"Summer insects can't talk about ice, well frogs can't talk about the sea, and ordinary people can't talk about Tao" means that people who don't have the corresponding experience and knowledge can't be asked to understand profound truths.

source

from Zhuangzi's Collection and Interpretation.

excerpts from the original text

If Beihai says: Well frogs can't talk in the sea, but they are confined to emptiness; Summer insects can't talk to the ice, but also to the time; Qushi can't talk to Taoists, but be tied to teaching.

Translation

Beihai said: "The frog in the well can't understand the vastness of the sea because its environment is too narrow; The insect in summer can't understand the cold of ice because it only knows how to adapt to the current season; Ordinary people can't understand profound truth because they are bound by education and culture. "

Appreciation

This sentence tells us that people without corresponding experience and knowledge cannot be required to understand profound truth. Everyone's cognition and vision are limited by environment and conditions. Only with enough experience and knowledge can we understand profound philosophy.

Creation background

This sentence comes from Zhuangzi, which is a part of Taoist thought and related to the concepts of "Tao" and "inaction". At that time, the social environment focused on ethics and tradition, while Zhuangzi emphasized individualism, nature and morality. Therefore, this sentence is Zhuangzi's criticism and reflection on education, culture and thought in the society at that time.

Note

Summer insects refer to insects in summer;

Ice: refers to snow and ice and cold weather;

well frog: refers to the frog living in the well;

sea: refers to the sea, the vast ocean;

Ordinary people: ordinary people;

Tao: refers to the "Tao" in Taoist thought.

Life Enlightenment

This sentence tells us that we should respect everyone's cognition and vision, and we cannot ask people who don't have the corresponding experience and knowledge to understand profound truth. Everyone has his own life experience and experience, and we should understand things on this basis. At the same time, we must continue to learn and explore in order to have a broader vision and a deeper understanding.

In our daily life, we should also follow this principle, don't blindly comment on things we don't understand, and keep a modest and objective attitude. At the same time, it also reminds us to keep the mentality of learning and exploring, and expand our cognitive scope as much as possible, so as to better adapt to and understand the world around us. When communicating with others, we should also listen to each other's views and respect each other's different opinions in order to establish a more harmonious and mutual understanding relationship.