Source: selected from this article, selected from Meng Zixia.

Original text:

People are unchangeable, and then they can change; Trapped in the heart, balanced in consideration, and then made; Color label, sound hair, 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.

Translation:

People often make mistakes before they can correct them; Inner difficulties, blocked thinking, and then you can make a difference;

All this is shown on the face, expressed in words, and then understood. A country, if there is no minister who insists on laws, no sage who assists the monarch, and if there is no invasion by hostile countries and foreign enemies abroad, it will often go to extinction.

This shows that sadness can make people alive, and ease and pleasure can make people haggard and die.

Extended data:

Creative background:

This article is selected from Mencius Gao Zi Xia. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were wars and disputes. If a country wants to be in an invincible position, it must work hard and not be complacent. This article is written under this background.

This is a reasoning essay with sufficient arguments and eloquence. Firstly, the author lists six examples of people who were tempered by poverty and setbacks and finally took on great responsibilities, which proves that hardship can motivate people to work hard and achieve new achievements.

Then, the author further demonstrates the truth that sorrow is greater than heart death from two different angles: the development of a person and the rise and fall of a country.

Finally, let nature take its course and come to the conclusion that "born in sorrow, died in happiness".

The full text adopts the way of enumerating historical cases and reasoning, and deduces them layer by layer, making the article compact and meticulous.

In addition, the article uses parallelism and antithesis, even if the tone is patchy, it also creates an unstoppable momentum and effectively enhances the persuasiveness of the argument.