Deep Water and Hot Fire (An Abyss of Sufferings)

Characters:

Pronunciation: Shui(3) Shen(1) Huo(3) Re(4)

Explanation: This describes very deep misery.

The Story: During the Warring States Period, King Kuai of the state of Yan passed his throne to Prime Minister Zi Zhi. But General Zi Bei and Prince Ping refused to accept the new king and launched an attack on Zi Zhi. A civil war thus ensued. Taking advantage of the confusion in the state of Yan, King Xuan of the state of Qi sent Kuang Zhang with a large army against Yan and soon occupied the capital of Yan. King Kuai of Yan committed suicide and Zi Zhi was killed.

King Xuan of Qi then asked Mencius, "Some people advised me not to annex the state of Yan while others urged me to do it. What should I do? I would like to hear your opinion."

Mencius answered: "I think there are two different conditions. If people of Yan are pleased that you've occupied their country, you could do it. The ancients have done it. King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty was one of them. If the people of Yan are not pleased with your occupation, then you must not do it. The ancients have also done the same. King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty was one of them. If the people of Yan welcomed your army with food and drinks when you marched into their country, it showed the people there wanted to be lifted out of the misery. If the people think your occupation of Yan is a disaster like water of increasing depth and fire of increasing heat, they'll have to leave you and flee to other countries.

Usage Example (Pinyin): zai(4) xiang(1) xia(4) na(4) duan(4) shui(3) shen(1) huo(3) re(4) de sheng(1) huo(2), shi(3) ta(1) de ren(4) sheng(1) mu(4) biao(1) gai(3) bian(4) le.

Usage Example (English translation): His life between the deep water and hot fire in the village changed his life's goals.

Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those above where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline study program.