杯水车薪
用一杯水去救一车烧着的柴火,力量太小,根本解决不了问题。
One cup of water against a cartload of blazing firewood — too little to help at all.
这个成语出自《孟子》。孟子是战国时候的大思想家,他常常用生动的小故事,讲很深的道理。
有一次,孟子对学生说:“有一个人,赶着一车柴火上路。半路上,车上的柴忽然烧了起来,火苗”“呼”地一下蹿得老高。他急得团团转,跑到旁边,舀了满满一杯水,泼向火堆。”
学生们听了都笑起来:一车烧得正旺的柴火,一杯水怎么够救呢?水一碰到火,马上就变成白烟,火还是呼呼地烧,那人只能眼看着整车柴全部烧成灰。
孟子接着说:做好事也是一样。如果只做一点点,却想救一件很大的事,就像用一杯水去救一车火,根本没有用。要想真正解决问题,就得拿出足够的力量和办法。
后来人们就用“杯水车薪”,形容力量太小,根本解决不了大问题。
This idiom comes from the Mencius. Mencius was a great thinker of the Warring States period, and he often used vivid little stories to teach deep lessons.
One day he told his students: “A man was pulling a cart full of firewood down the road. Suddenly the wood on the cart burst into flames, shooting up high. He panicked, ran to the side, scooped up a single cup of water, and threw it at the fire.”
The students laughed. How could a cartload of roaring flames be put out with a single cup of water? The moment the water touched the fire, it turned to white steam, while the flames kept blazing — and the man could only watch his whole cart burn to ashes.
Mencius went on: doing good is the same. If you give only a tiny bit of help to a huge problem, it is just like tossing one cup of water onto a cart of fire. Nothing will change. Real solutions need real strength and planning.
Today “a cup of water on a cart of firewood” describes help so small that it cannot possibly solve the big problem in front of it.
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