Meaning: "A person with a rich family will not die in the market.

Source: "Preface to the Biography of Huo Zhi" by Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty.

Excerpt from the original text : Therefore it is said: “A man with a solid warehouse knows etiquette; a man with sufficient food and clothing knows honor and disgrace. "Rituals are born from existence and abolished from non-existence. Therefore, a gentleman is rich and likes to practice his virtue; a villain is rich to suit his ability. When the abyss is deep, fish will grow there; when the mountains are deep, animals will go there; when people are rich, benevolence and righteousness will be attached to them. The rich man If you are persistent, you will have nothing to gain.

Yidi will benefit greatly. "This is not empty talk. Therefore, it is said: "Everything in the world is for benefit, and everything in the world is for benefit. "The king of thousands of chariots, the prince of ten thousand families, and the king of hundreds of houses are still suffering from poverty, and how much more so for the people who have a single household!

Translation: Therefore, Guan Zhong said: "The warehouses are well stocked, and the common people are rich. Only then can people understand etiquette, have enough food and clothing, and only then can common people distinguish between honor and disgrace. "Etiquette was created when we were rich, but was abandoned when we were poor. Therefore, only when a gentleman is rich can he be willing to show kindness; when a commoner is rich, can he regulate his labor. When the water is deep, fish will naturally gather; when the mountain is deep, animals will gather." They will naturally run away; when people are rich, benevolence and righteousness will naturally follow them.

When a rich person gains power, his reputation will be more prominent; once he loses power, he will be like a foreigner who has no destination and will be unhappy among the Yi and Di tribes. , this situation is even more serious.

As the saying goes: "A person with a rich family will not die in the market." "This is not empty talk. So it is said: "When people in the world are happy, they all come for wealth; when people in the world make noise, they all go there for wealth. "A king with thousands of military chariots, princes with thousands of households in their towns, and officials with a salary of hundreds of households are all afraid of poverty, let alone ordinary people! Extended information

Literary Appreciation

From today's perspective, Sima Qian's economic thoughts expressed in the Biography of Huo Shi cannot be over-praised. As a historian, Sima Qian also had such clear thoughts on economic freedom, and his thoughts on economic activities and businessmen. His views are also of great reference to China today.

In terms of the relationship between the government and the private economy, it is like "the first is to do good things, then to benefit them, then to teach them, and then to order them." The idea of ????fighting with the lowest people" is also inspiring in today's China.

Sima Qian's idea of ??economic freedom has influenced Chinese people of all generations and will continue to do so. His people Ben's thinking and the openness to businessmen have formed a very important part of traditional Chinese thought.

"The Biography of Huo Shi" discusses the period from the late Spring and Autumn Period to the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. A special chapter on social and economic history. In the preface, the author refuted Laozi's theory of historical retrogression of "a small country with few people", affirmed people's reasonable desire to pursue material wealth, and tried to use this to explain social problems and social consciousness issues.

He believed that people's material life needs will inevitably promote the division of labor in social production and the development of various economic sectors in society, and that a person's moral behavior is restricted by the amount of wealth he possesses, thus condemning the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The economic monopoly policy attacked the idealist view of the time that used divine will to explain social problems.

Reference material: Baidu Encyclopedia - Preface to the Biography of the Commodity Culture