"Not Surprised by Honor or Disgrace"
The original text is written by Lu Chengqing, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Kao said: "Supervise the transportation of grain, and the test is below average." The man looked calm and calm, and retreated without saying a word. Chengqing respected his magnanimity and changed it to: "It's beyond my ability, but I passed the exam." There was neither joy nor shame in the words. Then he changed it and said: "Don't be surprised by honor or disgrace. I will pass the exam." Everyone praised Qing's Hongshu.
Translation Lu Chengqing was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In the early years of Emperor Gaozong's general chapter in the Tang Dynasty, he was responsible for the inspection and assessment of internal and external officials in the imperial court. At this time, there was a person who was responsible for supervising the transportation of supplies to the imperial court. Due to a strong storm on the way, he lost a lot of grain and rice. So when Lu was doing an assessment for him, he gave instructions: "If you supervise the transportation of grain, you will get a middle or lower grade in the examination." The official behaved calmly and resigned without saying anything. Lu felt that this person was magnanimous and worthy of respect, so he later changed his performance appraisal to: "The loss of food is beyond his ability, and he passed the exam." Who knew this person After the officials knew about this, they remained as calm as last time. There was neither joy nor humility in their mouths. Lu was particularly impressed by this, and finally changed his performance evaluation to: "Don't be surprised by honor or disgrace, and pass the exam with an average grade." In this way, Lu Chengqing's magnanimous, loyal and forgiving demeanor was also unanimously praised by everyone.
It is very difficult for a person's cultivation to reach a level where he is not shocked by "honor" or "humiliation". Because "life is often unsatisfactory", life itself is an endless challenge process, how difficult it is to learn to "endure" under any circumstances! Lu Chengqing in the story was able to tolerate the official's attitude so generously, which many leaders today cannot do.
In life and work, if you can practice "patience" and have an "indifferent" mind, you will not be far from "not surprised by honor or disgrace".
I really appreciate Zhuge Liang’s belief in “being indifferent to wisdom” and constantly sublimating his character. I also like Fan Zhongyan’s famous saying “Don’t be happy with things, don’t be sad with yourself”. Being able to do What do the gains and losses in the outside world have to do with me? What a high state it is!