日期: 2022-05-13
The 10th Chinese old saying, that we are going to introduce is called “When my index finger jumps by itself.” In Chinese its 食指大動. It is used when someone feels hungry seeing something special and delicious coming his way.
This old saying is melodramatic in that a ruler got killed simply because he had failed to treat someone anxious with turtle meat at the royal banquet. The year was 605 BC, one day Prince Gi Song and Prince Gi Guisung of the Zhen state met each other on their way to the royal court. No sooner had them begun chatting than Gi Song’s index finger started jumping here and there by itself. Amazed and surprised, Gi Guisung asked for the reason why, when Gi Song said: “I was born that way, and myindex finger always does that whenever something good to eat is coming my way.”
About the Zhen State, we have mentioned it in both the second and fourth previous Chinese old sayings. In the second old saying, Zhen Chuang Duke in early 722 BC had wiped out his younger brother Gi Shuduan’s rebellion, while in the fourth episode, Zhen Zhau Duke, Gi Hoo, had turned down Chi She Duke’s marriage proposals twice in 706 BC. During those days, the Zhen State was still regarded as amilitarily influential power among the vassal statesaround it only to be replaced later by the Chi Statearound 680 BC and Jean State around 630 BC as two subsequent great powers.
Earlier that day, a special gift from the Chew State had been carried to the royal court, which happened to be a huge turtle weighing over 100 kilo caught in the Han River, a tributary to the Yantze River, as the second largest river in China running through the whole areas in southern China. At the time, the Chew State was in the south, with the size of its territory even larger than that of the Chi State in the east, Jean State in the north, and Chin State in the West. The Zhen State, unfortunately happened to be located in the middle of these four greatpowers giving it lots of headaches each and every time when these four powers had issues among themselves forcing the Zhen State to take sides, which we will talk more in our subsequent episodes.
When the two princes saw their master Jean Lin Duke in the royal court coming their way to tell them that they were invited to the turtle soup banquet in the afternoon, when they started bursting into laughers hollering that Gi Song’s jumping index finger was right again. Being confused, the Jean Lin Duke asked why, to which the two princes explained that the magic that Gi Song’s index finger could do each and every time – as if it wassomething funny to say.
But the Jean Lin Duke wanted to have his own fun too, thinking it was his turn to play a prank because, after all, he was the only one who could decide who would have a taste of the turtle soup. He then instructed the servants to ladle out the turtle soup to everyone one after one until there was nothing left when it came to Gi Song’s turn.
Seeing his little trick had worked, Jean Lin Duke saidsarcastically: “May be your jumping index finger has failed you this time.” Infuriated by being made the laughingstock in front of everyone, Gi Song jumped over his table and ran to reach the master’s table a few feet away. He then scooped a chunk of the turtle meat from the master’s bowl with his bare hand and swallowed the meat in a split second saying at the same time in a provocative tone: “See, the index finger still works!” Then he left without apologizing to his master, which later turned out to have been a stupid thing to do.
Now it was the Jean Lin Duke’s turn to feel embarrassed and thought that there was no way he could let Gi Song get away with it, saying: “This has gone far enough! Doesn’t he know that this country still has enough weaponry to cut off people’s head?” Gi Guisan had tried hard to help patch things up the next day by asking Gi Song to apologize and to make peace with the Jean Lin Duke, but Gi Song refused by claiming that it was the master who had been rude first and therefore should apologize first.
A couple of days had passed, but no one apologized. Knowing that there was no way his master could have bury the hatchet, Gi Song had decided to nip it in the budby having the Jean Lin Duke murdered while he was asleep by himself in the worshiping temple the followingday after he had performed the autumn worshiping ceremony as required of him as the master of the country. According to the story, what had happened was that Gi Song first bribed someone close to the Jean Lin Duke day in and day out to place a bag full of wet clayon Jean Lin Duke’s chest to virtually have crushed him to death without wounds or blood being shown from outside claiming that he had been possessed by the spirits in the temple.
貼文者：Mariia