【每週成語】
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成語：雞口牛後（JI KOU NIU HOU）; to be a hen’s beak than to be an ox’s buttock—preferable to lead in petit position than following behind a greater leader; better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion; better be the peak of a hen than the tail of a cow; better be a bird’s beak than the tail of a cow’s rump.
出處：戰國策，韓策。
釋義：在大公司或大機構做個小職員，薪水固定但沒有自由；還不如在自己的小店裡做個老闆好，因為自己的店雖然小，但是不受別人的氣，有自由，收入可多可少，有發展潛力。所以說“雞頭牛後=寧為雞頭，不作牛後”。
故事：雞口為雞進食之器官,牛後是牛排泄糞便之器官，二者比較成為一個強烈的對比；因為雞的身體很小，而牛卻是一個龐然大物。用來進食的口雖然小，可以有機會得嚐各種美味食物，而排泄糞便的器官雖然很大，卻是動物身體上最污穢的部分。所以一般人都會說“寧為雞口，勿為牛後”。這個成語是戰國時代蘇秦向韓王遊說時所說的話。根據“戰國策”一書記載：當時，韓國是一個弱國，恐懼強秦的侵略併吞。因此，韓王寧願忍辱求全，接受了秦國的屈辱條件，表示向秦王臣服，以達維持現狀目的。蘇秦為了要勸韓王擺脫秦國的控制，認為它雖然國小，也要爭取獨立自主國際地位。所以舉例說出“雞口牛後”的一句話，一方面譏諷韓王向秦國屈服，即如牛後一樣；另一方面促請韓王振作，爭取雞口般的國際地位。
用法：張三辭去一個大公司的高薪職位，自己開了一個小店，他說 “寧為雞口，不為牛後”。
故事英譯：A beak of a hen is the organ for eating food, while the rear part of a cow which is charged of being defecation; and comparing both of them is just an intense contrast, because the body of a hen is so small to compare with the body of a cow that is huge. Anyway, this idiom comes from the book of “The Strategy of Warring States”. In the meantime, Han State was a weak one and the King of Han was afraid of being invaded and occupied by strong Qin State; therefore King of Han rather liked to tolerate the insult from Qin State and would like to subject to Qin State as a dependent state for keeping his nation stable than opposite to Qin State.
In order to get rid of Qin’s control, Mr. Su Qin, a political lobbyist (also a strategist) exhorted King of Han to have to make his best effort to get the equal position in the international society even Han was a small nation. Therefore Mr. Su Qin took the idiom “better be a bird’s beak that the rear part of a cow to satirize King of Han who subjected to Qin State as a buttock of a cow in one hand, and encouraged King of Han pulled himself together to struggle for getting an position as an independent country like a beak of a hen in other hand. It meant that a beak of a hen is even very small but it has the opportunities to taste various delicious dishes, but the rear part (the buttock) of a cow is very huge but it is very dirty.
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