獺祭魚(Otters arrange fish along the
riverbank as an offering to their ancestors.)
中國的宋王朝有一個著名的學者，他的名字叫做陸佃，他寫過一本書，這本書中紀錄了中國古代文獻中對於各種動物的文獻紀錄與這些動物的外貌與特徵。這本書中關於水獺這種動物的部分紀錄如下。
水獺的外形像狐狸，但身體的體型比狐狸稍小。水獺的皮毛呈現青黑色，皮膚就像蝙蝠一樣很有彈性。水獺居住在水邊，魚是他們的主要食物。
水獺有一個很少人知道的特性，牠們捕獲到魚之後，牠們會先把這些魚一條一條的排列在河岸邊，中國古代的人們很早就發現到這個特殊的現象，所以中國古代的一本經典書籍中寫著，人類祭祀人類的祖先時會把祭品排列在桌上，水獺祭祀水獺的祖先時會把魚排列在河邊，這是一個很有趣的類比。
水獺的中文名字可以拆解成左右兩邊，左邊代表依賴的意思，有邊代表動物的意思。
這水獺從這個中文名字中，我們就可以看出水獺的一種特行，這種特性就是水獺是一種非常依賴水的動物，牠們從出生到死亡都生活在水邊。
中國的宋王朝有另外一個著名的學者，這個學者的名字叫做吳炯。
吳炯在他寫的書中紀錄了一個故事。
中國的唐王朝有一個非常著名的叫做李商隱的詩人，他創作的態度非常嚴謹，他的詩中喜歡加入很多中國的歷史典故，李商隱在創作詩的時候，會把很多參考資料排列在他的書桌旁，所以當時的人們笑著說。
水獺把魚排列在河岸邊，水獺用這些魚祭祀水獺的祖先，我們覺得李商隱的行為模式跟水獺很像。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是水獺把魚排列在河岸邊，水獺用這些魚祭祀水獺的祖先。
這句成語被用來形容一個人寫文章時喜歡加入許多典故。
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。
你有發現過哪些動物的奇特的習性呢?你是否有哪些特殊的習慣呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為宋-陸佃-埤雅-釋獸-卷3-豺
出處為宋-吳炯-五總志
Otters arrange fish along the riverbank as
an offering to their ancestors.(獺祭魚)
During the Song dynasty in China, the
renowned scholar Lu Dian wrote a book documenting the descriptions of different
animals found in ancient Chinese literature, along with their appearances and
characteristics. The following section on otters is taken from this book:
Otters resemble foxes, but are slightly
smaller. Their fur is bluish-black and their skin is as elastic as a bat's.
Otters live near water and primarily eat fish.
They have a little-known characteristic:
after catching fish, they arrange them one by one along the riverbank. This
phenomenon was observed by ancient Chinese people early on. According to a
classic Chinese text, just as humans arrange offerings on a table to worship
their ancestors, otters arrange fish along the riverbank to worship theirs—a
fascinating contrast.
The Chinese name for otter can be broken
down into two parts representing left and right. The left side represents
dependence, while the right side represents the animal itself.
This Chinese name reflects a key otter
characteristic: they are creatures that rely heavily on water, living near it
from birth to death.
During the Song dynasty in China, there was
a famous scholar named Wu Jiong.
He recorded a story in his book.
During the Tang dynasty in China, there was
a famous poet named Li Shangyin. He had a rigorous approach to writing and his
poems often incorporated historical references. When he was composing poetry,
he would arrange reference books beside his desk one by one, and people at the
time jokingly said...
'Otters arrange fish on the riverbank;
otters use these fish to worship their ancestors.' We feel that Li Shangyin's
behaviour was very similar to that of otters.
This idiom translates directly as
"Otters arrange fish along the riverbank as an offering to their
ancestors.".
This idiom is used to describe someone who
likes to include lots of references in their writing.
Dear friend, what inspiration or ideas did
you gain from this story?
Have you noticed any unusual habits in
animals? Do you have any peculiar habits?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.