Groundless Worry that the Sky Might Fall

Groundless Worry that the Sky Might Fall

There are a man in the State of Qi who was haunted by the fear that one day the sky might fall and the earth collapse, and he would have no place to settle. So worried was he that he could not eat and sleep in peace. Someone, anxious that the man would be worried to death, went to reassure him about this. He said to the man: “ The sky is only an air mass and there’s air everywhere. You move about all day long in the air, inhaling and exhaling, bending and stretching your limbs- why do you have to worry about the sky’s falling, when it is never likely to happen?”

“It’s true that the sky is a congregation of air,” the man rejoined, “ but how about the sun, the moon and the stars? They will surely fall, won’t they?”

“The sun, the moon and stars are merely such bodies in the congregated air as happen to shine,” the persuader replied. “Even if they did fall, they would hit nothing.”

Then suppose the earth collapses. What should I do?”

The earth is merely amassed dust and rocks filling up the space everywhere. There is no spot that has not such masses. And you move about on the earth everyday, stepping on it and walking on it. Why worry that it might collapse?”

The man was gladly relieved, and so was the successful persuader.

中国成语故事之十三——杞人忧天

在杞国，有个人他担心天会塌下来，地会陷下去，这样他就丧失了能够寄居身体的地方，于是他顾不得吃饭，忘记了睡觉。又有因他这样忧虑而为他担心的人，于是前来劝说使他明白：“天，是积蕴气而成的，没有地方没有气。你身体的弯曲伸展，你的一呼一吸，每天都在天下行动停止着。为什么要担心天会塌下来呢？”

那人说：“天果然是积蕴气体而成，那么天上的日月星辰，不应当掉下来吗？假使掉下来的话，人不是也能被打中击伤吗？”使他明白的人说：“日月星辰，也是积存了气的，它们是其中的发光者，即使坠落下来也是不能有什么东西被打中击伤的。”

那人说：“那地坏了又怎么办呢？”

使他明白的人说：“大地是土块堆积而成的，充满了四方，没有地方没有土块。你坐立行走，每天都在地上行动与停止，为什么要担心它会坏呢？”

那人放松了下来，非常高兴，使他明白的人也释然而十分高兴。