original text
Opportunities vouchsafed by Heaven are outmatched by terrestrial advantages, which in turn are outmatched by the harmony among people. The city of three miles, the country of seven miles, was invincible when attacked by the Lord of the Rings. If the husband attacks it, it will be the right time, and if it is invincible, it will be the right place. The city is not high, the pond is not deep, the army is not strong, and there is not much rice (Si), so it is not as good as people and peace. Therefore, the people in the territory do not take the government boundary, the country does not take the risk of mountains and rivers, and the world does not take advantage of war. Those who gain the Tao help more, while those who lose the Tao help less. Relatives will be there when there is no help. Help more, and the world will be at peace. Take advantage of the world and attack your relatives. A gentleman wins without fighting.
translate
The favorable weather season is not comparable to the favorable geographical environment; The favorable geographical environment is not as good as the will of the people and internal unity in the battle. Li Sancheng (only seven miles away) surrounded and attacked it, but it could not win. Surround and attack it, you must get favorable weather and season, but you can't win, because favorable weather and season are not as good as favorable terrain. The city wall is not high, the moat is not deep, the weapons and equipment are not firm and sharp, and there is no shortage of food and grass. However, the defenders abandoned the city and fled. This is because favorable geographical conditions are not as important as the unity of insiders. Therefore, to let people settle down and not move to other places, we can't just rely on the demarcated border. Consolidating national defense cannot rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers, and deterring the world cannot rely solely on the strength of force. When the monarch practices "benevolent government", many people will help and support him. If the monarch does not practice "benevolent government", few people will support and help him. Few people help him to the extreme, and his relatives will betray him; With so many people helping him, the whole world will submit to him. On the condition that all the people in the world submit to him, we will crack down on the helpless monarch who even betrayed his relatives. Therefore, the monarch who can practice "benevolent government" wins without fighting.
Comment and analysis
At the beginning of this paper, I put forward the view that "the weather is not as good as the geographical position, and the geographical position is not as good as the harmony between people", pointing out that "harmony between people" is the primary condition for defeating the enemy. The right time and place is the secondary aspect ... "Harmony between people" is embodied in the following words: "Help more" and "obey the world", that is, the support and support of the people, which embodies Mencius' political thought of "valuing the people but neglecting the monarch". (Song Zhuxi's comment on this chapter is: "Yin Shi said: He who speaks the world wins the hearts of the people." Jiao Xun's annotation in the Qing Dynasty is: "Man is more important than heaven and earth, so Qiu Min is called the son of heaven." Therefore, this chapter discusses the importance of implementing "benevolent government" by means of war, which is contrary to public opinion. Through comparison, this paper writes two different results of benevolent governance, which reflects the importance of benevolent governance to a country. Therefore, the article first compares the harmony between weather and geographical location, geographical location and people step by step, and points out that these three factors play different roles in the war; Finally, the conclusion that "those who gain the Tao will help more, and those who lose the Tao will help less" is deduced from human harmony to complete the argument of this paper. At the beginning of this chapter, the central argument is put forward, which is proved by generalized war examples, and then theoretical argumentation is carried out, and the conclusion that "those who gain the Tao help more, those who lose it help less" is drawn, and the essence of "human harmony" is clarified. At the end of the article, the "gentleman" who wins "human harmony" and "the war will win" are concluded, which highlights that "human harmony" can best determine the outcome of the war.
The writing characteristics of this chapter
The sentences in this article are neat, fluent, coherent and convincing. For example, when the author demonstrates that geographical location is not as harmonious as interpersonal harmony, he first fully expounds the favorable conditions of "geographical location" possessed by the defensive side with four juxtaposed negative sentences, and then takes a sharp turn and tells the result of failure, which makes the conclusion that "geographical location is not as harmonious as interpersonal harmony" very convincing. For another example, when the author expounds his "Tao helps more", he also uses three negative parallelism sentences first, and naturally draws a conclusion; Then, through the comparison between "more help" and "less help", it is natural to deduce that "a gentleman can defeat the enemy without fighting." The articles in Mencius have always been famous for their eloquence, and they like to use a lot of parallel prose, so their writing is aggressive.
other
(1) Generic words: ① Not much help, one relative: one side leads to rebellion, and betrays ② Zeng Yi's incompetence: Zeng leads to increase, and increase ③ is trapped in the heart, and after considering the balance, then the work: balance leads to horizontal, infarction, failure ④ No home: auxiliary (2 The ancient meaning of entrustment: the present meaning of abandoning entrustment: the ancient meaning of entrusted domain: boundary, the person who limits the territory from the boundary of frontier: region is the ancient meaning: this is not as good as geographical position. Judge ancient meaning of verb soldier: ancient meaning of weapon: ancient meaning of soldier: modern meaning of prison officer: sergeant but ancient meaning: this is modern meaning: the conjunction indicating the turning point has passed the ancient meaning: wrong is modern meaning: the past is ancient meaning: I see, understand today's meaning: metaphor is ancient meaning: use the method of ""to express today's meaning: conjunction to express causality to express ancient meaning: express today's meaning: travel far; Seeking the ancient meaning of color: the present meaning of face: the word color (3) is ambiguous; Therefore: ① the people in the territory do not take the frontier of the country (with prepositions); ② Li Sanshi (with the help of prepositions); The city surrounded by it is invincible (pronoun, referring to the city surrounded by it); (3) help it (with prepositions); ④ The advantages of unobstructed city (pronoun, people who know) are: ① the geographical position is inferior to that of people and (favorable) ② the military revolution is indestructible and (sharp) the city: ① Li Sancheng (inner city) ② The city is not high and (city wall) (4) The part of speech is flexible: domain: the people of the domain do not take the border (noun is verb, restriction) ② Solid: the country does not take the risk of mountains and rivers (adjective is used) Make ... consolidate) ③ Wei: Wei doesn't take advantage of the military revolution in the world (adjectives as verbs to deter) ④ Empty: weak (adjectives as verbs are used flexibly, and resources are scarce) ⑤ Bitterness comes first (adjectives as ... pains) ⑤ Work hard on their bones and muscles (adjectives are used to do ... fatigue) ⑤ Hunger their bodies and skin (. (1) The weather is not as good as the geographical position, and the geographical position is not as good as people. The weather and season that are conducive to combat are not as good as the geographical situation that is conducive to combat. Not as good as the will of the people in the battle and internal unity. ) (2) There must be a good time to attack the ring, but the victory or defeat is not as good as the geographical position (using four sides; Surround-you must have got the weather and season that are conducive to combat, but you can't win, because the weather and season that are conducive to combat are not as good as the geographical situation that is conducive to combat. (3) Take the world at will and attack the relatives, and the gentleman wins without fighting. On condition that all the people in the world submit to him, he will attack the helpless king who betrayed his relatives. So the monarch won without fighting. )
Be born at hardship, die at peace and happiness
original text
Shun was born in mu, Fu Shuo was born in the middle of the building, and the glue was in fish and salt. Guan Yi I was a scholar, Sun Shuai was in the sea, and a hundred miles was in the city. Therefore, when the sky falls, people must first suffer their minds, their bones and muscles, starve their bodies, empty their bodies, and mess around. Therefore, patience has benefited them a lot. People are unchangeable, and then they can change; Trapped in the mind, think before you act; Symbols use color, hair uses sound, and then metaphor. A country, if there are no ministers and wise men who can assist the king, will often be in danger of the collapse of its neighboring countries and the misfortunes from abroad. In this way, you will know that sorrow is enough to make people live and pleasure is enough to make people die.
translate
China's Shun was appointed from the field, selected from the bricklayers who built the wall, Jiao was promoted from the people who sold fish and salt, Guan Yiwu was promoted after the release of the prison officer, Sun Shuai was selected from the secluded seaside, and Prissy was selected from the market. Therefore, God will give such people a great responsibility. They must first make their hearts miserable, make their bones and muscles tired, make him suffer from hunger, make him suffer from poverty, and make him do bad things, thus disturbing his heart, strengthening his character and increasing his talents that he does not have. People often make mistakes before they can correct them; I am troubled when I make a mistake. I can get up [or do something] if I think about it. The haggard color is shown on the face, the sigh is shown in the voice, and then I understand. If there are no ministers who stick to the statutes and sages who can assist the monarch at home, and there are no comparable neighboring countries and disasters from abroad, countries (like this) will often perish, so suffering (which can inspire people to work hard) will make people survive and develop, while enjoying happiness will make people die. Another version of Mencius said: "Shun worked in the fields since childhood, and was selected from the work of building walls, glue was selected from selling fish and salt, Guan Zhong was promoted to a prisoner, Sun Shuai was found from the seaside, and Prissy was redeemed from the market. Therefore, if God wants to land a great mission on someone, he must first temper his will, make his bones and muscles tired, make his body suffer from hunger and poverty, and make himself always unable to do things smoothly. This will shake his mind, strengthen his temperament and increase his talent. People always make mistakes before they correct them; . If you are depressed, you will be extremely anxious, and then you can work hard; Expressed in the face, expressed in the voice, and then understood. A country, which has no law-abiding ministers and auxiliary saints at home and no worries of countries with considerable influence abroad, is often easy to perish. It can be seen that people can live because of worry, or they can die because of comfort. " Exam edition was born in worry, died in happiness and resigned to other places. Fu Shuo was selected among masons, Jiao Zhen among merchants selling fish and salt, Guan Yiwu was released and appointed from prison officials, Sun Shuaio was selected in seclusion by the sea, and Prissy was selected in the market. Therefore, if God wants to send such a great mission to such a person, he must first make his heart miserable, his bones and muscles tired, his hunger, his poverty and his work go wrong. Through these hard training methods, his heart was shocked, his character was strengthened, and his original lack of talent was increased. People often make mistakes in order to correct them later. My heart is troubled, my thoughts are blocked, and then I do something. The haggard and haggard expression is in the face, the sigh is in the voice, and then people understand him. If there are no law-abiding ministers or sages to assist the monarch at home, if there are no hostile countries or disasters abroad, the country will often perish. Only in this way can I understand that I can live because of anxiety and decline because of indulging in happiness.
To annotate ...
(1) This topic is selected from Mencius under the High Attitude. The author is an editor, surnamed Gao, a student of Mencius and a descendant of Confucianism and Mohism. Some excerpts here are entitled "Shunfa Fishes". (2) Shun (shùn) was born in an acre (Qu n): Shun rose from the field. Shun used to farm in Lishan. At the age of 30, he was used by Yao, and later succeeded him as the king of Yao. From, from, refers to being appointed. Yu, preposition, cong. A ditch in the field, a ditch in the field. Mu, field ridge. "Mu" refers to fields, fields and fields. Shun, the legendary ancient emperor. (3) Fu Shuo was lifted between buildings: Fu Shuo was lifted to the plasterer who built the wall. Fu Shuo, a native of Shang Dynasty, used to be a plasterer of Yan Fu, building walls for people. Wu Ding, the king of Yin, paid him a visit and took him as a photograph. Promote, be used, be chosen. Board building, when building a wall, put the soil between two plywood and tamp it with a pestle. Plywood for wall-beating. A pestle used to build and tamp soil. (4) gé was lifted in fish salt: gé was lifted from a vendor selling fish salt. The sage of Shang Dynasty, who sold fish and salt at first, recommended him to Zhou. Later, he assisted Zhou Wuwang. Yu, preposition, cong. (5) Guan Yiwu was promoted to a scholar: Guan Yiwu was released from prison as an official and was hired. Guan Zhong (Yi Wu) was originally the minister of Childe Nine of Qi State, and (Qi Huangong) competed with Childe Nine for the throne, but the rectification failed. Guan Zhong was sent back to China as a sinner, and Qi Huangong knew that he was talented, that is, he was regarded as a relative. Being promoted to a scholar means getting rid of prison officials and getting a job. Sergeant, prison officer. Being promoted to a scholar means being released and appointed from prison officials. (6) Sun Shuai rose to the sea: Sun Shuai rose to the court from the quiet seaside. Sun Shao, a native of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period, lived in seclusion by the sea. Chu Zhuangwang knew that he was very talented, so he married her. (7) Priscilla was brought up in the city: Priscilla was brought up from the market and took photos. Bai Xixi was a doctor of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period. After Yu Wang was captured, he entered Qin and then fled to Chu. Later, Qin Mugong redeemed him with five sheepskins (G incarnation, black ram) and made him a doctor. A city, market, place to do business. (8) great responsibility: great responsibility or the responsibility of governing the country. Duty, responsibility, mission, burden. (9) So people also: (give great responsibility) to this person. Yes, demonstrative pronoun, this. Also, it is used at the end of the first half sentence to indicate a pause, and the second half sentence will explain. (10) You have to suffer his heart first: you have to suffer his heart first. Suffer, this adjective is used to create, create ... pain. (1 1) tired his bones and muscles: tired his bones and muscles. Tired of work, manufacturing ... Its pronoun, his. (12) starve his body and skin: it means to make him suffer from hunger and make his skin thinner. Hungry, let hungry. (13) Being empty means making him poor. Empty: poverty. Lack: absolutely. This refers to making a person poor (14) and confusing her behavior: it is her fault. Flirting, aggression. What you did, what you did. Excuse me, excuse me. (15) So: use (like this ...). (16) Endurance: awaken his heart and hone his character. Move, disturb. Put up with, make ... be patient. (17) Ceng Yi can't do it: increase what he can't do and let him grow his talents. Once, through "increase", increase. Therefore, auxiliary words and "can't" constitute noun phrases, which refer to unreachable objects. (18) constant: often. (19) Guo: There is a mistake. A verb is used here. (20) Only then can it be changed: only in this way can it be changed later. (2 1) trapped in the heart: inner troubles. Sleepy, anxious. Yu, preposition, in. (22) Consideration balance: Thinking about congestion. Balance, through the "horizontal", is blocked, which means it is not smooth. (23) Later: Then you can act. Do, stand up, and intend to do something. (24) color sign: manifested in the face. It means haggard and haggard, which is reflected in color. Symbol, expression, performance. (25) from the sound: it means that the sigh comes from the sound. (26) After metaphor: (See his face and smell his voice) Then people know him. Yu, understand, understand. (27) if you enter, you can't go home: at home, if you can't assist the judges and wise men of the monarch. Into, inside, refers to the domestic. Legalists, ministers who can stick to statutes. A wise man enough to assist the monarch. Brush, pass "finish", assist finish, assist. So, if. (28) Foreign patients are invincible: in a foreign country, if there is no hostile country or foreign disaster. Get out, get out. Refers to foreign countries. Enemy country, a country with equal strength and status. Foreign invasion, foreign invasion, mostly foreign invasion. Person, mood particle, pause. (29) Countries always perish: countries often perish. Constant, often. Then knowledge is born of worry: only after this can we understand that we can survive and develop because of worry. Then, after that. Yu, preposition, because, indicates the reason. Live, make ... live. (3 1) Died of happiness: of comfort and enjoyment. Death: To cause death.
Comment and analysis
This chapter is about cultivating talents and governing the country. Mencius believed that talents were cultivated in a difficult environment, so he said, "We must first suffer from their thoughts ... and do whatever they want." Through such training, we can be "patient and benefit from what they can't do." But this is only one aspect of the problem. On the other hand, he attaches importance to people's subjective factors and puts forward the view of "thinking before acting", which requires the above subjective and objective conditions to cultivate talents. The essay is then deduced from the individual to the country, and it is proposed that "if you enter, you will not be able to go home, but if you leave, you will be invincible against foreign invasion and the country will die." This is aimed at the monarch, which means that if there are no officials who strictly enforce the law and dare to speak out, the monarch will run amok and lead to the decline of the country; Without the intrusion of neighboring countries, the monarch would indulge in happiness and lead to the decline of the country. This naturally leads to the central idea of this chapter-"born in sorrow, died in happiness", whether it is an individual or a country.
The writing characteristics of this chapter
At the beginning of the article, six comparisons are used in succession, and the facts are summarized to show that although these people were born in poverty, they finally achieved extraordinary careers after hard training. According to these facts, the author draws a convincing conclusion with several phrases: "Heaven will demote a great post, so will people". On this basis, the author further demonstrates the benefits of being tempered from both positive and negative aspects, and finally puts forward the central argument of this paper, which fully embodies the characteristics of Mencius' articles with strict logic and brilliant literary talent.
Compare the demonstration methods in the two chapters.
similar
Both of these short essays adopt analogical argumentation: the first one emphasizes that "the weather is not as good as the geographical position, and the geographical position is not as good as human harmony", and then deduces the truth of governing the country through deductive reasoning; Secondly, starting from individual cases, after drawing the view that "talents come from difficulties", we turn to rulers to govern the country, pointing out that the factors that determine the survival of the country are similar to those that determine whether individuals can achieve great things, and finally introducing the argument with inductive reasoning.
discrepancy
There are different ways to put forward the argument: the argument in the first article is "more help when you gain the Tao, less help when you lose the Tao", which is pointed out in the middle of the article; The second thesis argument "born in sorrow, died in happiness" is revealed at the end of the article. They are mainly aimed at the supreme ruler.