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On a storming night.
Lord Ye finally caught sight of his dreaming dragon
but it was not what he expected.
Hello everyone.
Learn Chinese idioms, harness the essence of Chinese,
understand Chinese histories and appreciate Chinese culture.
Lord Ye's love of dragons.
The idiom means that the appreciation is superficial
and flew to Lord Ye's house from heaven one night.
and said what I liked was not the real dragon! Help!
the county magistrate of county Ye in Chu State
had a special liking for the dragon and everything related to it.
I don't know whether tattoo has appeared at that time,
when they stepped into Lord Ye's house
came to know about this one day,
In fact, it is not real and it even turns into fear
When he was writing poetry for the praises of the dragon on the desk,
and asking was Lord Ye home?
The real dragon felt strange
and said what I liked was not the real dragon! Help!
It records stories and legends from Shun, Yu to Han Dynasty.
The idiom satirizes the people like Lord Ye
This story is a folklore which is not real.
among the people, the real Lord Ye wasn't like this.
In fact, the story is not true.
the county magistrate of county Ye in Chu State
were actually hypocritical just like Lord Ye in the story.
and he was a historical figure which was worth compliments.
one of the Five Hegemonies of the Spring and Autumn Period.
in the northern part of Chu State.
Zhou Li has recorded that Lord Ye was enshrined
and worshiped by his descendants after he passed away.
There was even a giant picture of the dragon on the wall.
I don't know whether tattoo has appeared at that time,
but I am sure that Lord Ye must have tattoos of the dragon
all over his body if he could.
People thought that they had walked into the palace of the dragon
when they stepped into Lord Ye's house
because the patterns of the dragon were everywhere.
So, Lord Ye had an extreme infatuation for dragons.
It was said that the real dragon in heaven
came to know about this one day,
and he was especially happy and moved.
He said I can't believe that there was someone
who likes dragons so much in the human world,
I must pay him a visit!
So, the real dragon rode on the cloud
and flew to Lord Ye's house from heaven one night.
Lord Ye had drunk some alcohol and felt a strong urge to write poetry.
When he was writing poetry for the praises of the dragon on the desk,
a wild and strong wind blew at the window suddenly.
He opened the window and suddenly
saw the real dragon thrusting in its giant head through the window
and asking was Lord Ye home?
Lord Ye was almost frightened to death
and screamed out loudly that the monster came!
hen he bolted under the desk with his head in his arms.
The real dragon felt strange
and asked why did you say I am the monster?
I am the dragon, your favorite!
Lord Ye was trembling for fear
and said what I liked was not the real dragon! Help!
He ran his way out without finishing his words.
The real dragon was left there
and he said in annoyance that I flew that far for visiting,
but it was a total waste of time for me because his love was false!
So the real dragon was depressed and left.
This story became the derivation of the idiom
Lord Ye's love of dragon later.
The idiom satirizes the people like Lord Ye
with vivid and sarcastic stories,
and it also satirizes the unpractical ones who only say
empty words and the ones who speck and act in different ways.
This story is a folklore which is not real.
In fact, there is no dragon in reality,
but Lord Ye was wronged in history.
Even though the idiom has been deeply rooted
among the people, the real Lord Ye wasn't like this.
Now, I will show you what was behind the story.
The author of this story is Liu Xiang,
who is the descendent of Lord Ye's political opponent.
In fact, the story is not true.
It was written in Han Dynasty,
when Lord Ye has been dead more than a century.
China was dominated by Confucianism in Han,
but Lord Ye supported Taoism.
So Liu Xiang, the descendant of his political opponent,
depicted him as a negative character
and satirized those supporters of Taoism
were actually hypocritical just like Lord Ye in the story.
In fact, Lord Ye was generous and always glad to give.
Even though his rank of official title wasn't high,
he has made outstanding achievements
and he was a historical figure which was worth compliments.
Lord Ye's real name was Chuliang Shen.
He was born in a notable royal family in Chu State.
His great grand-father was Lord Zhuang,
one of the Five Hegemonies of the Spring and Autumn Period.
The king of Chu State appointed Chuliang Shen as
the county magistrate of county Ye,
which was a important town outside the Great Wall of Chu
in the northern part of Chu State.
Lord Ye worked diligently and
he has acquired reputation among the court
and the people, and the dukes all round the state.
He was only 24 at that time
and people addressed him Lord Ye respectfully.
According to the archeological discoveries,
during the time he took office he adopted the
policies of maintaining the army while cherish
the people, developing agriculture, and strengthening
the national capabilities.
And he even organized the public for the construction
of the existing earliest irrigation work in China,
so more than one hundred thousand Mus (a unit of area)
of farmlands can be irrigated.
The work appeared more than 200 years earlier than
the famous Dujiang Dam built by Bing Li,
and more than 300 years earlier than the Zhengguo Canal.
The historical sites of the east and west bank
were preserved in good condition up till now.
They are the historical witnesses
of Lord Ye's works of water control.
According to the historical record,
Lord Ye did like drawing dragons.
However, the dragon is only a kind of totem in the religion.
It is an imagined and deified animal. 128 00:07:49,21 --> 00:07:51,24 The idiom of Lord Ye's love of dragon reflects
the abundant connotations of the culture
of dragon in that era.
Zhou Li has recorded that Lord Ye was enshrined
and worshiped by his descendants after he passed away.
In order to commemorate the achievements
of the ancestor and the ancestral homeland,
some of Lord Ye's descendants changed their family name
from Shen to Ye.
It has become the derivation of the family name of Ye later.
Therefore, Lord Ye is the universally accepted ancestor
of all the people worldwide with the surname of Ye.
Lord Ye's tomb locates by the river of Li
and his descendants around the world come back
to the hometown for honoring their ancestor
around the Tomb-sweeping Day.
The tomb of Lord Ye has become
one of the great attractions of the cultural tourism
in the Central Plains.
Maybe some of Lord Ye's descendants
are watching our show now!
Thank you for watching learning Chengyu.
See you next time!