Ceng Zi Zuo Yi
Pre-Qin Dynasty: Anonymous
Ceng Zi is ill. Le Zhengzi Chun is sitting under the bed, Zeng Yuan and Zeng Shen are sitting at the feet, and the boy is sitting in the corner holding a candle. The boy said, "flashy, what's the difference with a doctor?" Zichun said, "Stop!" Hearing this, Ceng Zi Qu Ran said, "Hoo!" Say, "Gorgeous, what is a doctor?" Ceng Zi said, "Of course. Thanks to Ji Sun, I can't change it. Yuan, changeable. " Zeng Yuan said, "Your master's illness has changed and cannot be changed. Fortunately, as for Dan, please respect it. " Ceng Zi said, "Your love for me is not as good as mine. A gentleman's love is also virtuous, and a fine lover is also tolerant. What can I ask? I deserve to die. " Easy to help. The reverse seat is not safe.
translate
Ceng Zi is lying in bed, dying. Zi Chun, a disciple of Ceng Zi, sat by the bed, Zeng Yuan and Zeng Shen sat at the end of the bed, and the boy sat in the corner with a candle. The little servant said, "It's beautiful and bright. It's a doctor's bamboo mat! " Zi Chun said, "Shut up!" Ceng Zi listened and said in fear, "Ah!" "Beautiful and smart," said the boy's servant. "That's a bamboo mat for doctors!" Ceng Zi said, "Yes. That's Ji Sun's. I didn't. (Zeng) Yuan, (help me) get up and change bamboo mats. " Zeng Yuan said, "Your illness is so serious that you can't move. If (if) you are lucky enough to arrive in the morning, you must change it according to your meaning. " Ceng Zi said, "You love me more than he (the footman). Love your lover according to moral standards, and accommodate your lover without principles. What else do I ask? I can get the right path (feudal ethics) and die, which is enough. " (Zeng Yuan) Help lift (his body), then put it back on the bamboo mat and send him back to the mat. He died before lying down.
To annotate ...
(1) Ceng Zi: Zeng Shen, a disciple of Confucius.
(2) Sleeping sickness: Sick and being sick often get sick. Sleep, sleep. Illness, sickness.
(3) Le Zhengzi Chun: Zeng Shen's disciple.
(4) Zeng Yuan and Zeng Shen: Both are sons of Ceng Zi.
(5) Corner: Nouns as adverbials are in the corner.
(6) Hu m \u n: gorgeous and smooth.
(7) (zé): mat。
(8) Quran: amazed eyes.
(9): Dr. Lu; Ceng Zi was given by him, and he was dirty.
(10) Ge: "Urgent" means serious illness.
(1 1) Change: This refers to movement.
(12) Tolerance: unprincipled tolerance
(13) A fair death honors the whole life.
(14) Anti: Same as "Hui".
(15) No: same as "death".
analyse
The purpose of the article is obvious, not to expose the collapse of "ceremony", but to tell people through this story that ceremony is more important than life, and Zeng Shen is a model to protect it with his own body. For today's readers, taking Zeng Shen as an example is extremely pedantic. But aside from the content of the "ceremony" that Zeng Shen abided by, his spirit of being strict with himself and being able to correct his mistakes is also touching. It is still the famous saying that "a gentleman loves, considerate and tolerant", and the content of "virtue" is alternating between the old and the new.
For Ceng Zi, the life change at the end of his life is only the smallest detail in his life, and this detail is the dazzling flash in his last breath. The creator of The Book of Rites described this detail concisely and vividly. Although there are not many words, the scene of treating the disease is very specific and the modality of the characters is fully displayed. Especially boys are unscrupulous and outspoken; Zeng Shen's resolute attitude and serious heart make people feel immersive.
When Ceng Zi was seriously ill, he insisted on replacing the mattress that was not commensurate with his status, and even died in the process of replacing the mattress, which showed Ceng Zi's firm belief in abiding by etiquette and law, and also embodied the Confucian concept of supremacy of etiquette and law. This is an extreme example of "self-denial".