Once, you loved me as deeply as you loved Xiao Shi. Now, I am a stranger you pass on the street, someone you must pretend not to know.(蕭郎陌路)
Once, you loved me as deeply as you loved
Xiao Shi. Now, I am a stranger you pass on the street, someone you must pretend
not to know.(蕭郎陌路)
In Tang Dynasty China, there was a man
named Cui Jiao. He only passed the first stage of the imperial examination. He
once wrote a poem which has been loved by people throughout the ages. He became
one of the few poets in Chinese history to be remembered for just one poem.
The inspiration for Cui Jiao's poem came
from his love story. This short poem, comprising just 28 characters, contains a
phrase that was commonly used at the time and which later became an idiom. Two
other idioms were also derived from this poem.
The story behind Cui Jiao's poem ends as
follows:
Cui Jiao fell deeply in love with a maid in
his aunt's household. However, this maid was later sold to a famous Tang
Dynasty minister by his aunt, forcing the lovers to separate.
Since their forced separation, Cui Jiao had
often been seen in the vicinity of the minister's house. He would stand alone
outside the gate, gazing at the massive door and desperately hoping that it
would suddenly open to reveal his beloved maidservant. But the door remained
closed.
In ancient China, there was an important
festival called the Cold Food Festival, which took place on the 105^(th) day
after the winter solstice each year.
Several months after the maid was sold, on
the day of the Cold Food Festival, Cui Jiao went to the minister's gate after
finishing his work, as he habitually did. He stood under the willow tree as
usual, staring blankly at the gate. Suddenly, the gate opened and he saw his
maid hurry out. He couldn't believe his eyes; he stood there, stunned.
The maid also saw Cui Jiao standing under
the willow tree opposite the gate. She stopped suddenly, stunned, and stood
there.
They slowly walked towards each other. As
they drew nearer, they looked at each other. They stood on the bustling street,
unable to embrace or hold hands, silently shedding tears.
Time seemed to stand still. After about a
minute or two, they greeted each other. They both knew that this might be their
last meeting. Cui Jiao handed the maid a poem he had written. After receiving
the poem, the maid said to Cui Jiao, 'I miss you very much. I still love you,
but I think we can no longer be together. Please take care of yourself. I have
been given a task to perform and must leave.'
After saying this, she turned and left.
For some reason, the poem that Cui Jiao had
written to the maid was later seen by a high-ranking official. The official
ordered his men to bring Cui Jiao to his home. Seeing the powerful official,
Cui Jiao felt both fear and nervousness; he didn't know why the official wanted
to see him.
The official looked at Cui Jiao, took out
the poem and read it aloud. He said,
'I, the man you once loved deeply, like
Xiao Shi, have become a stranger whom you must pretend not to know when you
pass him on the street.
This poem is very well written.'
Hearing this, Cui Jiao didn't understand the
official's intentions and didn't know how to respond.
Seeing he embarrassed state, the official
smiled faintly and said,
'I already know the story between you and
my maidservant. Your love has deeply moved me. If I had known earlier, I
wouldn't have bought this maid from your aunt.'
'If you have the chance, you can marry the
maid I bought. Will you treat her well?"
Hearing the minister's words, Cui Jiao
thought he was joking, but he answered seriously nonetheless: "Of course I
will treat her well. She is the woman I love most."
Upon hearing Cui Jiao's words, the minister
smiled and turned to the maid standing beside him. "I only spent 400,000
copper coins to buy you," he said to her. It's not a large sum. I have
decided to grant your wish. I will marry her to you as if she were my daughter
and provide her with a dowry. From today onwards, you two can be together again.'
Cui Jiao and the maid were completely
unprepared for such a strange turn of events. They held hands excitedly, tears
of joy streaming down their faces.
This idiom translates directly as: 'The man
you once loved deeply, like Xiao Shi, has become a stranger you pass by on the
street, whom you must pretend not to know.'
It describes a person's state of mind after
breaking up with their lover and treating them like a complete stranger.
Dear friend, what are your thoughts or
feelings after hearing this story?
Do you think two people can still be friends after a breakup? Why do you think the minister made that decision?
I hope this story gives you some new insights.
蕭郎陌路(Once, you loved me as deeply as you
loved Xiao Shi. Now, I am a stranger you pass on the street, someone you must
pretend not to know.)
中國的唐王朝有一個名字叫做崔郊的男子，他只通過了科舉考試的第一關，他曾經寫了一首詩，他這首詩後來被歷代的人們所喜愛，他成了少數幾個因為一首詩而留名在中國歷史上的詩人。
崔郊寫這首詩的背景是起因於他的感情故事，這首短短的只有28個字的詩中有一句當時常用的詞句後來變成成語，另外從這首詩中另外延伸出了兩句成語。
崔郊寫出這首詩的背景故事的結局如下。
崔郊與他的姑姑家中的一個婢女陷入熱戀，但是這個婢女後來被他的姑姑賣給了
唐朝的一個著名的大臣，這對戀人被迫分離。
自從他們兩個人被迫分開後，崔郊便常常走到那個大臣的家的週邊，他常常一個人站在那個大臣的家裡的大門外，他看著那扇巨大的門，他非常期待這扇門突然打開而且他所愛的那個婢女出現在那扇門後，但是那扇門卻一直沒有開啟。
古代的中國有一個非常重要的節日，這個節日的名字是(寒食節)，這個節日的日期是每年的冬至後的第105天。
那個婢女被賣掉的幾個月後，寒食節的那一天，崔郊忙完他該做的工作之後，他又習慣性地走到了那個大臣家的門口，他站在他平常站著的一株柳樹下，他看著那扇大門發呆，突然之間，那扇大門打開了，他看到他所在的那個婢女匆忙地走出那扇大門，他不敢相信自己的眼睛，他因為震驚而整個人呆呆地站在原地。
那個婢女也看到了站在大門對面的柳樹下的崔郊，那個婢女原本匆忙的腳步突然靜止，她也呆呆地站在原地。
他們兩個人慢慢走向彼此，他們兩個人走近之後彼此對望，他們兩個人站在熱鬧的馬路上，他們兩個人無法擁抱，他們兩個人也不敢牽手，他們兩個人沉默地流下了眼淚。
時間好像停止了，大約一兩分鐘之後，他們兩個人彼此問好，他們兩個人知道這次見面後很有可能再也無法相見，崔郊把他寫好的一首詩交給那個婢女，那個婢女拿到這首詩後對崔郊說，我很想你，我還是愛你，但是我想我們兩個人已經不可能再一起了，你要多照顧自己，我被交代了任務要去辦事，我必須離開了。
說完這些話後，那個婢女就轉身離開。
崔郊寫給這個婢女的這首詩後來因為一些原因，竟然被那個大臣看到了，那個大臣吩咐他的手下把崔郊帶到他的家中，崔郊看到那個掌握著巨大權力的大臣，他的心中感到又恐懼又緊張，他不知道為何那個大臣要找他。
那個大臣看著崔郊，他拿出崔郊寫的那首詩並且念了一次，那個大臣說。
我這個妳曾經深愛的像是(蕭史)一樣的男人就變成了一個在路上交錯而過而要故意裝作不認識的陌生人。
這句詩寫得非常好啊。
崔郊聽到這些話後，他不知道那個大臣的意圖，他不知道該如何回答。
那個大臣看到崔郊那個窘迫的樣子，他淡淡的笑了，他對崔郊說。
你跟我的婢女之間的故事我都已經知道了，你們兩個人之間的愛情讓我感到非常的感動，如果我早知道這件事情，我就不會從跟你的姑姑買下這個婢女。
如果有機會，你可以跟我買下的那個婢女結婚，你會好好的對待她嗎?
崔郊聽到大臣的話，他的心中覺得那個大臣跟他開玩笑，但他還是很認真地說。我當然會好好的對待她，她是我最愛的女人。
那個大臣聽到崔郊的話後微笑著對著站在他身邊的婢女與對崔郊說。
我買下這個婢女的錢也才40萬個銅錢而已，這筆錢也不算太多，我決定要成全你們，我把那個婢女當作我的女兒一樣嫁給你，我還會給她一份嫁妝，讓她跟你結婚，從今天開始，你們兩個人可以再一起了。
崔郊與那個婢女完全沒有想到這件事情會有這麼奇特的發展，他們兩個人興奮地彼此拉著手，他們兩個人又流下了眼淚，但是這次流下的是開心的眼淚。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是我這個妳曾經深愛的像是(蕭史)一樣的男人就變成了一個在路上交錯而過而要故意裝作不認識的陌生人。
這句成語被用來形容一個人看到自己與愛人分手後，把對方當作一個路人的一種狀態。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你認為兩個人分手之後還可以當朋友嗎?你認為那個大臣為何會做出這樣的決定呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為全唐詩話-卷4-崔郊
出處為雲谿友議-卷上-襄陽傑
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E9%9B%B2%E8%B0%BF%E5%8F%8B%E8%AD%B0