The gentleman who hides on the beam of the house. Originally, it refers to a thief, but it is also a metaphor for a person who does not touch the sky or the ground and is out of touch with reality.
Idiom Pronunciation:
梁上君子
liáng shàng jūn zǐ
Origin book:
《后汉书·陈寔传》：时岁荒民俭，有盗夜入其室，止于梁上。寔阴见，乃起自整拂，呼命子孙，正色训之曰：“夫人不可以不自勉。不善之人未必本恶，习以性成，遂至于此。梁上君子者是矣！”
Origin Story:
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man named Chen Shi. Whenever there was a dispute, they would ask Chen Shi to do justice to them, because they knew that Chen Shi was a good and sincere man, and everyone loved him and listened to him.
One year, there was a famine in Chen Shi’s hometown, so some people went to other places to make a living, while others became thieves and stole from others.
One night, a thief sneaked into Chen Shi’s house and waited for him to sleep before stealing. However, Chen Shi pretended not to see him and sat quietly in the living room, drinking tea. After a while, Chen Shi called the whole family to the living room and said, “You know, we only have a few decades to live in this world. Therefore, we should develop the good habit of working hard from childhood, so that we can make good contributions to society, family and ourselves when we grow up! Of course there are some people who don’t work hard and just like to enjoy themselves, these people are not bad by nature, only they don’t develop good habits, so they will do some bad things that harm the society, you now look your head upwards, this gentleman on our roof beam is a living example.”
When the thief heard these words, he was so scared that he climbed down from the beam and knelt down in front of Chen Shi: “Master Chen, I know I am wrong, please forgive me! I was forced to do so.”
Instead of scolding the thief, Chen Shi kindly said to him, “I don’t think you are a bad person, maybe you are forced by the hardship of life, I am going to give you some money, don’t steal anymore. The thief was so grateful for Chen Shi’s kindness that he cried and said, “Thank you, Master Chen! I will definitely change my mind and become a new man!” Later on, the thief did change his bad habits and became a man who was praised by everyone.
Later on, the idiom of “The Gentleman on the Beam” was derived from Chen Shi’s words.
