To Go South by Driving the Chariot Northward.pptVIP

To Go South by Driving the Chariot Northward —To Act in a Way That Defeats One’s Purpose南辕北辙 EL091 赵闻悦 Reference Strategies of the Warring States·Anecdotes of Wei State 《战国策》卷二十四《魏策》 On the way home, at the foot of Taihang Mountain there was a man preparing to drive his chariot north but he said that he was going to the State of Chu, situated in the south. Then there was someone said to him, “So you’re going to Chu, I see. But why take the road north?” His answer was that his horses were good enough for the journey. The other one said, “Good or not, the road you’re taking does not lead to Chu.” Then the man answered that he could afford the traveling expenses. The other one said, “You may have plenty of money, but your direction is wrong!” Again the man insisted that he had excellent drivers to make the journey. The other one retorted, “With good horses, skilful drivers and plenty of money, you’ll be further away from Chu.” 南辕北辙的典故 魏王为了称霸天下，打算攻打赵国的都城邯郸。大夫季梁急忙进宫劝说。为了说服魏王，季梁便讲了南辕北辙的故事。魏王听了季梁的故事，觉得很好笑，就问季梁：“天底下难道真有这么糊涂的人吗？”季梁说：“有，不光赵国有，我们魏国也有。”魏王不以为然地说：“什么？我们魏国也有？”季梁直言道：“是的，比如魏王您吧，您的志向是建立霸业，当诸侯的首领。为了这一目的，您倚仗国家的强大和军队的精良，想通过攻打赵国来扩大地盘和抬高威望。可您这样做，别的国家会怎样想呢？我觉得，您攻打别国的次数越多，离您实现霸业的目标就越远。这不正像那个人想去楚国而不朝南走，反而朝北走一样吗？”听了季梁的话，魏王遂打消了攻打赵国的念头。 Implication If the direction is wrong, the better ones conditions are, the further he is away from his destination. The idiom derived from this story indicates that ones action was the opposite effect to ones intention. Now it is used to mean being poles apart or acting in a way that defeats one’s purpose. 启示 寓言告诉我们，无论做什么事，都要首先看准方向，才能充分发挥自己的有利条件；如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。以上史事，形成成语“北辕适楚”，后来在流传过程中，人们习惯说作“南辕北辙”，并引申出另一个成语“背道而驰”，意义和“南辕北辙”相同。后人常用“南辕北辙”一词来比喻行动和目的相反。 When the Snipe and the Clam Grappled, It Was the Fisherman Who Stood to Benefit鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利 Reference Volume 2 of Anecdotes of Yan State in Strategies of the Warring States 《战国策》卷三十《燕策二》 A clam just came out to take the sun on the shore. A snipe came along to peck at its flesh, and the