1. The classical Chinese version of "The food that came"

Original text

The Great Hunger of Qi ⑴. Qian Ao (2) placed food on the road, waiting for hungry people (3) to eat. After a long time, there was a hungry man, who came in hastily with his clothes in his sleeves. Qian Ao held food on the left and drink on the right, saying: "Come on! Come and eat!" He raised his eyes and looked at it, saying: "I only do not eat the food that came to me, so that's what I do!" So ⒁ Thanks to Yan, he eventually died without eating. When Zengzi heard about it, he said: "Welcome! The sighs can be gone, and the thanks can be eaten." (Adapted from "Book of Rites")

Notes

⑴ Great hunger: Severe famine. ⑵ Qian Ao: a nobleman in the Spring and Autumn Period. ⑶ Food (sì): Same as "feed", giving food to others. ⑷ Menggao (mèi): Cover your face with your sleeves. 袂, sleeves. ⑸ Ji妦(jù): dragging shoes. Yi, shoes made of hemp, kudzu, etc. in ancient times. ⑹Haoran: looking groggy. ⑺Feng: Same as "hold", here it means holding. ⑻Execution: end. ⑼嗟: Hello, interjection, expressing a command or call. ⑽Raise his eyes: stare into his eyes. ⑾Yu: pronoun, "I". ⑿Wei: plays a connecting role in the sentence, "because". ⒀ Food that comes: an insulting gift. ⒁Si: This, this situation. ⒂From: catch up. ⒃Xie: Apologize. ⒄End: finally.

Translation

A serious famine occurred in Qi. The rich man Qian Ao cooked porridge and placed it on the roadside to feed the hungry people passing by. After a long time, a hungry man came staggeringly, covered his face with the sleeves, dragging his shoes. Qian Ao held food in his left hand and soup in his right, and said: "Hey! Come and eat!" (The hungry people) raised their heads, widened his eyes, stared at him, and said: "It's just because I don't want to eat with food." The humiliating charity ended up like this!" The hungry people refused Qian Ao's charity and eventually starved to death. When Zengzi heard about this, he said: "It's a small thing! Of course, when Qian Ao calls you rudely, you can refuse, but after he apologizes, you can go and eat."

Edit this paragraph analysis

This story tells about a backbone poor man who would rather starve to death than accept "food that comes to him". Later generations used the term "food that comes from afar" to express humiliating charity. Wu Han cited this story as an argument in "Talking about Backbone" to illustrate that the Chinese people have had backbone since ancient times. Le Yangzi's wife in Fan Ye's "Le Yangzi's Wife" uses this allusion to advise her husband to be an honest and ambitious person. This story has been passed down for thousands of years and has a positive meaning, guiding us to be a person like him.

Interpretation

The famous saying "Don't eat what comes to you" comes from this story. It means that in order to show your integrity as a person, you will never accept charity from others humbly, even if it means to yourself. starve. Our tradition attaches great importance to being a person with integrity. In popular terms, people live with one breath, and even if they suffer, they cannot lose this breath. There are also some similar sayings, such as a poor person with a strong ambition, and another example that it is better to be a piece of jade than to live in ruins, which all express the importance of integrity, the emphasis on human dignity, and the importance of the human spirit. Even today, this traditional concept still has its value and rationality. Between the personality spirit and the body, between spiritual pursuit and material pursuit, between human dignity and groveling, the former is higher and more important than the latter. When the two cannot be satisfied, it is better to abandon the latter and sacrifice the latter than to become a walking corpse and a beast in disguise. This is probably the difference between humans being humans and not zombies. Enlightenment "Do not eat the food that comes to you" comes from the book "Mencius". Because King Xuan of Qi did not adopt Mencius's ideas of benevolent government, Mencius left angrily, and King Qi sent envoys to persuade Mencius to stay. Mencius made an impassioned statement: "Wealth and honor cannot be fornicated, poverty and lowliness cannot be moved, and power cannot be subdued." Then he told the story of a beggar who refused to eat the food he brought to him. It reflects the backbone and independent personality of the intellectuals of the Warring States Period. The present meaning retains its original meaning, referring to a person with integrity who refuses to accept humiliating charity. Which is more humiliating than the humiliation of stepping down? Personally, I think the humiliation of stepping under is even worse. It is precisely because Han Xin could endure the humiliation that he was finally able to achieve great success and return home in glory. Therefore, if a person is ambitious, the food that comes to him is not inedible, and eating the food that comes to him does not mean that he must have no spine. What's more, Qian Ao finally realized his rudeness and apologized. Even Zeng Zi said after hearing this: "I'm afraid it shouldn't be like this! When Qian Ao called rudely, he could of course refuse, but after he apologized, he could Go and eat. "A man who can bend and stretch can only save his life today so that he can achieve great things in the future!"

Key points

1. "Book of Rites" is also called "Book of Rites" or "Book of Rites of Xiaodai". One of the Confucian classics, it is a selection of various etiquette treatises before the Qin and Han Dynasties. It is an important reference book for studying the social conditions of ancient China and Confucianism. 2. The image of Qi people who would rather starve to death but maintain personal dignity created by Wen has always been praised by future generations.