In essence, he was a sheep, but he wore the
skin of a tiger.(虎皮羊質)
There was a famous minister during the Han
dynasty in China who was also a renowned philosopher and Confucian scholar
named Yang Xiong.
He once wrote a book imitating the
structure and style of Confucius's Analects. The second volume of this book
contains the following short story:
One day, Yang Xiong's friend said to him:
'If a man came before you today and said
his name was Kong Qiu and his friends called him Kong Zhongni when he came of
age, what would you think?'
He lived in Confucius's home in Qufu and
was resting in the hall, wearing the clothes Confucius liked to wear. This
man's appearance was almost identical to Confucius'.
Do you think this man is really
Confucius?"
Yang Xiong smiled and replied:
'The answer is simple. I can test this
man's true nature through some simple tests. By observing his nature, I can
determine whether he is truly Confucius.'
Yang Xiong's friend said.
'So you mean a person's appearance can be
imitated, but their essence cannot?'
Yang Xiong answered.
Yes, let me give another example to
illustrate the relationship between essence and appearance.
Suppose we have a sheep and put a tiger's
skin on it.
The sheep's essence won't change. It would
still love to eat grass and would still be afraid of wolves. It won't change
its character or habits just because it's wearing a tiger's skin.'
Historians say that Yang Xiong lived at the
end of the Western Han dynasty. Many Confucian scholars at that time merely
recited the Confucian classics and imitated Confucius' words and actions;
however, these people lacked true inner cultivation. In his book, Yang Xiong
used this story to express his observations and criticisms of these
hypocritical individuals.
The idiom literally translates as 'In
essence, he was a sheep, but he wore the skin of a tiger.'
It is used to describe someone who appears
strong but is weak inside; someone who is all show and no substance.
Dear friend,
What did you take away from this story?
What noteworthy phenomena exist in your
society? Do you think your appearance matches your inner self?
I hope this story offers you some insight.
虎皮羊質(In essence, he was a sheep, but he
wore the skin of a tiger.)
中國的漢王朝有一位著名的大臣，他也是一個很著名的哲學家，他還是一個儒家的學者，他的名字叫做(揚雄)。
揚雄曾經仿造孔夫子的論語這本書的結構與表現方式寫了一本書，這本書中的第二卷中有一個小故事如下。
有一天，揚雄的朋友對揚雄說。
如果今天有一個男人來到你的面前，這個男人對你說，他的名字是孔丘，他成年後他的朋友稱呼他為孔仲尼。
這個男人住在孔子位於曲阜這座城市的家裏面，坐在孔子家裡的大廳中休息，他穿著孔子生前最喜歡穿的衣服，這個男人的外表的打扮跟孔子幾乎一模一樣。
請問，你認為這個男人真的是孔子本人嗎?
揚雄笑著回答。
這個答案很簡單，我可以透過一些簡單的測試來測試這個男人的本質，透過對這個男人所展現的本質，我就可以確定這個男人是否真的是孔子。
揚雄的朋友說。
所以你的意思是一個人的外表可以模仿，但是這個人的本質並無法改變對嗎?
揚雄回答。
對的，我再舉一個例子來說明本質與外表的關係。
假設我們有一隻羊，我們為這隻羊披上了一張老虎的外皮。
這隻羊的本質並不會跟著改變，這隻羊還是一樣喜歡吃草，這隻羊也會因為看見狼來了而感到驚恐，這隻羊並不會因為身上披了一張老虎的皮就改變了自己的本來的性格與習性。
根據歷史學者的研究，揚雄生活在西漢王朝末年，當時的許多儒家學者只會背誦儒家經典與模仿孔子的言行舉止，但這些人缺乏真正的內在修養。揚雄在他的書中，藉由這個故事提出他對社會現象的觀察與批評這些虛偽的人。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是他的本質是羊但是他披著老虎的外皮。
這句成語被用來形容一個人的外表強大但內在軟弱，這個人虛有其表。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或是想法呢。
你認為你生活的社會中有那些值得注意的現象呢?你認為你的外表與你的內在相符合嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一點收穫。
出處為漢-揚雄-法言-吾子-12條