指鹿為馬的故事
秦二世時,丞相趙高野心勃勃,日夜盤算着要篡奪皇位。可朝中大臣有多少人能聽他擺佈,有多少人反對他,他心中沒底。於是,他想了一個辦法,準備試一試自己的威信,同時也可以摸清敢於反對他的人。
一天上朝時,趙高讓人牽來一隻鹿,滿臉堆笑地對秦二世説:“陛下,我獻給您一匹好馬。”秦二世一看,心想:這哪裏是馬,這分明是一隻鹿嘛!便笑着對趙高説:“丞相搞錯了,這裏一隻鹿,你怎麼説是馬呢?”趙高面不改色心不跳地説:“請陛下看清楚,這的確是一匹千里馬。”秦二世又看了看那隻鹿,將信將疑地説:“馬的頭上怎麼會長角呢?”趙高一轉身,用手指着眾大臣,大聲説:“陛下如果不信我的話,可以問問眾位大臣。”
大臣們都被趙高的一派胡言搞得不知所措,私下裏嘀咕:這個趙高搞什麼名堂?是鹿是馬這不是明擺着嗎!當看到趙高臉上露出陰險的笑容,兩隻眼睛骨碌碌輪流地盯着趙高臉上露出陰險的笑容,兩隻眼睛骨碌碌輪流地盯着每個人的時候,大臣們忽然明白了他的用意。
一些膽小又有正義感的人都低下頭,不敢説話,因為説假話,對不起自己的良心,説真話又怕日後被趙高所害。有些正直的人,堅持認為是説明書而不是馬。還有一些平時就緊跟趙高的奸佞之人立刻表示擁護趙高的説法,對皇上説,“這確是一匹千里馬!”
事後,趙高通過各種手段把那些不順從自己的正直大臣紛紛治罪,甚至滿門抄斬。
故事出自《史記·秦始皇本紀》。成語“指鹿為馬”比喻故意顛倒是非,混淆黑白。
calling a stag a horsein the reign of emperor the second of the qin dynasty (221-207 b.c.), the prime minister zhao gao, obsessed with ambitions, was planning to usurp the throne day and night. but he did not know how many of the ministers in the court were allowed to be ordered about by him and how many of them were his opponents. so he thought out a way to test how high his prestige among the ministers was and also to find out who dared to oppose him. one day when court was held, zhao gao let someone bring a stag to the court and, with a broad smile on his face, he said to emperor the second of the qin dynasty:"your majesty, here is a fine horse i'm presenting to you." looking at the animal, emperor the second thought that it was obviously a stag and that it couldn't be a horse. so he said smilingly to zhao gao:"mister prime minister, you are wrong. this is a stay. why do you say it is a horse?" remaining calm, zhao gao said:"will your majesty please see more clearly? this really is a horse that covers a thousand li a day." filled with suspicion, emperor the second looked at the stag again and said:"how can the antlers be grown on the head of a horse?" turning around and pointing his finger at the ministers, zhao gao said in a loud voice:"if our majesty do not believe me, you can ask the ministers." the nonsense of zhao gao made the ministers totally at a lose, and they whispered to themselves: what tricks was zhao gao playing? was it not obvious whether it was a stag or a horse? but when they saw the sinister smile on zhao gao's face and his two rolling eyes which were gazing at each of them, they suddenly understood his evil intentions. some of the ministers who were timid and yet had a sense of right eousness did not dare to say anything, because to tell lies would make their conscience uneasy and to tell the truth would mean that they would be persecuted by zhao gao later. some ministers with a sense of justice persisted that it was a stag and not a horse. there were still some crafty and fawning ministers who followed zhao gao closely in ordinary times. they immediately voiced their support to zhao gao, saying to the emperor:"this really in a horse that covers a thousand li a day." after the event, zhao gao punished by various means those ministers with a sense of justice who were not obedient to him, even with whole families of some of those ministers executed. this story appears in "the life of the first emperor of the qin dynasty" in the historical records written by sima qian. from this story people have derived the set phrase "calling a stag a horse" to mean deliberately misrepresenting some thing and misleading the public.
-
洛陽紙貴的故事
晉代文學家左思,小時候是個非常頑皮、不愛讀書的孩子。父親經常為這事發脾氣,可是小左思仍然淘氣得很,不肯好好學習。有一天,左思的父親與朋友們聊天,朋友們羨慕他有個聰明可愛的兒子。左思的父親歎口氣説:快別提他了,小兒左思的學習,還不如我小時候,看來沒有多大的出息...
-
抱薪救火的故事
戰國末期,秦國向魏國接連發動大規模的進攻,魏國無力抵抗,大片土地都被秦軍佔領了。到公元前273年,秦國又一次向魏國出兵,勢頭空前猛烈。魏王把大臣們召來,愁眉苦臉地問大家有沒有使秦國退兵的辦法。大臣們由於經過多年的戰亂,提起打仗就嚇得哆嗦,誰也不敢談抵抗二字。...
-
掩耳盜鈴的故事
春秋時侯,晉國貴族智伯滅掉了範氏。有人趁機跑到範氏家裏想偷點東西,看見院子裏吊着一口大鐘。鍾是用上等青銅鑄成的,造型和圖案都很精美。小偷心裏高興極了,想把這口精美的大鐘揹回自已家去。可是鍾又大又重,怎麼也挪不動。他想來想去,只有一個辦法,那就是把鐘敲碎,然...
-
勢如破竹的故事
三國末年,晉武帝司馬炎滅掉蜀國,奪取魏國政權以後,準備出兵攻打東吳,實現統一全中國的願望。他召集文武大臣們商量滅大計。多數人認為,吳國還有一定實力,一舉消滅它恐怕不易,不如有了足夠的準備再説。大將杜預不同意多數人的看法,寫了一道奏章給晉武帝。杜預認為,必須趁...