Here we’ll cover the back story behind the idiom “夜郎自大”, or “Yelang thinks highly of itself”. This idiom one refers to someone who has a high, but misguided, opinion of their own worth. Stick this one in the language bank for when you need to take someone down a peg (preferably while stroking your fu […]
汉朝的时候，在西南方有个名叫夜郎的小国家，它虽然是一个独立的国家，可是国土很小，百姓也少，物产更是少得可怜。但是由于邻近地区以夜郎这个国家最大，从没离开过国家的夜郎国国王就以为自己统治的国家是全天下最大的国家。
有一天，夜郎国国王与部下巡视国境的时候，他指着前方问说：“这里哪个国家最大呀？”部下们为了迎合国王的心意，于是就说：“当然是夜郎国最大啰！”走着走着，国王又抬起头来、望着前方的高山问说：“天底下还有比这座山更高的山吗？”部下们回答说：“天底下没有比这座山更高的山了。”后来，他们来到河边，国王又问：“我认为这可是世界上最长的河川了。”部下们仍然异口同声回答说：“大王说得一点都没错。”从此以后，无知的国王就更相信夜郎是天底下最大的国家。
有一次，汉朝派使者来到夜郎，途中先经过夜郎的邻国滇国，滇王问使者：“汉朝和我的国家比起来哪个大？”使者一听吓了一跳，他没想到这个小国家，竟然无知的自以为能与汉朝相比。却没想到后来使者到了夜郎国，骄傲又无知的国王因为不知道自己统治的国家只和汉朝的一个县差不多大，竟然不知天高地厚也问使者：“汉朝和我的国家哪个大？”
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| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 汉朝 | Hàn cháo | Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) |
| 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… |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 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) |
| 西南 | xī nán | southwest |
| 方 | Fāng | surname Fang |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 名叫 | míng jiào | called; named |
| 夜郎 | Yè láng | small barbarian kingdom in southern China during the Han dynasty |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 国家 | guó jiā | country; nation; state |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 虽然 | suī rán | although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc) |
| 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] |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 独立 | dú lì | independent; independence; to stand alone |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 国土 | guó tǔ | country's territory; national land |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 百姓 | bǎi xìng | common people |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 少 | shǎo | few; less; to lack; to be missing; to stop (doing sth); seldom |
| 物产 | wù chǎn | products; produce; natural resources |
| 更是 | gèng shì | even more (so) |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 可怜 | kě lián | pitiful; pathetic; to have pity on |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 由于 | yóu yú | due to; as a result of; thanks to; owing to; since; because |
| 邻近 | lín jìn | neighboring; adjacent; near; vicinity |
| 地区 | dì qū | region; area (informal or geographical term); prefecture (in China's administrative system) |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 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") |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 从没 | cóng méi | never (in the past); never did |
| 离开 | lí kāi | to depart; to leave |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 国 | Guó | surname Guo |
| 国王 | guó wáng | king |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 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) |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 统 | tóng | to gather; to unify |
| 治 | zhì | to rule; to govern; to manage; to control; to harness (a river); to treat (a disease); to wipe out (a pest); to punish; to research |
| 全天 | quán tiān | whole day |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 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 … |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 与 | yú | variant of 歟|欤[yu2] |
| 部下 | bù xià | troops under one's command; subordinate |
| 巡视 | xún shì | to inspect (a site); (of a dignitary) to visit; to go on an inspection tour; to survey (a scene); to scan with one's eyes |
| 境 | jǐng | border; condition; circumstances |
| 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]) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 前方 | qián fāng | ahead; the front |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 这里 | zhè lǐ | variant of 這裡|这里[zhe4 li3] |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 呀 | yā | ah (used to express surprise); (onom.) creaking |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 为了 | wèi le | for; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 迎 | yíng | to welcome; to meet; to forge ahead (esp. in the face of difficulties); to meet face to face |
| 合 | gě | 100 ml; one-tenth of a peck; measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗; variant of 合[he2] |
| 心意 | xīn yì | intention; regard; kindly feelings |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 当然 | dāng rán | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt |
| 啰 | ||
| 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… |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 抬 | tái | to lift; to raise; (of two or more persons) to carry; variant of 抬[tai2] |
| 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… |
| 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] |
| 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… |
| 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] |
| 高山 | gāo shān | high mountain; alpine mountain |
| 底 | dí | (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) |
| 还有 | hái yǒu | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 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) |
| 座 | zuò | seat; base; stand; (bound form) constellation; (archaic) suffix used in a respectful form of address (e.g. 師座|师座[shi1 zuo4]); classifier for large immovable objects such as buildin… |
| 山 | Shān | surname Shan |
| 更 | gēng | to change or replace; to experience; one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided; watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard) |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 吗 | má | (coll.) what? |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 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 |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 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… |
| 河边 | hé biān | river bank |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 认为 | rèn wéi | to believe; to think; to consider; to feel |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 河川 | hé chuān | rivers |
| 仍 | rēng | still; yet; (literary) frequently; often |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 异 | yì | different; other; hetero-; unusual; strange; surprising; to distinguish; to separate; to discriminate |
| 口 | kǒu | mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc); classifier for bites or mouthfuls |
| 同 | tóng | like; same; similar; together; alike; with; used in 衚衕|胡同[hu2 tong4] |
| 声 | shēng | sound; voice; tone; noise; reputation; classifier for sounds |
| 大王 | dà wáng | king; magnate; person having expert skill in something |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr… |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 没错 | méi cuò | that's right; sure!; rest assured!; that's good; can't go wrong |
| 从此 | cóng cǐ | from now on; since then; henceforth |
| 无知 | wú zhī | ignorant; ignorance |
| 相 | Xiāng | surname Xiang |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 有一次 | yǒu yī cì | once; once upon a time |
| 派 | pā | used in 派司[pa1 si5] |
| 使 | shǐ | to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger |
| 者 | zhě | (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...; (after a noun) person involved in ...; -er; -ist; (used after a number or 後|后[hou4] or 前[qian2] to refer to sth mentioned previously);… |
| 途 | tū | way; road |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 先 | xiān | beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) |
| 经过 | jīng guò | to pass; to go through; process; course; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 邻国 | lín guó | neighboring country |
| 滇 | dian | short name for Yunnan 雲南|云南[Yun2 nan2] |
| 王 | Wáng | surname Wang |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 比起 | bǐ qǐ | compared with |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 吓 | xiǎ | to scare; to threaten; (interjection showing astonishment) |
| 跳 | tiào | to jump; to hop; to skip over; to bounce; to palpitate |
| 没想到 | méi xiǎng dào | didn't expect |
| 竟 | jǐng | unexpectedly; to go so far as to |
| 自 | zì | (bound form) self; oneself; from; since; naturally; as a matter of course |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 相比 | xiāng bǐ | to compare |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 骄 | jiao | proud |
| 傲 | ǎo | proud; to despise; to defy |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 县 | xiǎn | county |
| 差不多 | chà bu duō | almost; nearly; more or less; about the same; good enough; not bad |
| 高地 | gāo dì | highland; upland |
| 厚 | hòu | thick; deep or profound; kind; generous; rich or strong in flavor; to favor; to stress |
During the Han Dynasty, in the southwest there was a small country called Yelang, and although it was an independent nation, its territory was small, there weren’t many citizens, and its products were pitifully few. Because it was the largest kingdom in the near area, the Yelang king who’d never left his own country thought the country he ruled was the biggest on earth.
One day, the king of Yelang was on a national border inspection tour with his troops, when he pointed in front of him [to neighboring country] and said, “Which country is bigger?” In order to serve their own interests and make the king happy, the troops said, “Of course Yelang is bigger!” They walked along, and the king once again lifted up his head, gazed at the big mountain in the distance and asked: “Is there a taller mountain than this anywhere on earth?” And his men answered: “No, there’s no mountain taller than this one on earth.” After a while, they reached the river side, and the king asked again: “I think this is the world’s longest river.” And all his men said in unison “The king speaks truly.” After this, the ignorant king believed even more firmly that Yelang was the world’s biggest country.
Then one day, the Han Dynasty dispatched an envoy to Yelang, and en route they encountered the neighboring kingdom DianGuo, and the King of Dian asked the emissary: “If you compared the Han Dynasty and my Kingdom, which one would be bigger?” The emissary listened in astonishment, as he’d never have thought this small a country thought it could compare itself to the Han Dynasty. But he really never could have suspected that when he got to Yelang, the prideful and ignorant king who didn’t know that the kingdom he ruled was about the size of one Han county, would ask with an exaggerated opinion of his own worth, “Which is bigger: the Han Dynasty or my country?”