成语典故：负荆请罪

Carrying Sticks and Asking for a Flogging

　　Explanation：

　　To offer a sincere apology.

　　Story：

　　During the Warring States Period the king of the State of Qin invited the king of the State of Zhao to a meeting in the territory of Qin. At a banquet in honor of his guest， the king of Qin asked the king of Zhao to play the zither. Although， this was a most humiliating request， the king of Zhao dared not refuse.

　　Lin Xiangru， a senior official of Zhao， who had accompanied his master to Qin， was outraged. So he picked up a large jar， strode up to the king of Qin with it and insisted that he play it like a drum. Intimidated by the fierce Lin， the king of Qin reluctantly struck the jar with his hand once. Thereupon， the assembled ministers of Qin demanded that Zhao hand over 15 cities to Qin in compensation for Lin Xiangru's offense. But Lin coolly demanded that Qin present its capital Xanyang to the king of Zhao as a forfeit for the king of Qin's insult to his visitor. The result was a stalemate， but the king of Zhao's face had been saved. In gratitude， the king promoted Lin Xiangru to the post of grand vizier.

　　This honor done to Lin Yiangru， however， aroused the resentment of Lian Po， the commander-in-chief of the Zhao army. Lian Po grumbled， "I reached my position after risking my life in battle after battle. Yet this fellow Lin Yiangru climbs right to the top of the tree just through talking！ I am determined to humiliate this upstart in public as soon as I meet him." When this threat was conveyed to Lin Xiangru he shut himself up indoors， pretending to be ill， so as to avoid meeting Lian Po.

　　One day Lin Xiangru went out in his carriage. Seeing Lian Po's carriage coming from the opposite direction， he ordered his driver to turn around to avoid a confrontation with Lian Po. This caused his acquaintances to mock him as a coward. But Lin Xiangru said to them： "Who do you think is more powerful， General Lian or the king of Qin？" "The king of Qin， of course，" they replied. Then Lin continued， "You remember that I dared to upbraid the king of Qin public within his own domain， so how could I fear General Lian？ The fact is that the only thing that deters Qin from invading Zhao is the presence of General Lian at the head of our army and myself at the head of the administration. If we two were at loggerheads Qin might be tempted to invade. I cannot risk the safety of the state for my own petty pride."

　　When these words were conveyed to Lian Po he was overcome with remorse. He straightaway gathered up a bundle of wooden sticks， tied them onto his naked back and appeared before Lin Xiangru in an attitude of humble apology.

负荆请罪

　　解释：

　　背着荆条请罪，表示主动向对方赔礼认错。

　　故事：

　　战国时，赵国有一个足智多谋的上大夫蔺相如，还有一个英勇善战的大将军廉颇。有一年，秦王邀请赵王到渑池相会。酒宴上，秦王请赵王弹瑟。赵王弹了一曲。

　　作陪的蔺相如心想，必须为赵王争回面子，于是捧起一个缸，走到秦王面前说：“大王擅长秦乐，请大王一击，以相娱乐。”在蔺相如的强逼下，秦王勉强在缸上击了一下。秦国的大臣气得大叫：“请赵国割让出十五座城作为向秦王的献礼！”蔺相如也高喊：“请秦国把首都咸阳作为向赵王的献礼！”秦国始终没能占到半点便宜。事后，赵王封蔺相如为上大夫。

　　廉颇很不服气，他对人说：“我出生入死，立了许多战功，而蔺相如只凭三寸不烂之舌，就官居我之上。倘若给我遇见，我一定要当面羞辱他。”蔺相如听说以后处处忍让，上朝的日子故意装病在家，以免与廉颇引起争执。

　　有一天，蔺相如出门，远远看见廉颇的马车迎面驶来，他吩咐仆人把车子调转方向，避开廉颇。身边的人都说他太胆小了，蔺相如一笑，问大家：“你们看廉将军与秦王哪个厉害？”大家异口同声地说：“那当然是秦王厉害啦。”蔺相如又道：“我敢在秦国当众呵斥秦王，又怎会偏偏怕廉将军呢？只是我想到，强秦不敢侵赵，是因为有我们两个人在，我们两人要是争斗起来，敌人就要来钻空子。我不能忘掉国家的安危啊！”

　　这些话传到廉颇的耳朵里，廉颇很惭愧，于是光着脊背，背着荆条，到蔺相如府上请罪。