Ever get really worked up over something, only to realize it was all in your head?
西晋时，有一个叫乐广的人，他非常好客，常常邀请朋友到家中喝酒聊天。
有一次，他请一位朋友来家里喝酒。那位朋友正举杯要喝时，突然低头一看，发现自己的酒杯里仿佛有一条小蛇在游动。他顿时感到一阵恶心，但碍于情面，还是硬着头皮把酒喝了下去。
喝完酒后，这位朋友回到家，越想越不对劲，总觉得那条蛇已经进了自己的肚子里。从那以后，他整天忧心忡忡，茶饭不思，最终病倒在床，吃什么药都不见效。
乐广听说朋友病重的消息，赶忙前去探望。朋友支支吾吾地说出了实情：“上次在你家喝酒时，我不小心把一条蛇喝进了肚子里。”
乐广觉得非常奇怪，回到家后在大厅里走来走去，反复思索。突然，他抬头看见了墙壁上挂着一张彩色的角弓，弓上用漆画着一条栩栩如生的蛇。他心中一动，立刻明白了。
于是，乐广再次把朋友请到家中，仍旧让他坐在原来的位置，并给他倒上一杯酒。朋友低头一看，惊叫起来：“蛇！又有一条蛇！”乐广哈哈大笑，指着墙上的弓说：“你再看清楚，杯子里面的，不过是墙上那张弓的影子罢了！”
朋友疑惑地抬头看看墙上的弓，又低头看看杯中的“蛇”，这才恍然大悟，原来自己一直以为喝下去的那条蛇，不过是弓的倒影。他心里的疑虑和恐惧瞬间烟消云散，沉重的病情也立刻好转了。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| <p>好客 | hàokè | hospitable |
| 举杯 | jǔbēi | to raise one’s cup |
| 恶心 | ěxīn | nauseous; disgusted |
| 忧心忡忡 | yōuxīnchōngchōng | deeply worried; anxious |
| 茶饭不思 | cháfànbùsī | to lose one’s appetite (from worry) |
| 支支吾吾 | zhīzhīwúwú | to hem and haw; to stammer |
| 栩栩如生 | xǔxǔrúshēng | lifelike; vivid |
| 恍然大悟 | huǎngrándàwù | to suddenly realize; to see the light |
| 烟消云散 | yānxiāoyúnsàn | to vanish like smoke; to disappear completely |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 晋 | jìn | to advance; Jin (state) |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 乐 | Lè | surname Le |
| 广 | yǎn | "house on a cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 53), occurring in 店, 序, 底 etc; surname Guang |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 好客 | hào kè | hospitality; to treat guests well; to enjoy having guests; hospitable; friendly |
| 常常 | cháng cháng | frequently; often |
| 邀 | yao | to invite; to intercept; to seek |
| 请 | qǐng | to ask; to invite; please (do sth); to treat (to a meal etc); to request |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 到家 | dào jiā | perfect; excellent; brought to the utmost degree |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 喝 | hē | to drink; variant of 嗬[he1] |
| 酒 | jǐu | wine (esp. rice wine); liquor; spirits; alcoholic beverage; CL:杯[bei1],瓶[ping2],罐[guan4],桶[tong3],缸[gang1] |
| 聊 | liāo | (coll.) to chat; (literary) somewhat; slightly |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 有一次 | yǒu yī cì | once; once upon a time |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 位 | wèi | position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 家里 | jiā lǐ | home |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 低 | dī | low; beneath; to lower (one's head); to let droop; to hang down; to incline |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 酒杯 | jǐu bēi | wine cup |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 仿 | fǎng | to imitate; to copy; variant of 仿[fang3] |
| 佛 | fū | Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2]) |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 蛇 | shé | variant of 蛇[she2]; snake; serpent; CL:條|条[tiao2] |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 游 | Yóu | surname You; to walk; to tour; to roam; to travel |
| 动 | dòng | (of sth) to move; to set in movement; to displace; to touch; to make use of; to stir (emotions); to alter; abbr. for 動詞|动词[dong4 ci2], verb |
| 顿时 | dùn shí | immediately; suddenly |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 一阵 | yī zhèn | a burst; a fit; a peal; a spell (period of time) |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 碍 | ǎi | to hinder; to block |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 情面 | qíng miàn | feelings and sensibilities; sentiment and face; sensitivity to other's feelings |
| 还是 | hái shi | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or |
| 硬 | yìng | hard; stiff; solid; (fig.) strong; firm; resolutely; uncompromisingly; laboriously; with great difficulty; good (quality); able (person); (of food) filling; substantial |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 皮 | Pí | surname Pi |
| 把酒 | bǎ jǐu | to raise one's wine cup |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 下去 | xià qù | to go down; to descend; to go on; to continue; (of a servant) to withdraw |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 这位 | zhè wèi | this (person) |
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 越 | Yuè | generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods; abbr. for Vietnam 越南 |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 不对劲 | bù duì jìn | not in good condition; wrong; fishy |
| 总 | zǒng | (bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zong3… |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 进 | jìn | to go forward; to advance; to go in; to enter; to put in; to submit; to take in; to admit; (math.) base of a number system; classifier for sections in a building or residential com… |
| 肚 | dǔ | tripe |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 病 | bìng | illness; CL:場|场[chang2]; disease; to fall ill; defect |
| 倒 | dǎo | to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow; to change (trains or buses); to move around; to resell at a profit |
| 床 | chuáng | bed; couch (furniture that one can lie down on) (CL:張|张[zhang1]); bed; bottom (of rivers, oceans, gardens etc); frame; chassis; classifier for blankets, quilts etc; variant of 床[chuang2] |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 药 | yào | leaf of the iris; variant of 藥|药[yao4]; medicine; drug; substance used for a specific purpose (e.g. poisoning, explosion, fermenting); CL:種|种[zhong3],服[fu4],味[wei4]; to poison |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 不见 | bù jiàn | not to see; not to meet; to have disappeared; to be missing |
| 效 | xiào | variant of 傚|效[xiao4]; to imitate (variant of 效[xiao4]); variant of 效[xiao4]; effect; efficacy; to imitate |
| 听说 | tīng shuō | to hear (sth said); one hears (that); hearsay; listening and speaking |
| 病重 | bìng zhòng | seriously ill |
| 消 | xiāo | to diminish; to subside; to consume; to reduce; to idle away (the time); (after 不[bu4] or 只[zhi3] or 何[he2] etc) to need; to require; to take |
| 息 | xī | breath; news; interest (on an investment or loan); to cease; to stop; to rest; Taiwan pr. [xi2] |
| 赶忙 | gǎn máng | to hurry; to hasten; to make haste |
| 前 | qián | front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 探 | tǎn | to explore; to scout; to stretch forward |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 说出 | shuō chū | to speak out; to declare (one's view) |
| 实情 | shí qíng | the actual situation; the truth |
| 上次 | shàng cì | last time |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 小心 | xiǎo xīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 奇 | jī | odd (number) |
| 怪 | guǎi | odd; strange; uncanny; to find strange; to regard as odd; (coll.) somewhat; rather |
| 大厅 | dà tīng | hall; concourse; public lounge; (hotel) lobby |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 走去 | zǒu qù | to walk over (to) |
| 反复 | fǎn fù | variant of 反覆|反复[fan3 fu4] |
| 思 | sī | to think; to consider |
| 索 | suó | rope; to search for; to demand; to exact; to reduce; surname Suo |
| 抬 | tái | to lift; to raise; (of two or more persons) to carry; variant of 抬[tai2] |
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 墙 | qiáng | variant of 牆|墙[qiang2]; wall (CL:面[mian4],堵[du3]); (slang) to block (a website) (usu. in the passive: 被牆|被墙[bei4 qiang2]) |
| 壁 | bǐ | wall |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 挂 | guà | to hang; to suspend (from a hook etc); to hang up (the phone); (of a line) to be dead; to be worried; to be concerned; (dialect) to make a phone call; to register (at a hospital); … |
| 张 | Zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 彩色 | cǎi sè | color; multicolored |
| 角弓 | jiǎo gōng | bow decorated with animal horns |
| 弓 | Gōng | surname Gong |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 漆 | ||
| 画 | huà | to draw; to paint; picture; painting (CL:幅[fu2],張|张[zhang1]); to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); (calligraphy) horizonta… |
| 心中 | xīn zhōng | central point; in one's thoughts; in one's heart |
| 立刻 | lì kè | immediately; at once; right away |
| 明白 | míng bai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable; to understand; to realize |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 仍 | rēng | still; yet; (literary) frequently; often |
| 旧 | jìu | old; opposite: new 新; former; worn (with age) |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 原 | Yuán | surname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara |
| 位置 | wèi zhi | position; place; seat; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 并 | bìng | and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to combine; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]; variant of 並|并[bing4] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 杯 | bēi | cup; trophy cup; classifier for certain containers of liquids: glass, cup; variant of 杯[bei1]; variant of 杯[bei1]; trophy cup; classifier for certain containers of liquids: glass, cup |
| 惊叫 | jīng jiào | to cry out in fear |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 哈 | Hā | abbr. for 哈薩克斯坦|哈萨克斯坦[Ha1 sa4 ke4 si1 tan3], Kazakhstan; abbr. for 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[Ha1 er3 bin1], Harbin |
| 大笑 | dà xiào | to laugh heartily; a belly laugh |
| 指 | zhǐ | finger; to point at or to; to indicate or refer to; to depend on; to count on; (of hair) to stand on end |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 看清 | kàn qīng | to see clearly |
| 楚 | Chǔ | surname Chu; abbr. for Hubei 湖北省[Hu2 bei3 Sheng3] and Hunan 湖南省[Hu2 nan2 Sheng3] provinces together; Chinese kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (722–22… |
| 杯子 | bēi zi | cup; glass; CL:個|个[ge4],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | variant of 裡面|里面[li3 mian4] |
| 不过 | bù guò | only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway (to get back to a previous topic); cannot be more (after adjectival) |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 影子 | yǐng zi | shadow; reflection; (fig.) hint; indication; influence; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 罢了 | bà le | a modal particle indicating (that's all, only, nothing much) |
| 疑 | yí | (bound form) to doubt; to suspect |
| 惑 | huǒ | to confuse |
| 看看 | kàn kan | to take a look at; to examine; to survey; (coll.) pretty soon |
| 中的 | zhòng dì | to hit the target; (fig.) to hit the nail on the head |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
| 以为 | yǐ wéi | to think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief) |
| 影 | yǐng | picture; image; film; movie; photograph; reflection; shadow; trace |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 疑虑 | yí lu:4 | hesitation; misgivings; doubt |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 恐 | kóng | afraid; to fear |
| 惧 | jǔ | to fear |
| 瞬间 | shùn jiān | in an instant; in a flash |
| 沉 | chēn | to sink; heavy; deep; to immerse; to keep down |
| 重 | chóng | to repeat; repetition; again; re-; classifier: layer |
| 病情 | bìng qíng | state of an illness; patient's condition |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 好转 | hǎo zhuǎn | to improve; to take a turn for the better; improvement |
During the Western Jin Dynasty, there was a man named Yue Guang who was very hospitable and often invited friends to his home to drink and chat.
One time, he invited a friend to his home for drinks. Just as his friend raised his cup to drink, the friend suddenly looked down and noticed what appeared to be a small snake swimming in his wine cup. He immediately felt a wave of nausea, but not wanting to be rude, he forced himself to drink the wine anyway.
After finishing the wine and returning home, the friend felt increasingly uneasy, and the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that the snake had entered his stomach. He worried constantly after that, lost his appetite for food and drink, and eventually fell ill. No medicine could help him recover.
When Yue Guang heard that his friend was seriously ill, he hurried over to visit him. Stammering, his friend told him the truth of what happened: ‘Last time when I was drinking at your home, I accidentally swallowed a snake.’
Yue Guang found this very strange. After returning home, he paced back and forth in his hall, thinking the matter over [and trying to figure out what might have happened]. Suddenly, he looked up and noticed a colorful decorative bow hanging on the wall, with a lifelike snake painted on it in lacquer. Something clicked in his mind, and he immediately understood what had happened.
So Yue Guang invited his friend to his home once again, had him sit in the same spot as before, and poured him a cup of wine. His friend looked down and cried out in alarm: ‘A snake! There’s another snake!’ Yue Guang laughed heartily and pointed to the bow on the wall, saying: ‘Look more carefully – what’s in the cup is nothing but the reflection of that bow on the wall!’
His friend looked up doubtfully at the bow on the wall, then looked down at the ‘snake’ in his cup, and suddenly everything became clear. The snake he had thought he swallowed was merely the bow’s reflection. His doubts and fears vanished instantly like smoke, and his serious illness immediately improved.