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杯弓蛇影 (Bēigōngshéyǐng)


Daimashin

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杯弓蛇影 (Bēigōngshéyǐng) - Imaginations.

Literal meaning - Bow in cup snake in silhouette.

Once upon a time there were two buddies A and B. One day A treated B to a meal and they drank a lot of alcohol. B loved drinking so he got drunk, while drinking he saw that there was a poisonous snake in the cup he was using. B thought that he had swallowed the snake and immediately ran away in shock. That night, while he was sleeping he thought that the snake was biting his insides and he was awoken in fear.

The next day B wrote a letter to A citing that he can't meet with A because he had felt sick due to swallowing a snake that was in his cup. A being a smart person felt strange and decided to pour a cup of wine and see for himself. What he realized was that the snake in question was actually a reflection of a bow that was hanging on the wall. The bow's silhouette resembled that of a snake so A immediately went over to B's house and told him the truth. Upon hearing it, B immediately recovered.

杯弓蛇影 (Bēigōngshéyǐng) is used to describe someone who is imagining things.

Example:

"這裡那裡有鬼,是你自己「杯弓蛇影」而已."

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