food handed out in contempt

嗟來之食

One year during the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋時期，770-476 BC)， there was a the Qi State (齊國) was severely strickend by a famine.

春秋時代，有一年齊國發(fā)生大饑荒。

Qian Ao (qián ào 黔敖)， a very rich but arrogant man took the occasion to showcase his generosity through preparing food by the roadside and giving it to the passing refugees in charity.

有一位叫做黔敖有錢貴族，在街邊準(zhǔn)備食物分發(fā)給來往的難民，以顯示自己的慷慨。

A man with shabby clothes happened to walk by with his shoes trailing along， he was so hungry as not to open his eyes.

有一個饑民，用衣袖蒙著臉，拖著鞋，餓得眼睛都睜不開的樣子，慢慢地走過來。

Seeing the poor man， Qian Ao held the food by left hand and the drink by right hand， and shouted at him，“Hi， come to eat !”

黔敖見了，就左手拿著吃的，右手捧著喝的，向他喊道：“喂，來吃吧!”

Hearing the word， the man glared his eyes and said， “It is because I am not willing to eat the food handed out in contempt that I have been famished to such a degree. “

那人一聽這話，立即瞪著眼睛，說道：“我就是因為不吃‘嗟來之食，才餓到這般地步的。”

Though Qian Ao made an apology to him for that， the man still resolutely refused to eat the food and thus he died of hunger in the end.

盡管黔敖向他道歉，那人仍然堅決不吃，終于餓死了。

This set phrase now extensively denotes the disrespectful aims. This story means that a person who has a strong sense of self-respect would rather die of hunger than be despised.

此故事講的是一個懷有強烈自尊心的人，寧可餓死也不肯接受人輕視。現(xiàn)在這個成語泛指帶有侮辱性的施舍。

中文中“嗟來之食”的意思就是“帶有侮辱性的施舍”，英語直譯就是“something handed out in contempt”，那如果是“主動去乞求幫助或是施舍”的話，英語該如何表達(dá)呢?

英文中常用慣語有“come hat in hand”，也就是是乞求或請求別人“施舍”，求人給一些原本不屬于你的東西，源自英國民俗，根據(jù)當(dāng)時英國的民間習(xí)俗，當(dāng)一個人窮困潦倒、無以為生時，就可以手持帽子，低聲下氣地向別人乞討，以獲取他人的同情，這是一種非常丟臉的行為，所以一般人除非迫不得已，否則是不會這樣做的。

所以，come hat in hand 常用來比喻“走投無路”、“窮困潦倒”、“有求于人”。

例如： Retired workers need not come hat in hand to ask for supplementary allowance. (退休工人就不必卑躬屈膝地請求追加補助費了。)