Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 杯弓蛇影(Bēigōngshéyǐng)

Jìn cháo de shíhòu, yǒu yí gè jiào Yuè Guǎng de rén hěn xǐhuān qǐng péngyǒu hējiǔ. Yǒu yì tiān, tā fāxiàn yí wèi hǎo péngyǒu hěn jiǔ méi lái kàn tā le. Yuè Guǎng juédé qíguài jiù qù bàifǎng tā, jiéguǒ fāxiàn péngyǒu shēng le zhǒng bìng. Yuè Guǎng xúnwèn yuányīn, péngyǒu shuō:” shàng huí wǒ qù nǐ jiā hējiǔ shí, fāxiàn jiǔbēi lǐ yǒu yì tiáo xiǎo shé de yǐngzǐ, wǒ dāng shí xīn lǐ fēicháng yànwù tā, dàn hái shì bǎ jiǔ hē le. Huí lái yǐhòu wǒ yìzhí jué dé hěn nánshòu, jiéguǒ jiù shēng le zhè chǎng dàbìng.” Yuè Guǎng xiǎng le xiǎng, tā de tīngtáng guà le yì bǎ gōng, péngyǒu kàn dào de xiǎo shé kǒngpà shì gōng de yǐngzǐ. Yúshì Yuè Guǎng qǐng péngyǒu zài cì lái dào jiā zhōng, jiù zuò zài yuánlái de wèizhì shàng, ràng péngyǒu kàn bēi zhōng shì fǒu hái yǒu xiǎo shé. péngyǒu shuō,” hé shàng cì de yí yang”. Yuè Guǎng bǎ gōng qǔ xià lái, xiǎo shé de yǐngzǐ jiù xiāoshī le. Péngyǒu huǎngrándàwù, yì zhí zhì bú hǎo de zhòngbìng yí xià zǐ jiù hǎo le.
晋朝的时候，有一个叫乐广的人很喜欢请朋友喝酒。有一天，他发现一位好朋友很久没来看他了。乐广觉得奇怪就去拜访他，结果发现朋友生了重病。乐广询问原 因，朋友说：“上回我去你家喝酒时，发现酒杯里有一条小蛇的影子，我当时心里非常厌恶它，但还是把酒喝了。回来以后我一直觉得很难受，结果就生了这场大 病。”乐广想了想，他的厅堂挂了一把弓，朋友看到的小蛇恐怕是弓的影子。于是乐广请朋友再次来到家中，就坐在原来的位置上，让朋友看杯中是否还有小蛇。朋 友说，“和上次的一样”。乐广把弓取下来，小蛇的影子就消失了。朋友恍然大悟，一直治不好的重病一下子就好了。

Mistake the Shadow of a Bow in One's Cup as a Snake
In Jin Dynasty, there was a person named Yue Guang, who always entertained his guests with wine. One day, he realized one of his good friends hadn't visited him for long time. Out of curiosity, he paid a visit to his house and found the friend was seriously ill. Yue Guang asked about the reason, and the friend replied:"Last time when you invited me to drink in your home, I saw a little snake in my cup. It disgusted me very much but I still drank up the wine. After returning home, I felt badly and got sick soon." Yue Guang thought it over and remembered he had a bow hung on the wall. It was possible that his friend had mistaken the shadow of the bow as a snake in his wine cup. Yue Guang then invited this friend to his house again and arranged him to sit wher he was last time and asked whether there was still a snake in his cup. The friend said:"Yes, the same snake appears again." Yue Guang then removed the bow from the wall and the snake disappeared immediately. His friend suddenly saw the light and then his illness was cured right off.

Words：
询问xúnwèn: enquire(v.)
厌恶yànwù： disgust(v.)
难受nánshòu： feel ill(adj.)
恐怕kǒngpà： perhaps(adv.)
位置wèizhì： place; location(n.)
消失 xiāoshī: vanish(v.)
恍然大悟 huǎngrán dàwù: see light suddenly

Meanings:

杯弓蛇影：将映在酒杯里的弓影误认为是蛇。比喻因疑神疑鬼而引起恐惧。

Mistake the shadow of a bow in one's cup as a snake. The idiom is used to refer to the fear caused by self-created suspicion.

Sentences:

1. Tā xiànzài yǐjīng dào le bēigōngshéyǐng de dìbù, yǒu yìdiǎn dòngjìng jiù hàipà.
她现在已经到了杯弓蛇影的地步，有一点动静就害怕。

She now comes to such an extent as bēigōngshéyǐng that she is always frightened by the false alarm and fears any sign of stir.

2. Kàn qīngchǔ! Nà zhī shì jiàn yīfú!　Bié bēigōngshéyǐng，zìjǐ xià zìjǐ．
看清楚！那只是件衣服！别杯弓蛇影，自己吓自己。

Look closer! It is just a piece of cloth! Don't Bēigōngshéyǐng and scare yourself by your own imagination.