"Born in sorrow, died in peace and happiness" Pre-Qin Dynasty: Mencius and his disciples

Shun was born in the countryside, Fu Shuo was raised in the building, and Jiao Ge was raised in Among the fish and salt, Guan Yiwu was promoted to the scholar, Sun Shuao was promoted to the sea, and Baili Xi was promoted to the city.

Therefore, when Heaven is about to entrust a person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and mess up his actions. Therefore, tempting his heart and forbearance has benefited him. Can't. (This person's first work: Si Ren)

People always make mistakes, and then they can change; they are trapped in the heart, weighed by worries, and then act; they are marked by color, expressed by sound, and then metaphor. If you enter, you will be unable to control the people at home, if you leave, you will be invincible to foreign patients, and the country will be permanently destroyed.

Then I know that I was born in sorrow and died in happiness.

Translation:

Shun was appointed from the fields, Fu Yue was appointed from the work of building walls, Jiao Ke was appointed from the fish and salt trade, Guan Yiwu was appointed from Sun Shuao was rescued from the hands of prison officials and appointed. Sun Shuao was appointed from a seclusion on the seaside, and Baili Xi was redeemed from the slave market and appointed.

So when God wants to place a heavy responsibility on someone, he must first make his mind distressed and his muscles and bones tired, making him hungry and his body empty and weak, making every action he takes unsatisfactory. This will inspire his will, make his temperament persevering, and increase his abilities that he does not possess.

A person often makes mistakes before he can correct them; he is troubled and blocked by thoughts. Only then can you work hard; others' anger will be expressed in their faces, and their resentment will be expressed in their words, and then you will know. If a country does not have ministers who uphold the law and wise men capable of assisting the king at home, and it does not have neighboring countries to rival it and disasters from foreign countries, it will always be in danger of destruction.

In this way, we will know that sorrow and suffering are enough to make people survive, and comfort and enjoyment are enough to make people perish.

Notes:

1. Shun: Yao’s surname and Chonghua’s given name. During the reign of Emperor Yao of the Tang Dynasty, he farmed in Mount Li (southeast of Jinan, Shandong, or southeast of Yongji, present-day Shanxi). "The father was stubborn, the mother was loud, the younger brother was proud, and he was able to be harmonious and filial." Emperor Yao sent him to the mountains and rivers, and encountered a storm and thunderstorm. , Shun's behavior was not lost, so he passed on the throne of emperor. The name of the country is Yu, and the history is called Yu Shun. Deeds can be found in "Shangshu·Yao Dian" and "Historical Records·The Chronicles of the Five Emperors", etc.

2. Fa: start, refers to appointment.

3. 玎 (quǎn) mu: field mu, which here means cultivated land.玎, field canal.

4. Fu Shuo (fù yuè): During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, it was Xu Mi (a kind of prisoner) and built in Fu Dian (also known as Fu Yan, in the east of Pinglu, Shanxi today). King Wu Ding of Shang Dynasty wanted to prosper the Yin Dynasty. He dreamed of a saint named Suo. Seeing Wu Ding, Wu Ding said: "That's right." He said to him that he was a saint, and he regarded him as a prime minister, and the Yin State was in great power. So he took Fu Xian as his surname and named him Fu Shuo. Deeds can be found in "Historical Records·Yin Benji" and so on.

5. Ju: to be selected.

6. Block building: When building a wall, put soil between two plywood and pound the soil with a pestle to make it solid. A pestle used for building and pounding soil.

7. Jiao Ge (gé): A minister of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, he is also called a wise man together with Wei Zi, Ji Zi and Prince Bigan.

8. Fish salt: This means fishing and salting on the beach. "Historical Records" says that Yan is between Bojie, where there is plenty of fish and salt; it brings mountains and seas together, where there is plenty of fish and salt.

9. Guan Yiwu: Guan Zhong was from Yingshang (now Xuchang, Henan), and his family was poor. He assisted Prince Jiu of Qi State, but Prince Jiu failed to ascend the throne. Prince Xiaobai ascended the throne as Duke Huan of Qi. Duke Huan of Qi knew that he was a virtuous man, released him from prison, made him his prime minister, and respectfully called him Zhongfu. "Historical Records·Biography of Guan Yan": "Guan Zhong was appointed to govern Qi, and Duke Huan of Qi became the hegemon. The nine princes united to rule the world, which was Guan Zhong's plan."

10. Scholar: prison officer.

11. Sun Shuao (áo): The surname is Jiang, the first name is Ao, the courtesy name is Sun Shu, and the first name is Ai Lie. In the Spring and Autumn Period, he was the Prime Minister of Chu State. Originally called "I am the humble one of Qi Si", Qi Si was in Gushi, Henan Province today, and the remote place was called Bi.

12. Sea: seaside.

13. Baili Xi (xī): also known as Baili Xi. He was originally a doctor of the State of Yu. The Jin State destroyed the Yu State, and Baili Xi was captured to the Jin State together with the king of the Yu State.

The Jin State married a daughter to the Qin State, and Baili Xi was treated as a concubine and brought to the Qin State as a dowry. Bailixi fled to Chu State and traveled to Wan (now Nanyang, Henan Province), where he was captured by the people on the border of Chu State. When Duke Mu of Qin heard that he was a virtuous man, he wanted to redeem him again, but he was afraid that the people of Chu would not agree with him, so he sent someone to call Chu and said: "My concubine Baili Xi is here, please redeem me with five pieces of sheepskin." The people of Chu agreed. At that time, Baili Xi was over seventy years old. When he arrived in Qin, Duke Mu of Qin personally released him from prison and talked about state affairs for three days. He was very happy. He was awarded the title of "Doctor Wuxi" in state affairs. It is said in history that Qin Mu Gong used Baili Xi, Jian Shu, and Yu Yu to govern, and "opened up a thousand miles of land and dominated Xirong", becoming one of the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period". The deeds can be found in "Historical Records·Qin Benji".

14. Market: Market.

15. Therefore: Therefore.

16. Ren: responsibility, burden.

17. Is: pronoun, this, these.

18. Also: Particle, used at the end of the first half of a sentence to indicate a pause and explanation in the second half of the sentence.

19. Must: definitely.

20. Suffering: The use of the verb causative means to make... distressed.

21. Mind: will.

22. Lao: The use of the verb to make... tired.

23. Hungry: The use of the verb to make... hungry.

24. Body skin: skin.

25. Empty: The use of the adjective makes...poor.

26. Disorder: The use of adjectives to make...confused. To brush, to violate, to be disobedient. Chaos, confusion.

27. What you do: what you do.

28. So: used to (come through that way...).

29. Verb: The use of verbs to make... startle.

30. Forbearance: The use of adjectives makes... tough.

31. Zeng Yi: Increase. Zeng means "increase".

32. Ability: talent.

33. Heng: often, always.

34. Guo: fault, fault.

35. Trapped in the heart: There is trouble in the heart.

36. Balance in thinking: blocking by thinking. Heng means "horizontal" and obstruction refers to disobedience.

37. Zuo: Rise up, which means to make a difference.

38. Zhengyu color: There is Zhengyu in the complexion, which means the face is haggard. Sign, sign, sign. Color, face, complexion. Zhao Qi's "Notes on Mencius": "If Qu Yuan was haggard, the fisherman would be surprised when he saw him." "Historical Records: Qu Yuan Jia Yi's Biography": "Qu Yuan came to the riverside, and was published by the bank of the river. His color was haggard and his description was withered. When the fisherman saw it, he was surprised. He asked: "Why did you come here if you are not a doctor from Sanlu?" Qu Yuan said: "I am alone in the world of turbidity, and I am alone in being awake when everyone is drunk."

39. Fa Yusheng: Expressive in speech, meaning verbal anger. Zhao Qi's "Notes on Mencius": "If Ning Qi Shang's song, Huan Gong is different from it." Ning Qi was a native of Wei in the Spring and Autumn Period. The family is poor and he works as a cart puller. When they arrived at Qi, they fed the cattle under the cart. Duke Huan of Qi went out at night to greet the guests. When Ning Qi saw him, he quickly struck the horns of the cattle and sang songs. The song said: "The mountains of Nanshan are filled with gangue and the white rocks are rotten. I never met Yao and Shun in my life. I wear a short piece of cloth and a single coat, and I wear thin oxen from midnight to midnight. When will the long night come to an end?" Duke Huan of Qi called him and spoke to him. He was pleased with it and considered him a doctor.

40. Later metaphor: Then people understood him. Metaphor, know, understand.

41. Enter: Nouns are used as adverbials in China.

42. Legalists: Officials with laws.

43. Fu (bì) scholar: a wise man who assists the monarch. Fu, pass "弼", assist.

44. Out: Nouns are used as adverbials in foreign countries.

45. Enemy country: A country with comparable strength and enough to compete.

46. Foreign invasion: disasters from abroad.

47. Heng: often.

48. Death: perish.

49. Born from sorrow: Worry makes people survive and develop.

50. Die from happiness: Enjoying happiness makes people languid and die.

Phenomena of classical Chinese:

Tongjiazi

Zeng benefited what it could not do: Zeng, Tong "Zeng", increase.

Based on thinking: blocking by thinking.

Heng means "horizontal", obstruction, and disobedience.

If you enter, you will be helpless. Fu Shi: Fu (bì), connected with "弼", to assist.

So be tempted and bear it. Forbearance, through "toughness", perseverance. Here it is used as "making (his character) tough".

Using parts of speech

Born in sorrow (life) as a noun as a verb, survive

Die in happiness (die) as a noun as a verb, die

This short article "Born in Sorrow, Dies in Peace" not only has lofty arguments and outstanding insights, which ordinary people cannot explain, but also has clear arguments, rigorous logic, and undeniable persuasiveness. This article makes good use of parallelism and carries out in-depth arguments layer by layer, forming an overwhelming and compelling momentum, which is also worthy of praise in art.

In this short chapter of less than 200 words, Mencius elaborated on the profound truth of "Be born in sorrow and die in happiness", focusing on the relationship between the objective environment and the fate of individuals and the country.

The article says that if a person wants to achieve great things, he must go through many hardships and hardships. Only by experiencing hardships, going through wind and rain, and seeing the world can he temper his will, grow his talents, and take on big responsibilities. If you grow up in a greenhouse and live comfortably, you will not be able to develop the ability to overcome difficulties and get rid of adversity. You will be helpless in the face of difficulties. When you encounter setbacks and adversity, you will become depressed and despairing, which often leads to death. So he came to the conclusion: "Be born in sorrow and die in happiness."

As the most important representative of the Confucian school after Confucius, Mencius developed Confucius' "benevolence" into the doctrine of "benevolent government", put forward the idea that "the people value the monarch over others", and advocated that the monarch implement "benevolent government". We must "have fun" with the people. Mencius' thought and doctrine is the work "Mencius". "Mencius" records Mencius' words and deeds and is a dialogue-style work. Its distinctive features are: first, it is full of momentum, eloquent and vivid; second, it is good at explaining things with typical examples, metaphors and fables. This article is selected from "Mencius Gaozi Xia". During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were wars and disputes. If a country wanted to be invincible, it had to work hard and not be content with the status quo and not make progress. This article is written against this background.