Stupid Thoughts: 井底之蛙 jĭng dĭ zhī wā (Frog at the bottom of the well)
There's a Chinese proverb called 井底之蛙 jĭng dĭ zhī wā that I occasionally ponder. It literally translates as "a frog at the bottom of a well" - who is only able to see a small part of the sky through the opening. It is usually used to describe a person of very limited outlook and experience or those who are shallow or narrow-minded.
The implication is that the sky and the world are only so big to the frog because it only believes and 'understands' what it is able to see. To be honest though, I would think that we are all 井底之蛙 to some extent.
The 井底之蛙 proverb comes from the writings of Zhuangzi, one of the founders of Daoism. A frog tries to convince a turtle to join him in his wonderful well, of which he is a master. After trying to get in and getting stuck, the turtle withdraws and tells the frog instead of how deep and wide the sea is. The frog is left dumbfounded.
The proverb now represents a state of limited vision and ignorance, when we are not able to see outside one’s own immediate environment.
I started peeking around for different versions of the story.
寓言故事中英文版---井底之蛙 (modified from (http://www.epochtimes.com)
The Frog In The Well
從前有隻青蛙，在淺井裏居住。一天，牠遇見一隻從東海來的大鱉。
There was once a frog who made his home in a shallow well. One day he met a turtle from the East Sea.
井蛙對大鱉說：「我真是樂透了！高興時，便在井欄上跳躍。疲倦時，就躺在破磚上休息。
"I'm extremely happy!" the frog told the turtle. "When on the ground, I leap up and down the railing of the well. When I'm tired, I rest on the broken bricks."
回到水裏，我只是露出我的頭游泳。跳到泥裏，我則埋沒我的雙腿。我回頭看看井裏的赤蟲、蟹和蝌蚪。牠們可不及我快樂呢！
"Back in the water, I swim with only my head above the surface. When I walk in the mud, I bury my feet. I look back at the worms, crabs, and tadpoles who share my well. They can't be as happy as I am."
井水是我，因為這口井屬於我，這就是最大的喜樂啊！你有空不妨來探望我。」
"The pool of water belongs to me because the well is mine. This is the greatest pleasure!" the frog said proudly. "You should come visit me some time!"
大鱉聽了，就跟著井蛙入井裏，怎知左腳還未伸進去，右腳已經絆住了，於是便從容地退了出來。
The turtle went with the frog to the shallow well. Lifting his right foot, he tried to enter the well. But it got stuck even before he could extend his left one, so he retreated in a leisurely fashion.
大鱉給逗樂了，便對青蛙說：「東海的大，我無法給你描，因為那是無法測量的。水災既不能增加它的深度，旱災也不能減少它一吋。它的深度，是不會因時間的長短，或兩量的多少而有所改變。這就是東海最大的喜樂啊！」
Rather amused, the turtle said, "I can't tell you how vast the East Sea is, for it is beyond measure. However, flood doesn't increase its depth the least bit, and drought can't make it lose an inch. Its depth does not change with time, nor does it change with the amount of rainfall. This is its greatest pleasure!"
井蛙聽了，驚訝得呆一邊。
On hearing the turtle, the frog was dumbfounded.
Alternate version of the same story
Have you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said that he said to a turtle who lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to beneath my arms and supports my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don't you come often and look around my place?"
Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea.
"Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea's width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. ln the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change along with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea."
After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.
Notes: li is a Chinese unit of length equal to half a kimometre. ren is a Chinese unit of length, approximately equal to 21/3 metres.
Another version of the same story:
At the bottom of a well there lived a frog, which had never left the well in its life. One day he was visited by a turtle from the East Sea. The frog boasted to the turtle about the wideness and fineness of the well. But when the turtle told the frog about the sea, the frog felt humbled.
The Japanese version of the proverb is as follows:
In pondering the above proverb, I can't help thinking it's a shame that the proverb has to be so negative. :)
On the one hand the frog at the bottom of the well is like the world described in the Keanu Reeves movie "The Matrix". You're happy and content because you don't know any better. This is the world as you see it and you are happy with your world. In "The Matrix", the world was bad so it was good that the humans were able to 'get out of the well' as such.
But what if the well was a nice place? What if the poor little frog was happy and contented with his lot and now he has started to feel inadequate and miserable for no good reason?
It's yet another example of contradictory proverbs.
"Look before you leap" versus "cross every bridge when you come to it"? Is it better to be content and happy with what you have or should you always be dissatisfied and crave more? What is the fine balance between complacency and a healthy sense of hunger and thirst for knowledge and new experiences? :)
It's bad to be complacent but there's nothing worse than having dreams squashed by people telling you to be realistic and 'know your limitations' and 'accept things as they are'.
I know what the proverb is supposed to mean - that the frog is ignorant and limited in his outlook. What if the frog was a dreamer though? What if the little frog had a wistful craving to see the world outside of his well, to see if the stars covered more sky than that tiny patch he could see from the bottom of the well?
What if the little frog at the bottom of the well had a sense of adventure? :)
My view is that we should take the best interpretation of the proverb. We shouldn't be narrow-minded and limited in our outlook and we should retain a sense of child-like wonder and curiosity and be aware that we are very small and insignificant in the scheme of things. We should retain a sense of perspective. Nonetheless, we should try to avoid negative feelings of dissatisfaction, discontent and unhappiness. We should try to be happy and thankful for all the things that we have.
It's a very difficult balance to achieve! To be honest, to mix my metaphors (literally and culturally) I want to have my cake and eat it. I want to be the little frog that hops outside the well to explore the big, wide world - but then I want to be able to hop back into my well, be contented and quietly happy with the things that I have.
My thoughts seem to get more random and stupid by the day :P