Many people know the idiom "the index finger is moving", which is related to food, which means that when food is available, people's appetite is strong. However, the organs that see food are the eyes, those that enjoy food are the mouth and tongue, and those that are filled are the stomach. The whole process of eating has nothing to do with fingers. So, why is this idiom not "tongue moving" or "mouth moving" but "index finger moving"? ?
The term "big move of the index finger" comes from a story in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. According to historical records such as "Zuo Zhuan: The Fourth Year of Xuangong" and "Historical Records: The Family of Zheng", in 605 BC, the State of Zheng was in the reign of Duke Zheng Linggong. One morning, the doctor's son Song and Zi Jia met on the way to court. While chatting with each other, Song's index finger suddenly began to tremble unconsciously. This super foodie couldn't help but be elated and beaming with joy. He let Zi Jia see his twitching index finger. He said proudly: "Every time my index finger trembles unconsciously, there will be special delicacies waiting for me to taste. For example, I ate stonefish when I was on a mission to Jin, and swan meat and swan meat when I was on a mission to Chu." Albizia tangerine has come true time and time again. I wonder what delicious food I can taste this time." Just when the Zi family was surprised, they saw the servant hurriedly coming out of the palace to summon the imperial cook. Upon inquiry, it turned out that it was the Chu State who sent an envoy to Duke Lingying of Zheng. After offering a turtle (the largest type of freshwater turtle), Zheng Linggong decided to give it to the doctors to try. When they entered the court and saw the turtle tied to the pillars, the two couldn't help but look at each other and smile. This scene happened to be seen by Zheng Linggong. Zheng Linggong asked: "You two look very happy today. Is there anything good?" The two of them reported the whole matter to Zheng Linggong. Seeing the proud look on the young master's face, Zheng Linggong suddenly became jealous and said in a nonchalant manner, "Whether it works or not, I still have the final say." !”
When it was time to share the soup, the imperial chef followed Duke Ling’s instructions and changed the usual rules of serving food from the top to the bottom. When we reached the top two seats, there was only one pot of glutinous rice soup left. It's hard to get rid of people. He looked at the young master Song and then at the Zi family. He hesitated and said, "There is only one cauldron of turtle soup. I don't know who to give it to. Please let me know clearly." Zheng Linggong glanced at the young master Song and ordered with a smile: "Give it to the Zi family." In this way, all the ministers got something, except the prince Song. People chewed the meat and drank the soup with great enjoyment. Only Young Master Song was watching eagerly with embarrassment on his face. When Zheng Linggong saw this, he couldn't help but feel proud. He laughed loudly and said: "I gave the turtle soup to all the ministers and shared the delicious food with everyone, but it was not the turn of Young Master Song. It is destined to be like this. It can be seen that Young Master Song's index finger is not effective. Ah! "
Is it tolerable, which one is intolerable? Young Master Song's face flushed red, and he was extremely embarrassed: he had already spoken a lot in front of the Zi family, and his words were too perfect. Today, all the officials have received rewards from the monarch, and even the low-ranking officials have received a tripod. Damn it, as a noble relative, I was teased like this. What kind of face did I have in front of the civil and military officials of the dynasty? What happened today was that Zheng Linggong deliberately damaged his face and ruined his efficacies. He wanted to get it back from Zheng Linggong. Young Master Song suddenly stood up, walked to Zheng Linggong's cauldron, stretched out his fingers and forked out a piece of turtle meat, put it into his mouth and swallowed it, and laughed loudly and said: "I have already eaten the turtle meat. The index finger is still effective after all!" After that, he ignored Zheng Linggong and walked out swaggeringly. This is the origin of what later generations called "Hanzhi".
Putting your fingers into other people's eating utensils without their consent is a very impolite act nowadays, let alone in the Spring and Autumn Period when etiquette and norms were more respected, especially in the In the monarch's eating utensils, this is even more rebellious. This kind of uncivilized behavior made Zheng Linggong very angry, and the consequences were undoubtedly serious. Zheng Linggong went into a rage on the spot and declared in front of the civil and military officials of the court that he would kill this extremely rude boy. After the son of the Song Dynasty got the news, he saw that something was not going well, so he teamed up with the Zi family to take advantage of the situation and killed Zheng Linggong in the summer of that year, thus causing civil strife in Zheng. However, he himself did not get a good end, and was eventually executed by the new king.
The two people were joking with each other, but regardless of the occasion or method, they brought an ordinary trivial matter to the point where they wanted to fight each other to the point of life and death. In the end, they died together. It was so ridiculous that it was really a pity. .
It should be noted that this historical story not only gave rise to the idiom - "the index finger is moving" (referring to the current food, people's appetite is strong), but also derived the idiom that was used by later generations to refer to food. Undeserved benefits also refer to the word "meddling" in something. However, the former is a neutral term, while the latter is a derogatory term.