第二章 杯弓蛇影

Jin Dynasty was an ancient Chinese dynasty. At that time, there was a man named Le Guang. He had a good friend, and the two often sat together drinking and talking.

But after one meeting, that friend did not come again for a long time.

Le Guang found it strange and sent someone to ask. The friend only said he was not feeling well and it was inconvenient to go out.

After a long time, Le Guang went to see him personally.

The friend was lying in bed, looking very pale. Le Guang asked: "Last time we met, you were fine. What happened afterward?"

The friend hesitated for a long time, finally telling what was hidden in his heart.

"Last time when drinking at your house, I was just about to pick up the cup when I suddenly saw a small snake in the wine."

Le Guang was startled: "A snake in the cup?"

The friend nodded.

"That snake was still swimming in the wine. I was very scared, but you were raising your glass to toast me. I was afraid it would be impolite to refuse, so I just closed my eyes and drank the wine."

"After returning home, I always felt that snake was still in my stomach. I couldn't eat, and I couldn't sleep well. My body grew worse day by day."

Le Guang did not laugh at him.

He carefully recalled the seat, the wine cup, and the things in the room that day.

The friend's seat was close to the wall. On the wall hung a bow, painted with snake-like patterns. When sunlight came in from the window, the bow's shadow was exactly reflected in the wine cup, looking like a small snake.

Le Guang had an idea.

A few days later, he invited his friend to his home again.

The room had not changed. The table was in its original place, and the friend sat in the same position as last time. Le Guang asked someone to bring the same wine cup and pour wine.

The friend lowered his head and looked, and his face changed immediately.

He pointed at the cup and said: "That's it! That snake has appeared again!"

Le Guang still didn't explain. He first took the bow off the wall.

The "snake" in the cup disappeared at once.

Le Guang hung the bow back on the wall, and the shadow appeared in the wine cup again, and the "snake" appeared again.

The friend looked at the cup, then at the bow on the wall, and slowly stood up.

"So what I saw was the shadow of a bow."

Le Guang said: "Last time you saw the snake, why didn't you tell me?"

The friend answered in a low voice: "I was too scared. I only thought that I had drunk the snake down, and never looked at other things in the room."

He raised the wine cup again. This time, he saw the shadow in the cup, but no longer felt it was a snake.

The friend put down the cup and said to Le Guang: "Now I understand. It wasn't the wine in the cup that made me see wrong, but the fear in my heart. Once I was afraid, I didn't even dare to take another careful look."

Le Guang said: "Fear often makes people take the impression in their hearts as reality before they have time to confirm."

The fear that had been weighing on his heart finally disappeared. After going back, he was able to eat normally, and his spirits slowly improved.

The room was still the same room, the bow was still on the wall, and the shadow in the cup was still the same. The friend's suffering had been completely real, but there had never been a snake in the wine.

Later, people use "beigongsheying" to mean: treating something that doesn't exist as real and scaring oneself.