During the Han Dynasty, in the southwest there was a small country called Yelang, and although it was an independent nation, its territory was small, there weren’t many citizens, and its products were pitifully few. Because it was the largest kingdom in the near area, the Yelang king who’d never left his own country thought the country he ruled was the biggest on earth.
One day, the king of Yelang was on a national border inspection tour with his troops, when he pointed in front of him [to neighboring country] and said, “Which country is bigger?” In order to serve their own interests and make the king happy, the troops said, “Of course Yelang is bigger!” They walked along, and the king once again lifted up his head, gazed at the big mountain in the distance and asked: “Is there a taller mountain than this anywhere on earth?” And his men answered: “No, there’s no mountain taller than this one on earth.” After a while, they reached the river side, and the king asked again: “I think this is the world’s longest river.” And all his men said in unison “The king speaks truly.” After this, the ignorant king believed even more firmly that Yelang was the world’s biggest country.
Then one day, the Han Dynasty dispatched an envoy to Yelang, and en route they encountered the neighboring kingdom DianGuo, and the King of Dian asked the emissary: “If you compared the Han Dynasty and my Kingdom, which one would be bigger?” The emissary listened in astonishment, as he’d never have thought this small a country thought it could compare itself to the Han Dynasty. But he really never could have suspected that when he got to Yelang, the prideful and ignorant king who didn’t know that the kingdom he ruled was about the size of one Han county, would ask with an exaggerated opinion of his own worth, “Which is bigger: the Han Dynasty or my country?”

漢朝的時候,在西南方有個名叫夜郎的小國家,它雖然是一個獨立的國家,可是國土很小,百姓也少,物產更是少得可憐。但是由于鄰近地區(qū)以夜郎這個國家最大,從沒離開過國家的夜郎國國王就以為自己統(tǒng)治的國家是全天下最大的國家。
有一天,夜郎國國王與部下巡視國境的時候,他指著前方問說:“這里哪個國家最大呀?”部下們?yōu)榱擞蠂醯男囊?,于是就說:“當然是夜郎國最大啰!”走著走著,國王又抬起頭來、望著前方的高山問說:“天底下還有比這座山更高的山嗎?”部下們回答說:“天底下沒有比這座山更高的山了?!焙髞?,他們來到河邊,國王又問:“我認為這可是世界上最長的河川了。”部下們仍然異口同聲回答說:“大王說得一點都沒錯?!睆拇艘院螅瑹o知的國王就更相信夜郎是天底下最大的國家。
有一次,漢朝派使者來到夜郎,途中先經過夜郎的鄰國滇國,滇王問使者:“漢朝和我的國家比起來哪個大?”使者一聽嚇了一跳,他沒想到這個小國家,竟然無知的自以為能與漢朝相比。卻沒想到后來使者到了夜郎國,驕傲又無知的國王因為不知道自己統(tǒng)治的國家只和漢朝的一個縣差不多大,竟然不知天高地厚也問使者:“漢朝和我的國家哪個大?”