The comparison in the allusion of "more than the superior, less than the inferior, more than enough" is about calligraphy.
Being less than the superior and being more than the inferior means that it cannot catch up with the one in front, but surpasses the one behind. These are the words of comfort for those who are satisfied with the status quo and do not work hard to make progress. Sometimes it is also used to persuade people to be content.
Origined from Zhao Qi's "San Fu Jue Lu" of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "It is not as good as Cui and Du, and it is more than Luo and Zhao."
Cui Ziyu and Du Bodu are the former A famous calligrapher of the ancient times, famous for his cursive script. The two calligraphers Luo Hui and Zhao Xi lived in a later era than Du Bodu.
A man named Zhang Boying was a contemporary of Luo and Zhao. Zhang Boying was so proud that he often laughed at Luo and Zhao for their poor calligraphy. He even wrote to his friend Zhu Ci, saying that he was "not as good as Cui and Du, but more than Luo and Zhao.", which meant that he Although his writing is not as good as Cui Ziyu and Du Bodu, it is more than enough than Luo Hui and Zhao Xi.
The first half of the sentence is false modesty, because Cui and Du were already famous calligraphers in the previous dynasty. To say that they are inferior is of course a last resort, but the second half is obviously to belittle others. , pick yourself up.
Later, Zhang Boying’s saying evolved into “If you compare with the superiors, you are not enough, but if you compare with the inferiors, there is more than enough”, and became widely circulated. This sentence often refers to an intermediate state between good and not bad. However, the meaning is different depending on the occasion when it is used. Sometimes it means that one is satisfied with the current situation, sometimes it is used to comfort others, and sometimes it is used in its original meaning to brag.
Introduction to Sanfu Juelu
Sanfu Juelu is a history book about the history and characters of Sanfu written by Zhao Qi during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It has 7 volumes.
Qizi prefaced that in his dream, he met a person named Yuan Ming and Zizhen, who praised and criticized famous figures in the Sanfu area since the Jianwu period of Emperor Guangwu. After waking up, he wrote down the notes and ordered people to copy them into a book, with the words " Now that the person is dead, his behavior can be written down, and the jade and purple are determined from this." Therefore, it is called "Sanfu Juelu". Each article only records deeds without comments. Only praise and criticism can be seen in the narrative.
This book records historical events and figures since the Jianwu reign of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, and provides important information for future generations to understand the history and culture at that time. Zhi Yu during the Western Jin Dynasty made annotations for the book. Although the official version no longer exists, later scholars worked hard to preserve some contents of this ancient historical work through compilation and annotation for future generations to study and understand.