One word, One Story Per Week【扯】一周一字一故事
Pull the eggs in a man’s underwear
It’s time for our weekly “One word, One Story Per Week” session! Hurry and gather your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, and neighbours to join in for a learning session, haha! But first, let me explain the meaning of the Chinese character “扯” (ché).
扯 is composed of the radicals “手” (shǒu), meaning “hand,” and “止” (zhǐ), representing the sound. Its original meaning is to pull or tug, indicating a sense of traction. In the poem “田家” by Song Huayue, it is used in the sentence:“The husband fears the early plowing, so he pulls the curtain to look at the morning star.”
“扯” can also mean to pull up or lift. In the work “大揭帖·綿衣香” by Zheng Xuzhou from the Ming Dynasty, it is written:“Beneath the green peach tree, the phoenix lifts its feathers.”
Furthermore,“扯” can denote tearing or ripping. In Chapter 33 of the novel “Water Margin,” it is described:“Liu Gao became furious and tore the book into pieces.”
In modern Chinese,“扯” can also mean to chat or talk endlessly. In Chapter 19 of the novel “Dream of the Red Chamber,” Daiyu says with a smile:“That’s just nonsense. I’ve never heard of such a mountain before.”
“扯” also has a colloquial meaning, which I dare not say in the dictionary, I tell you,
“扯蛋” = pull the eggs in a man’s underwear
Enough with the explanations, are you getting sleepy? Let’s dive into the story right away.
During the Soviet era, there was a psychiatrist named Ivan who had unique insights into the treatment of mental illnesses. One day, a journalist came to interview him, wanting to know how he determined if a mental patient had recovered.
The journalist asked,“Dr. Ivan, how do you judge if a mental patient has recovered?”
Dr. Ivan pondered for a moment and then smiled as he replied,“It’s actually quite simple. I give the patient a task and observe how they complete it.”
Curious, the journalist asked, “What kind of task do you give them?”
Dr. Ivan smiled mysteriously and said,“I place them in a room facing a large mirror. Then I ask them,‘What do you see in the mirror?’”
The journalist was puzzled and asked,“Can you determine their recovery based on their response?”
Shaking his head, Dr. Ivan replied,“No, that’s just the beginning. Next, I give them a key and tell them that the key can unlock the door of the mirror.”
Even more confused, the journalist asked, “A key that can unlock the door of a mirror? That sounds ridiculous.”
Dr. Ivan chuckled and continued, “Of course, I don’t expect them to actually open the door of the mirror. I simply want to observe their thinking and behavior based on their reactions.”
Still puzzled, the journalist inquired,“Can their reactions tell you if they have recovered?”
With a profound gaze, Dr. Ivan said, “When a patient picks up the key and curses the person who asked such a ridiculous question is pull the eggs in a man’s underwear in front of the mirror, I know they have recovered. Because I also consider the question is pull the eggs in a man’s underwear .”
Upon hearing this, the journalist instantly understood Dr. Ivan’s perspective and couldn’t help but admire his insight.
