Spring and Autumn period, while the period from 476 BC to 221 BC is known
as the Warring States period.
At that time, the highest leader of China
was the king of the Zhou dynasty.
The Zhou king established more than 100
vassal states, each of which became a kingdom.
These kingdoms waged many fierce wars for
land and resources. Sometimes they cooperated and sometimes they were hostile
towards each other — it was an extremely chaotic era.
It was also a golden age of Chinese
thought, with many famous philosophers and thinkers living during this time.
These thinkers proposed solutions to the social and human problems of the time.
Some believed that moral education was
needed to stabilise society, while others emphasised the need for clear laws to
build a better society.
To strengthen their kingdoms, the various
kings tried the different methods proposed by these thinkers, resulting in
various social experiments being conducted in different Chinese kingdoms.
Confucius was one of these thinkers. He
lived in the Kingdom of Lu and hoped to implement his ideas there to strengthen
the kingdom and its people. However, the King of Lu did not value his theories,
so Confucius was not valued either.
Confucius had a student named Duanmu Ci who
was eloquent and clever with words. He was also a skilled businessman and a
successful merchant. One day, Duanmu Ci showed Confucius an exceptionally large
and beautiful piece of jade.
I recently acquired an exceptional piece of
jade from its place of origin. As jade symbolises high moral character and
talent, I would like to keep it as a treasure. However, it could fetch a very
high price, so I'm also considering selling it. If you were me, what would you
do?
Confucius looked at the jade in Duanmu Ci's
hand and suddenly felt that his current situation was like that of this hard,
warm-colored, and lustrous jade, not yet available on the open market.
Therefore, he said to Duanmu Ci:
'Sell this jade! Sell this jade!"
'Let the experts assess its value and offer
a price.'
Let the market validate its value; let more
people see its worth.'
This idiom translates directly as: 'Let the
experts in the market assess its value and offer a price.'
It is used to describe someone waiting for
the right opportunity or for someone who can recognise their talents to appear.
It is also used to describe a product
waiting for more buyers to offer a better price.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Have you ever felt that your talents could
not be fully utilised? How do you adjust your mindset when your ideals are
thwarted?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
待價而沽(Let our experts in the jade market
assess this piece of jade and offer a price.)
中國周王朝的政權從公元前1046年延續到公元前256年。
其中從公元前770年到公元前476年這段時間被稱為春秋時代，公元前476年到公元前221年這段時間被稱為戰國時代
當時中國的最高領導人是周王朝的國王。
周王朝的國王把土地分封給100多個諸侯，這些諸侯各自成立的自己的王國。
這些王國之間為了爭奪土地與資源而發生許多慘烈的戰爭，這些王國之間有時候相互合作有時候彼此敵對，那是一個極度混亂的年代。
那是一個中國思想上的黃金時代，有許多著名的思想家生活在那個年代，這些思想家針對當時的社會問題與人生問題提出了各自認為最好的解決的辦法和思想。
有些思想家認為要用道德教育來讓社會更安定，有些思想家強調要用明確的法律來建構一個更好的社會。
當時各王國的國王為了讓自己的王國更強大，所以各個王國的國王分別嘗試了這些思想家所提出的各種方法，當時的中國的各個王國中進行著各種不同類型的社會實驗。
孔子就是這些思想家的其中之一，他生活在魯王國，他迫切地希望可以在自己所生活的王國中推廣自己的理念並且讓自己的王國變得更加強大，人民生活變得更加安定。但是當時的魯王國的國王並不喜歡他的理論與思想，所以他一直沒有受到重視。
孔子有一個學生的名字叫做端木賜的學生，他有著鋒利的口才與巧妙的言詞。他很擅長經商，他還是一個成功的商人。有一天，端木賜拿著一塊非常大而且美麗的玉石對孔子說。
我最近從玉石的原產地取得了一塊品質非常棒的玉石，玉石能夠代表一個人的品德高尚而且很有才能，所以我想要把這塊玉石當作自己的珍藏，但是這塊玉石的可以賣出很高的價格，我又有點想要把這塊玉石賣掉，如果你是我，你會做出何種選擇呢?
孔子看著端木賜的手中的這塊玉石，他的心中突然覺得自己的處境就像是這塊尚未在公開市場上流通的質地堅硬而且色澤溫暖又有光澤的玉石一樣，所以他對端木賜說。
把這塊玉石拿去賣掉吧，把這塊玉石拿去賣掉吧。
這塊玉石的價值與價格，就讓市場上那些懂得玉石的行家來評估與提出買價吧。
讓這塊玉石可以被市場驗證它的價值，讓這塊玉石被更多人看見它的價值。
這句成語直些翻譯的意思是待價而沽。
這句成語在這個語境中的意思是這塊玉石的價值與價格，就讓市場上那些懂得玉石的行家來評估與提出買價吧。
這句成語被引申使用形容一個人等待好的時機，等待那些可以發覺自己的才能的人的出現。
這句成語被引申使用形容一件商品在等待更多的買家提出更好的買價。
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。
你是否曾經覺得自己的才能沒有辦法得到充分的發揮呢?當你的理想受挫時，你會怎樣調整自己的心態呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為論語-子罕
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%AB%96%E8%AA%9E/%E5%AD%90%E7%BD%95%E7%AC%AC%E4%B9%9D