Greetings r/ChineseLanguage! This week I will be introducing 2 very interesting idioms, 夜郎自大 and 得陇望蜀 !

夜郎自大 · 夜郎自大 · yè láng zì dà

This is used to refer to one being arrogant/ignorant , or describing arrogant/ignorant behaviors.

Examples

1. 那个人夜郎自大，根本不知道天高地厚。
2. 你可别夜郎自大了，要知道一山还比一山高。
3. 外头高手多的是，千万不能夜郎自大，掉以轻心。
4. 要避免夜郎自大的毛病，就得虚心学习别人的长处和经验。

So how did this idiom come about, who is this Yelang?

Story

During the Han Dynasty, an envoy was sent to the south, first passing through the Dian Kingdom. The King of Dian asked the envoy: "Which is bigger, Han or my kingdom?" After the envoy arrived in Yelang, the king asked the exact same question. Because they all thought that their kingdoms were already very huge, when in reality they were actually only as big as a province/county in the Han Dynasty.

For some reasons, people remembered the Yelang story more, gradually using the term 夜郎自大 to mean arrogance and ignorance, while Dian's contributions to the story became forgotten.

Modern Chinese and Classical Chinese text for reference

滇王与汉使者言曰：‘汉孰与我大？’及夜郎侯亦然。故各以为一州主，不知汉广大。《史记·西南夷列传》

汉朝派使者南下，先经过滇国，滇王问使者：“汉朝和我的国家比起来哪个大？”后来使者到了夜郎国，国王竟也这样问使者。因为他们都以为自己所统治的国家已经很大了，却不知其实只有汉朝的一个州县那么大。

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得陇望蜀 · 得隴望蜀 · dé lǒng wàng shǔ

Literally, this means 'once I got Long, I yearned for Shu'. It is used to refer to one's insatiable desires, or one being insatiable (materialistically).

Examples

1. 他刚获升迁，位高权重，但却想全权在握，得陇望蜀，真不知足!
2. 我很希望你有空，再多画几幅，虽然有些得陇望蜀。
3. 他已尽了最大心力帮忙了，我们不好得陇望蜀，再提出别的要求。

So what do Long and Shu have to do with desires?

Story

In 32 AD, General Cen Peng followed Emperor Guangwu of Han (Liu Xiu) to conquer Wei Xiao in West Longxi and besieged Wei Xiao in Xicheng. At the same time, the Emperor also ordered Generals Gai Yan and Geng Yan to surround Gongsun Shu’s reinforcements in Shanggui, led my Li Yu.

Note: Shangui and Xicheng are both somewhere near modern Tianshui.

Later, Emperor Guangwu left an edict to Cen Peng and went back to the capital. The edict said, " If you capture these two cities, you can then lead the army to attack Gongsun Shu in Shu. People are never satisfied, and I am the same. I have already obtained Long, yet I still hope to get Shu. "

Note: Long is the name for the region roughly encompassing modern Shanxi Province (where Tianshui is located), Shu is the name for regions roughly encompassing Eastern parts of Sichuan Province.

Because of this letter and the emperor wanting Shu despite having Long, the idiom 得陇望蜀 was created.

Modern Chinese and Classical Chinese text for reference

彭引兵从车驾破天水，与吴汉围隗嚣于西域。时，公孙述将李育将兵救嚣，守上邽，帝留盖延、耿弇围之，而车驾东归。敕彭书曰：“两城若下，便可将兵南击蜀虏。人若不知足，既平陇，复望蜀。《后汉书·岑彭传》

公元32年，大将军岑彭随光武帝亲征陇西的隗嚣，将隗嚣围困在西城，与此同时，光武帝也派盖延、耿弇把公孙述将领李育在上邽的援兵包围了起来。之后，光武帝先回京城， 并留了一封诏书给岑彭，上面写着：如果攻占了这两城，便可率军攻打蜀地的公孙述。人总是不知足的，我也一样，已经得到陇地，又希望得到蜀地。

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Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this week's idioms and stories! As always, all suggestions and feedbacks are welcome! Have a great weekend ahead!

PS: 中文only discussion is here