难兄难弟
“难兄难弟”是个有趣而特别的成语，它的出处故事内容，简单但有趣；成语蕴涵意义的变迁，巨大而特别。
据《世说新语·德行篇》记载，有个陈氏家族，家长陈寔（此字粤语和普通话都读为“实”）有元方、季方两个儿子，都是功业有成，尊长爱幼，德行甚佳。一次， 陈元方的儿子长文，陈季方的儿子孝先，二小儿谈论人品问题，都极自豪地夸耀各自父亲的功德，争论得不可开交。
长文和孝先二童僵持不下找祖父陈寔评理，陈《寔笑看二孙争论，不期然觉得他们的父亲元方和季方都是好样的，于中感叹道：“元方难为弟，季方难为兄！”意思 是，元方实在是好啊，好到很难做他弟弟（去效法学习他）；季方也好得很啊，好到很难做他哥哥（去效法学习他）。
从此，这句感叹被人们紧缩成“难兄难弟”成语，不难领会，原成语的意思是说兄弟皆佳，无可挑剔，并驾齐驱。但是，这个本指好到“难于做兄，难于做弟”的意 思渐渐被人遗忘，大家把“难于”之“难”解作了“落难”之“难”了。这解法同原解恰恰相反，一改形容兄弟都非常优秀的意念，变成了讥讽一对兄弟都同样坏的 语义了。
现在，形容两个出类拔萃吕行皆佳者是“难兄难弟”，变成误解错用；形容坏人或是共同落难之人才觉合适了。
Difficult to call one “elder brother” and the other “younger brother”; Fellow suffers
About 2,100 years ago, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, there lived a man named Chen Shi in Yingchuan in central China’s Henan province. He was born to a very poor family. But he studied diligently and soon became an official. As a county magistrate, he lived a simple, frugal life. He was honest in performing his official duties, and very fair to all. So the people in his county all admired him. He had two sons, the elder was named Yuanfang, and the younger, Jifang. They grew into noble-minded persons, too. Whenever Chen Shi went out on business, Yuanfang pulled the cart for his father, and Jifang followed behind, carrying his father’s walking stick. Onlookers praised the two good sons.
One day, a guest asked Jifang, “What merits and virtues does your father have that he enjoys such a high prestige?”
Jifang replied: “My father is like an osmanthus tree growing by Mount Tai. Above the tree is a lofty mountain, and below it is a deep valley, that has never been surveyed. The tree is nourished by sweet dew from above, and valley spring water from below. In that case, how can the osmanthus know the height of Mount Tai and the depth of the valley spring? So I don’t know whether daddy has any merit and virtue, or not.” Jifang’s answer made the guest blush.
Yuanfang was also very famous. Later, he was appointed a senior official. Because Chen Shi, Yuanfang and Jifang were of noble character and high prestige, local officials told painters to draw their portraits on the city wall to encourage the common people to follow their example.
Yuanfang and Jifang each had a son. One day, the two young boys had a heated argument, each insisting that his own father was more distinguished in morality. As neither would give in, they went to their grandfather Chen Shi for a judgment. Thinking about it, Chen Shi said: “Well, Yuanfang is the elder brother, so he should be wiser and more moral: but it is difficult to tell if he is. Jifang is the younger, so he should be less wise, and less moral: but it is difficult to tell if he is. They both have noble characters. It’s difficult to judge who is the better.”
From the old man’s reply originated the idiom Nan Xiong Nan Di – Difficult to call one elder brother and the other younger brother, or simply, “a noble pair of brothers” or -“two just alike”. But the character 难 ( nan, second tone ) meaning “Hard” or “Difficult”, can also be pronounced in the fourth tone 难, which means something different – “Hardship” or “Disaster”. Over the years, the Nan (second tone) changed to Nan (fourth tone), so the meaning of the entire idiom changed. People now use it to mean “fellow sufferers,” or “two or more people in the same boat.”
(Source:english.cri.cn)
