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朝三暮四 (zhao1 san1 mu4 si4) Monkeying around
March 21, 2010, Sunday
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IN English, people use adjectives such as "capricious," "wayward" and "arbitrary" to describe anyone who is erratic and changeable. Such persons also remind us of phrases including "blowing hot and cold" and "playing fast and loose."
But in Chinese, we tend to label changeable persons with the popular idiom zhao1 san1 mu4 si4, or "three in the morning and four in the evening."
Originally, the story behind this Chinese idiom did not concern man but his primate cousin - the monkey. The story goes like this:
During the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), there was an old man called Ju Gong living in the State of Song. The old man loved monkeys. So he raised a large group of the primates near his home and, every day, spent most of his time with his pets.
Gradually, Ju Gong began to know the psychology of the monkeys and the latter began to understand their master's language. As a result, they could communicate with each other in a special way, and the old man and the monkeys all had many good times together.
But the monkeys were big eaters. Although Ju Gong tried hard to save as much food as possible from the mouths of his own family for the pets, he still could not find enough to feed them. Therefore, one morning, the old man came to discuss the food shortage problem with the monkeys.
Since he knew that his pets would not be happy about food rationing, he decided to take advantage of the psychological characteristics of the monkeys to trick them into accepting his plan.
The old man told the monkeys: "Starting today, I will feed each of you three acorns in the morning and four in the evening. Is that enough?"
With angry expressions on their faces, the monkeys jumped wildly around their master in protest against the cut in food supply. Then Ju Gong said: "Okay, okay. I'll give you four acorns in the morning and three in the evening. Does that satisfy you mischievous creatures?"
The monkeys thought the old man had raised the food ration and became very happy. Imitating what ancient people did, the moneys kowtowed to the old man to express their gratitude.
So when the idiom of zhao1 san1 mu4 si4 first found its way into the Chinese language, it was used to describe someone using tricks to cheat others. Later on, however, it gained a new meaning of "being capricious and changeable."
Today, the idiom is usually cited in accordance with its new meaning and few remember its origins.
But in Chinese, we tend to label changeable persons with the popular idiom zhao1 san1 mu4 si4, or "three in the morning and four in the evening."
Originally, the story behind this Chinese idiom did not concern man but his primate cousin - the monkey. The story goes like this:
During the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), there was an old man called Ju Gong living in the State of Song. The old man loved monkeys. So he raised a large group of the primates near his home and, every day, spent most of his time with his pets.
Gradually, Ju Gong began to know the psychology of the monkeys and the latter began to understand their master's language. As a result, they could communicate with each other in a special way, and the old man and the monkeys all had many good times together.
But the monkeys were big eaters. Although Ju Gong tried hard to save as much food as possible from the mouths of his own family for the pets, he still could not find enough to feed them. Therefore, one morning, the old man came to discuss the food shortage problem with the monkeys.
Since he knew that his pets would not be happy about food rationing, he decided to take advantage of the psychological characteristics of the monkeys to trick them into accepting his plan.
The old man told the monkeys: "Starting today, I will feed each of you three acorns in the morning and four in the evening. Is that enough?"
With angry expressions on their faces, the monkeys jumped wildly around their master in protest against the cut in food supply. Then Ju Gong said: "Okay, okay. I'll give you four acorns in the morning and three in the evening. Does that satisfy you mischievous creatures?"
The monkeys thought the old man had raised the food ration and became very happy. Imitating what ancient people did, the moneys kowtowed to the old man to express their gratitude.
So when the idiom of zhao1 san1 mu4 si4 first found its way into the Chinese language, it was used to describe someone using tricks to cheat others. Later on, however, it gained a new meaning of "being capricious and changeable."
Today, the idiom is usually cited in accordance with its new meaning and few remember its origins.
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