夜郎自大

Yè Láng Zì Dà

见识太少,却把自己看得很大。比喻自以为了不起。

Knowing little yet thinking oneself great — conceit born of a narrow view.

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tiānhàncháohuángpàilewèi使shǐzhědào西nán访fǎngwèn使shǐzhěxiānlepángbiāndediānguóyòuláidàolánglángguówángjiàndào使shǐzhěshífēnwèn:“menhàncháomenlángya?”

使shǐzhětīnglechàdiǎnxiàochūshēngláiyuánláilángxiǎodezhǐyǒuhàncháodexiànmeguówángquèwéitiānxiàzàiméiyǒulánggèngdeguójiā

使shǐzhěméiyǒuxiàohuàzhǐshìnàixīngàohàncháoyǒuqiānwàndeyǒuchángjiāngyǒushùdechéngshìbǎixìnglángguówángzhècáizhīdàoyuánláizhǐshìjǐngdezhīqīng

hòuláirénmenjiùyònglángláixiàoxiējiànshíduōquèwéihěnlederén

In the Han dynasty, in the far southwest of China, there was a tiny country called Yelang. Its land was mostly mountains, and it was small — but its king had never once stepped outside his own borders.

One day the Han emperor sent an envoy to visit the southwest. The envoy first went to the state of Dian, then arrived in Yelang. The king of Yelang met him and asked proudly, “Between Han and Yelang, which is bigger?”

The envoy nearly laughed out loud. Yelang was only about the size of a single Han county, yet the king truly believed there could be no country greater than his own.

Instead of mocking him, the envoy patiently described Han: lands reaching thousands of miles, great rivers like the Yangtze, countless cities and people. Only then did the king realize he had been like a frog at the bottom of a well.

Today “Yelang thinks itself great” teases anyone who, knowing little, believes themselves very important.