66．弓部 bow

杯cup弓bow蛇snake影shadow

In the Jin Dynasty, a gentleman named Yue Guang invited ta friend to come have a drink at his home. After the first sip, when Yue Guang’s friend replaced his wine cup on the table, he noticed a tiny little snake coiled in his cup. Although this made Yue’s friend uneasy, he still finished the whole cup of wine.

The next day, Yue Guang heard that his friend had become ill after drinking wine with him. Yue Guang was horrified and went to see his friend and ask why he thought the wine had made him sick. After hearing his friend’s story about the little snake in the wine cup, Yue Guang hurried home to investigate. After much searching, he realized that the bow hanging on his dining room wall, cast a shadow that reflected in the wine cup. The shadow looked just like a snake. He hastily invited his friend to his home again and explained the illusion. When his friend realized that there was no snake in the wine cup he was very relieved and his sickness disappeared.

Now, we use 杯弓蛇影to describe a person who is very suspicious and over-sensitive.

【拼音】bēi gōng shé yǐng

【解释】比喻疑神疑鬼，妄自惊扰。

【出处】应劭《风俗通义·怪神》，应郴请杜宣饮酒，挂在墙上的弓映在酒杯里，杜宣以为杯中有蛇，疑心喝下了蛇，心忧而病，应郴听说杜宣生病后来看望杜宣，杜宣看到墙上的弓后病就好了。

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