To Act Like the Man of the Qi State Who Feared that the Sky Might Fali一Haunted by Imaginary Fears
祀人忧天
This allusion comes from Nucure's Blessing in Lie Zi，the Taoist classical work collected at the beginning of the Han Dynasty:There was a man of the State of Qi who was worrying that the sky might one day fall down，the earthmight sink，and he would not know where to hide himself. This so much troubledhim that he could not eat or sleep. Someone went to reassure him about this，say-ing，“The sky is only formed of bright things in the air.There is no place where"there is no air. Whenever you move or breathe，you are living right in this sky.Why do you need ever to worry that the sky will fall down's" The man rejoined，“If the sky were really nothing but air, would not the sun，the moon and the stars fall down?" And the per-suader said，“But the sun，the moon and the stars are nothing but bright things in the air.E-ven if they should fall down，they would not hurt anybody.”“But what if the earth should sink?" And the other replied，“The earth is al-so only formed of accumulated solids，which fill all space. There is no place where there are no solids. As you walk and stamp on the ground，you are moving the whole day on this earth. Why do you ever need to worry that it may be destroyed?" Then the man was gladly relieved，so was the successful per-suader. Now this allusion is used to refer to entirely unnecessary worries.
故事出自《列子·天瑞》，大意是说:有个祀国人老是担心天会掉下来，地会陷下去，而他则不知藏身何处于是，整天惶惶不安，以至于睡不着觉，吃不下饭。有人就跑去开导忆国人，说:“天，不过就是空气罢了。大地之间到处充满了空气、你伸展、呼吸，整天生活在空气之中，为什么担心大会掉F来呢?”祀国人明白了，可又担心地说:“如果大果真只是空气的话，日月星欣不就会掉下来了吗?”那人告诉他说:“日月星辰，也不过是空气中有光亮的东西，就算掉下来，也小可能砸坏人。”祀国人又说:“那地如果陷下去，又怎么办呢!”那人说:“地不过是堆积成团的东西，充满了四方空虚的地方，大地之上到处都是这种团块一你走来走去，整天在地上行动，为什么担心地会陷下去呢?”听了这话，祀人放心地笑了起来，那人也放心地笑了。后人就用“祀人忧天”一词来比喻毫无必要的担忧。
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