扪心自问 mén xīn zì wèn Examine one's conscience

Explanation

扪心自问的意思是：摸着胸口，自己问自己怎么样。指自己反省。

Mén xīn zì wèn means: Touching the chest and asking oneself how it is. It refers to self-reflection.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有个名叫李白的诗人，他一生放荡不羁，豪放洒脱，却也常常因为饮酒作乐而惹下不少麻烦。一次，他与朋友在酒楼饮酒，喝得酩酊大醉，结果与人发生冲突，被官府拘留。在牢狱之中，李白才开始冷静下来，他摸着胸口，扪心自问：我的一生，究竟为了什么？是诗酒风流，还是名利双收？他想起自己年少时立下的志向，想起自己曾经创作的那些气势磅礴的诗篇，又想起自己因为放纵而带来的种种恶果。良久，他泪流满面，深深地悔恨自己过去的种种过错。他写下了许多反省自己的诗篇，决心从此改过自新。出狱后，李白确实收敛了许多，但他依然保持着豪放的性格和对诗歌的热爱。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu gè míng jiào lǐ bái de shī rén, tā yīshēng fàngdàng bù jī, háo fàng sǎ tuō, què yě cháng cháng yīn wèi yǐn jiǔ zuò lè ér rě xià bù shǎo máfan。yī cì, tā yǔ péngyǒu zài jiǔ lóu yǐn jiǔ, hē de mǐng dǐng dà zuì, jiéguǒ yǔ rén fāshēng chōngtú, bèi guān fǔ jūliú。zài láoyù zhī zhōng, lǐ bái cái kāishǐ lěngjìng xià lái, tā mōzhe xiōngkǒu, mén xīn zì wèn: wǒ de yīshēng, jiūjìng wèi le shénme？shì shī jiǔ fēng liú, háishì míng lì shuāng shōu？tā xiǎng qǐ zìjǐ nián shào shí lì xià de zhìxiàng, xiǎng qǐ zìjǐ céngjīng chuàngzuò de nàxiē qìshì bàngbó de shīpiān, yòu xiǎng qǐ zìjǐ yīn wèi fàngzòng ér dài lái de zhǒng zhǒng è guǒ。liáng jiǔ, tā lèiliú mǎnmiàn, shēn shēn de huǐhèn zìjǐ guòqù de zhǒng zhǒng guò cuò。tā xiě xià le xǔduō fǎnxǐng zìjǐ de shīpiān, juéxīn cóng cǐ gǎiguò zìxīn。chū yù hòu, lǐ bái quèshí shōuliǎn le xǔduō, dàn tā yīrán bǎochí zhe háo fàng de xìnggé hé duì shīgē de rè'ài。

It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai. He was unrestrained, generous, and free-spirited throughout his life, but he often got into trouble because of drinking and revelry. Once, he was drinking with friends in a tavern, got drunk, and got into a conflict with someone, leading to his arrest by the authorities. In prison, Li Bai finally calmed down. He touched his chest and asked himself: What have I lived for my whole life? Was it poetry, wine, and pleasure, or fame and fortune? He recalled the ambitions he had set in his youth, the magnificent poems he had written, and the consequences of his indulgence. For a long time, he wept and deeply regretted his past mistakes. He wrote many poems of self-reflection and decided to reform from then on. After his release from prison, Li Bai indeed became more restrained, but he still maintained his unrestrained personality and love for poetry.

Usage

用于劝人作自我反省，也常用于表示自己认真思考，仔细反省。

yòng yú quàn rén zuò zì wǒ fǎnxǐng, yě cháng yòng yú biǎoshì zìjǐ rènzhēn sīkǎo, zǐxì fǎnxǐng。

Used to encourage people to reflect on themselves; also often used to express that they think seriously and reflect carefully.

Examples

• 他独自一人坐在房间里，扪心自问，反思自己最近的行为是否妥当。

  tā dú zì yī rén zuò zài fáng jiān lǐ, mén xīn zì wèn, fǎnsī zìjǐ zuì jìn de xíng wéi shìfǒu tuǒdàng。

  He sat alone in the room, questioning himself whether his recent behavior was appropriate.

• 考试失利后，他认真地扪心自问，找出学习中存在的问题，以便改进。

  kǎoshì shī lì hòu, tā rènzhēn de mén xīn zì wèn, zhǎo chū xuéxí zhōng cún zài de wèntí, yǐ biàn gǎijìn。

  After failing the exam, he seriously questioned himself to find problems in his studies in order to improve.

• 面临重大抉择时，我们需要静下心来扪心自问，才能做出正确的决定。

  liàn miàn zhòngdà juézé shí, wǒmen xūyào jìng xià xīn lái mén xīn zì wèn, cáinéng zuò chū zhèngquè de juédìng。

  When facing a major decision, we need to calm down and ask ourselves before making the right decision.

Related Idioms

• 反省

• 自省

• 反思

Opposite Idioms

• 不思悔改

• 不知反省