In the recently popular TV series "Ideal City" starring Sun Li, He Shengli said, "The abyss will eventually have a bottom, but the human heart cannot be measured." He left a deep impression on everyone. .

This friend wants to know the entire sentence of the poem. In fact, "The abyss will eventually have a bottom, but the human heart cannot be measured" is not selected from a poem, but a proverb that has been circulated among the people and orally for a long time.

Some people use it together with "No one ever asks about true feelings, but tricks win people's hearts" and call it a limerick. In fact, it's not a limerick, it's just two proverbs with similar meanings put together.

This sentence has a certain philosophical meaning and is often used by people. It has also been included in books such as "4000 Chinese Proverbs handed down from ancient times" and "A Collection of Chinese Proverbs". It can be called a famous aphorism.

As for the earliest origin of this sentence, it is still difficult to determine. The earlier source that can be found is Qian Cai's long legendary novel "The Complete Story of Yue" in the Qing Dynasty, which is used in the fourth chapter. There are two proverbs: "The abyss will eventually have a bottom, only the human heart cannot be measured. Tigers and leopards cannot be ridden, and human hearts are separated from the belly." But it is not known whether they were quoted from elsewhere or whether they were first created.

There are many famous sayings and aphorisms with similar meanings. Here are some examples: It is difficult to paint the skin of a tiger, but it is difficult to paint the bones of a tiger. You know people but not their faces; you know the prefecture and the county but you don’t know the village. You can see clearly through the water of a hundred-foot well, but it is difficult to see through the depth of a human heart. One can see through a thousand feet of water, but cannot fathom a human heart...

The meaning of these sentences is nothing more than "people's hearts are unpredictable" and "it is necessary to be on guard against others".

This saying was also used in the 1992 TV series "Tang Minghuang". After Li Longji rebelled in Anlu Mountain, he met an old farmer on his way out. The old farmer gave him a steamed bun and said with deep sympathy: How wise you have been since you came to the throne, and how much the people support you! But later An Lushan had a counter-intention, and everyone on the street knew it, but you, the emperor, didn't know it!

Li Longji said to the old farmer: "Your ancestors have been farming for a living for generations. You know that farming depends on the sky, and the sky is unpredictable. My ancestors have been emperor for generations, and being an emperor depends on people, but there is an abyss. The bottom line is that the human heart cannot be measured. How about we switch, I go to farm, and you become the emperor?" The old farmer shook his head and said, "Don't dare."

There are many examples of this kind of unpredictability. For example, the story of "Murder in a Basin of Water" recorded in "Han Feizi·Shuo Nan" is shocking. He was offended because he was drunk and spoke badly. The villain will eventually be retaliated and killed.

Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, was also revenged by eunuchs. During a palace banquet, Li Bai composed three poems "Qing Ping Diao" to praise Yang Yuhuan's beauty. When he was composing poems, he asked the eunuch Gao Lishi to take off his boots. Gao Lishi was deeply ashamed and held a grudge.

In Li Bai's poem, there is a sentence: "Ask who in the Han Palace is similar, pity Feiyan who relies on new makeup". He just compared Zhao Feiyan's beauty and favor with Yang Yuhuan. Gao Lishi saw an opportunity for revenge. One day, Gao Lishi heard Yang Yuhuan reciting "Qingping Diao" and said in a joking tone: "I originally thought that the empress would hate Li Bai to the bone because of these poems, but I didn't expect that the empress would like it so much." Yang Yuhuan was taken aback and asked in confusion: "Did Li Hanlin insult me?" Gao Lishi said: "Didn't you notice? He compared the empress to Zhao Feiyan. What kind of woman is Zhao Feiyan, how can she be the same as the empress? Comparable. He regards the empress as being as slutty as Zhao Feiyan!" Yang Yuhuan was immediately disgusted and hated.

Later, Tang Xuanzong tried to promote Li Bai three times, but was blocked by Yang Yuhuan. Gao Lishi relied on this method to avenge the humiliation of taking off his boots.

These living examples are indeed worth pondering!