The first sentence of "Yu Ru Yucheng" is: poverty, lowliness and sorrow.

It comes from "Xi Ming" by Song Dynasty writer Zhang Zai of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Excerpts from the original article:

Wealth and good fortune will support my life; poverty and sorrow will help you succeed. If you save, I will be fine; if you don't, I will be happy.

Translation:

The blessings of wealth and honor are given by Qiankun’s parents to enrich my life; poverty and sorrow are used to help you achieve a career. When I was alive, I obeyed the principles (required by Qiankun’s parents); when I died, I felt at ease and passed away peacefully.

Extended information:

Zhang Zai (1020-1077), courtesy name Zihou, was born in Hengqu Town, Fengxiang County (now Meixian County, Shaanxi Province), and was a thinker and educator in the Northern Song Dynasty. , one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism. He is known as Mr. Hengqu in the world, and is honored as Zhang Zi. He is honored as a sage and is enshrined in the 38th west veranda of the Confucius Temple.

His famous sayings of "establishing a mind for the heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, carrying forward the unique knowledge for the past saints, and creating peace for all generations" were called "Four Hengqu Sentences" by the contemporary philosopher Feng Youlan because of their simplicity and grand meaning. , which has been praised throughout the ages.

Zhang Zai's "Xi Ming" is highly praised and recited in traditional society. The fundamental reason is that although this inscription only has more than 250 words, it establishes the way for people to settle down and live their lives. Build a unique spiritual home.

And it provides a broad realm for the construction of social ideal blueprint. To this day, the value ideals described in this inscription and the pursuit of life shown still have positive and rich meanings.

Zhang Zai believes that the prevalence of Buddhism and the decline of Confucianism were the ideological roots of the multiple conflicts in the social value system at that time. Zhang Zai criticized the two teachings of Buddhism and Taoism, "He talks about the cessation of cessation but not back, and favors life and clings to things without transforming them. Although there is a gap between the two, it is said that they are both incompatible with the Tao." Buddhism denies the existence of the real world and pursues self-nirvana and silence.

Taoism denies the mobility of the real world and pursues the longevity of the individual. Although the two have different purposes, they both deny the integrity and existence of social existence and lose concern for social reality. , abandoning the responsibility for social responsibility, and therefore are not values ??that are in line with the authenticity of the world and the needs of society. To solve social problems, we must promote Confucian values ????that actively engage with the world and care about reality.