During the Warring States period1, a man named Fan Sui lived in the State of Wei. He was very talented and wanted to serve the King of Wei. But he had no money or connections, and nobody would recommend him to the king. So Fan Sui went to work for Xu Jia, a senior official in the Wei court. Xu Jia was sent to the state of Qi on a diplomatic mission and Fan Sui went with him. Several months passed, but they were not able to accomplish their mission. However, King Xiang of Qi grew to admire Fan Sui’s eloquence and presented him with 10 pounds of gold along with some wine. Fan Sui refused the gift. When Xu Jia learned about this, he was very angry. He thought that Fan Sui had betrayed his country of Wei. Upon returning to Wei, he reported Fan to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister ordered Fan Sui to be whipped. Fan Sui’s ribs were broken and his teeth were knocked off. He pretended to be dead and was thrown into an outhouse. With the help of friends, he escaped to the state of Qin, where he began to use the alias of Zhang Lu to disguise his identity.
Through recommendations, Fan Sui met Zhao, the king of Qin. King Zhao was impressed by Fan’s talent and eventually made him the prime minister of Qin. Years later, when the state of Wei learned that Qin was going to attack Wei, they sent Xu Jia to Qin to make peace. At night, dressed in old clothes, Fan Sui came to visit Xu Jia at the Qin guest house. Xu Jia was surprised to see that Fan Sui was still alive. He felt sorry for Fan since he appeared to be very poor and pitiable. He took out a silk gown and gave it to Fan Sui.
When Xu arrived at the Prime Minister’s Palace of Qin, he found that Zhang Lu was Fan Sui. He hurried to grovel at Fan Sui’s feet to ask for forgiveness. Fan Sui forgave him because of the silk gown.
Yi Han Ru Ci (As Poor as Fan Sui; this poor) means extremely miserable, shabby and frustrated.
From Historical Records- Biography of Fan Sui
1 Warring States Period: The Warring States Period was part of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. It lasted from 403 BC to 221 BC. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States for more information
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Pada masa Dinasti Zhou, seorang pria bernama Fan Sui tinggal di wilayah Wei. Ia sangat berbakat dan ingin melayani Raja Wei. Tetapi ia tidak memiliki harta atau kedudukan, dan tidak siapapun yang ingin merekomendasikannya menjadi raja. Maka Fan Sui pergi dan bekerja pada Xu Jia, seorang pejabat senior di pengadilan Wei. Xu Jia kemudian dikirim ke kota Qi dalam misi diplomatik dan Fan Sui ikut bersamanya. Beberapa bulan berlalu, namun mereka belum juga dapat menyelesaikan misinya. Tetapi, Raja Xiang dari wilayah Qi memuji gaya bicara Fan Sui dan memberinya 10 pound uang emas dan beberapa arak. Fan Sui menolak pemberian itu. Ketika Xu Jia mengetahui hal ini, ia sangat marah. Ia mengira bahwa Fan Sui telah mengkhianati wilayah Wei. Setelah kembali ke Wei, ia melaporkan Fan ke Perdana Menteri. Perdana Menteri memberi hukuman cambuk kepada Fan Sui. Tulang rusuk Fan Sui patah dan giginya rontok. Fan Sui berpura-pura meninggal dan dibuang keluar wilayah. Dengan bantuan teman-temannya, ia melarikan diri ke wilayah Qin, di mana ia mulai menggunakan nama samaran Zhang Lu untuk menyembunyikan identitas dirinya.
Melalui rekomendasi, Fan Sui bertemu Zhao, penguasa wilayah Qin. Raja Zhao sangat terkesan oleh talenta Fan Sui dan akhirnya mengangkatnya menjadi Perdana Menteri Qin. Tahunan berlalu, ketika wilayah Wei mendapat kabar bahwa Qin berencana menyerang Wei, mereka mengirim Xu Jia ke wilayah Qin untuk berdamai. Malamnya, dengan mengenakan pakaian kuno, Fan Sui datang mengunjungi Xu Jia di kediaman tamu Qin. Xu Jia sangat terkejut melihat Fan Sui masih hidup. Ia menyesal melihat Fan terlihat miskin dan memprihatinkan. Ia mengambil sebuah jubah perak dan memberikannya kepada Fan Sui.
Ketika Xu tiba di Istana kediaman Perdana Menteri Qin, ia mengetahui bahwa Zhang Lu adalah Fan Sui. Dengan tergesa-gesa ia berlutut di kaki Fan dan memohon maaf padanya. Fan Sui memaafkan dia karena telah diberi jubah perak.
Yi Han Ru Ci (Semiskin Fan Sui; kemalangan ini) artinya sangat menyedihkan, lusuh dan frustasi.
Disadur dari - Biography of Fan Sui*
Source: http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2347.html
Erabaru News Jumat, 31 Juli 2009
http://erabaru.net/cerita-budi-pekerti/71-cerita-budi-pekerti/3437-kisah-di-balik-chinese-idiom-semiskin-fan-sui
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