" Kělián yèbàn xū qiánxí " xiě de shì Hàn Wéndì bànyè zhàojiàn Jiǎ Yì de shì.
'A pity he leaned forward on his mat at midnight, all for nothing' is about Emperor Wen of Han summoning Jia Yi in the middle of the night.
Tips
history
From 李商隐's quatrain 贾生. The 史记 tells how 汉文帝 called 贾谊 back from Changsha and questioned him about spirits until midnight, edging forward on his mat to hear him better. The next line gives the sting: 不问苍生问鬼神 'asking not about the common people but about ghosts and gods'.
usage
可怜 here is the classical 'what a pity', not today's 'pitiful', and 虚 means 'in vain'. 前席, 'to move forward on one's mat', comes from the days when people sat on mats on the floor.
