Idiom Explanation:
At the beginning, it means that the guests and the host stand on the two sides of the courtyard and salute each other to show that they are treated equally. Now it is used to describe equal status and no superiority, or to describe mutual antagonism.
Pronunciation:
分庭抗礼
fēn tíng kàng lǐ
Origin:
《庄子·渔父》：万乘之主，千乘之君，见夫子未尝不分庭伉礼，夫子犹有倨敖之容。
Story:
One day, Confucius and his disciples were resting in the woods. While the disciples were reading, Confucius played the lute alone. Before the song was finished, an old fisherman with white eyebrows came up to the riverbank and sat on the other side of the riverbank, listening to Confucius’ playing.
After Confucius finished playing a piece, the fisherman beckoned Confucius’ disciples Zigong and Zi Lu to come to him and asked, “Who is this old man playing the zither?”
Zi Lu said in a loud voice, “He is our master, Confucius, the ruler of Lu!” Zi Gong added, “He is the sage Confucius, who is famous for his faithfulness, benevolence and righteousness in all countries.”
The fisherman smiled faintly and said, “I am afraid that he has dangerously forgotten his true nature and is partial to practicing benevolence.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he turned around and walked toward the river bank. Zi Gong hurriedly reported what the fisherman had said to Confucius. When Confucius heard this, he put down his zither and stood up in surprise, saying, “This is a sage.
When Confucius arrived at the river, the fisherman was about to row away, and Confucius bowed to him twice with respect, saying, “I have been studying and learning since I was a child, and I am now sixty-nine years old, but I have not yet heard of any profound teaching, so how dare I not ask for your help with an open heart?”
The fisherman was not polite, and stepped out of the boat and said to Confucius, “The so-called truth is that which is refined and sincere; if it is not refined and sincere, it cannot move people. Therefore, though a strong weeper is sad but not sorrowful, though a strong angry person is stern but not powerful, though a strong relative laughs but not in harmony. The true sorrow does not have a voice to feel sorrow, the true anger does not come out but appears to be powerful, and the true affection does not laugh but feels amiable. Those who are true within, God moves outside, so it is really very valuable. From this point on, if you serve your relatives, you are kind and filial; if you serve your ruler, you are faithful; if you drink wine, you are joyful; if you are in mourning, you are sad.”
Confucius nodded his head as he listened. Finally, Confucius humbly said to the fisherman, “It is a great blessing to meet you, sir. I would like to be your student and be taught by you. Please tell me where you live, will you?”
The fisherman did not tell him where he lived, but jumped into his boat and rowed away alone. By this time, Yan Yuan had already pulled the car over, and Zi Lu handed Confucius the straps to get into the car, but Confucius did not care at all.
Zi Lu was very puzzled by Confucius’ unusual behavior and asked him curiously, “I have been driving for you for a long time, but I have never seen such an arrogant person as the fisherman. Even when the Prince of Heaven and the vassals met you, they treated you with relative courtesy and equality, and you even looked a bit proud of yourself! But today, the fisherman was standing carelessly with his boat, while you were bending down and bowing your back, worshiping first and then speaking. Several of our disciples wondered at your behavior: How could you treat a humble fisherman with such respect?”
Confucius was displeased at Zi Lu’s words, and, holding the wood of his car, sighed and said, “Alas, Zi Lu, you are really difficult to teach. Your contemptuous heart has not yet changed! Let me tell you, when you meet an older man, it is disrespectful, when you meet a wise man, it is unkind, and when you are unkind and unloving, it is the root of misfortune. Today this fisherman is a wise man who knows reason, how can I be disrespectful to him?”
Later on, people derived the idiom of “to fight against the court” from the saying of Zi Lu, “The lord of ten thousand misbehavior, the ruler of a thousand misbehavior, did not fail to share the court and the courtesy when they saw the son of heaven, but the husband still had an arrogant look.
Similar Idioms:
- 平起平坐
- 平分秋色
