“燕雀安知鸿鹄之志”的出处是《庄子·天下篇》。下面是具体的文段:
齐物论曰:“昔者庄周梦为胡蝶,栩栩然胡蝶也。自喻适志与!不知周也。俄然觉,则蘧蘧然周也。不知周之梦为胡蝶与?胡蝶之梦为周与?周与胡蝶,则必有分矣。此之谓物化。”
惠子曰:“不是已而然乎?”曰:“然了,然了,吾且与汝说之。女娲氏之石,好恶不同于人。取之不尽,用之不竭。其味若饮冰者,其坚若击玉者。不知其龟纹之纹也,其疵之疵也。吾且问汝,汝独好此石乎?”惠子对曰:“独不好。”“且夫子好龙乎?”对曰:“好。”“且践堂望出,不足以过於跣足;登高望远,不足与江河并流。且夫子游心于天地之间,而游形于万物之内。名实未形,而神形已成。今夫子徼以先天下之忧而忧,徼以先天下之难而难,徼以先天下之将变而变,若夫子然,则有国者不得不以夫子为桎梏矣。且随风逐电,至于无朝夕之定。而蜉蝣之灾又至焉,何暇虑别乎纷纷籁籁者乎?燕雀安知鸿鹄之志哉?”
从文中可以看出,这句话的意思是主张不应该看轻小鸟的志向,因为不应该按照身体大小、表面看法去判断一个人或事物的未来、价值和潜力。这也是提醒人们不能妄下断言,要具备正确的人生态度和价值观。
The origin of "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan" is "Zhuangzi·Tianxia". The following is a specific passage:
On the Equality of Things says: "Once upon a time, Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly, fluttering about. He thought he was happy, but he did not know that he was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up, and found himself to be Zhuang Zhou. He did not know whether Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly, or whether the butterfly dreamed that it was Zhuang Zhou. Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly must be different. This is called the transformation of things."
Hui Zi said: "Isn't it so already?" He said: "Yes, yes, I will tell you about it. The stone of Nu Wa has different likes and dislikes from people. It is inexhaustible and can be used endlessly. It tastes like drinking ice and is as hard as jade. I do not know the pattern of tortoise shells on it or the flaws of jade. Let me ask you, are you the only one who likes this stone?" Hui Zi replied: "I am the only one who does not like it." "And does the Master like dragons?" He replied: "Yes." "And Looking out of the hall is not enough to be barefoot; looking far from a height is not enough to be with the river. Moreover, the Master wanders his mind between heaven and earth, and wanders his form within all things. The name and reality have not yet taken shape, but the spirit has taken shape. Now the Master worries before the world worries, and tries to face difficulties before the world encounters difficulties, and tries to change before the world changes. If the Master is like this, then those who have a country will have to regard the Master as a shackle. And follow the wind and chase the lightning, so that there is no day or night. And the disaster of mayflies has come, how can you worry about the noise? How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? "
From the text, it can be seen that the meaning of this sentence is that we should not underestimate the ambition of small birds, because we should not judge the future, value and potential of a person or thing according to the size of the body and the superficial appearance. This is also a reminder that people should not make rash judgments and have a correct attitude and values in life.
The phrase "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?" comes from Zhuangzi's "Xiaoyaoyou" by Zhuangzi, a famous representative of the Taoist school during the Warring States Period. Zhuangzi was a thinker with rich philosophical thoughts, and his book "Zhuangzi" is considered one of the Taoist classics. In this article "Xiaoyaoyou", Zhuangzi expressed his views on the realm, ideals and pursuits of life by telling the story of a small bird (a sparrow) and a big bird (a swan).
The story goes like this: One day, a small bird asked a big bird: "What is our goal?" The big bird replied: "We want to fly to the distant sea." The small bird said: "We don't need to fly that far, the forest and the stream here are our home." The big bird said with emotion: "How can you, a small sparrow, understand the lofty ambitions of a swan?"
In this story, Zhuangzi used the contrast between sparrows and swans to reveal the difference in the realm of life. Zhuangzi believed that sparrows pursue a simple life, while swans yearn for higher goals. Therefore, the ambition of a swan is not something that a sparrow can understand.
The phrase "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan" was later widely used to describe the gap between people's pursuit of lofty ideals and lofty ambitions and their pursuit of ordinary and comfortable life.
"How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan" comes from "Records of the Grand Historian: The Biography of Chen She" and is also seen in "Zhuangzi: Inner Chapters: Happy Journey". It means how can a sparrow know the lofty ambition of a swan, which is a metaphor for how ordinary people can understand the ambition of heroes.
1 How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan comes from the Chinese classical literary work "The Analects".
2 This phrase is Confucius' expression of his pursuit and ambition in his official career, meaning that a villain cannot understand the imagination and ambition of an adult.
3 This phrase reminds us to have lofty goals and pursuits, and not to be polluted by trivial things around us, but to focus on our own career and growth.