Xun Jian Shi Kang’s original text and translation. Why did political advisors gain the respect of Emperor Zhenzong?

Original text

I am from the Han family, and I have inherited it from generation to generation with innocence. My nature does not like luxury and extravagance, and I am a suckling child. When the elders dress me in gold, silver, and beauty, I often throw them away in shame. The name of the family "Twenty" (t i a n), I heard that no flowers were worn at the wedding banquet. In the same year, he said: "You can't violate the gift given by you." It was a flower on the hairpin. All my life I have been wearing clothes to keep out the cold, and eating enough to fill my belly. I don’t dare to suffer from dirt and evil just to make a name for myself, but I am just angry at my nature. Everyone is proud of extravagance, but in my heart, frugality is the beauty. Everyone sneered (c hi) that I was stubborn, but I didn’t think I was sick, so I responded by saying: "Confucius said, 'It is better to be solid than to be inferior'. He also said, 'Those who fail to make promises are rare.' He also said, 'A scholar is determined to be a Taoist. "Shame on (e) clothing and (e) eating is not enough to discuss. The ancients regarded frugality as a virtue, but today people use frugality to criticize (g o u) illness. Hehe, it's strange!"

In recent years, customs have become particularly extravagant, with soldiers wearing uniforms and farmers slipping on silk shoes. I remember that the ancestor of Tianshengzhong was the judge of the herds of the group. When guests arrived, they would always bring wine, maybe three or five elements, but no more than seven. The wine was in the market, and the fruit was only pears, chestnuts, dates, persimmons, etc., and the food (yao) It was limited to preserved meat (fu), glutinous rice (h a i), vegetables, and soup. The utensils were made of porcelain and lacquer. At that time, the scholar-bureaucrats all had the same style, and people did not disagree with each other. He can count (s h u o) but is courteous and diligent. He is thin in material but thick in affection. Recently, in the houses of scholar-bureaucrats, the wine is not the best, the fruits and dishes are not rare from far away places, the food is not rich, the utensils are not full, they dare not meet guests and friends, they often gather together for several months, and then they dare to send out letters. If it is not the case, people will argue against it and think it is stingy, so those who do not follow the customs will be praised. Sigh! The customs are so decadent and evil. Although the people in the position cannot restrain them, they can't bear to help them!

I also heard that in the past, Duke Li Wenjing was the prime minister, and his official position was in the Fengqiu Gate. . Or it was said that he was too narrow-minded (ai), and the public laughed and said: "I should pass it on to my descendants when I am in the position. This is because the prime minister is sincere and narrow-minded in listening to things. It is because he is too generous to listen to things with great blessing and courtesy." When Lu Gong participated in politics, he served as an admonisher, and Zhenzong sent him The envoy summoned him urgently and found him in a restaurant. After entering, ask them where they are and answer them truthfully. The superior said: "You are an official of the Qing Dynasty, why do you drink in a wine shop?" He said to him: "My family is poor, and the guests have no utensils, food, or fruits, so I drink wine in the wine shop." The superior said that there is no concealment, which is beneficial to the emphasis. Zhang Wenjie was the prime minister, and he supported himself as if he were the secretary of Heyang Zhang. On the day of his relatives or regulations: "The public has received a lot of salary, and he has been treated like this. Although he is confident that he will keep the promise, outsiders are quite ridiculed by Gongsun Bubei." It is better to follow the crowd." The public sighed and said: "My salary today is good for my family, but why can't I afford it? It is human nature to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to change from luxury to frugality. How can the body last forever? If it is different from today, my family has been accustomed to luxury for a long time, and if I cannot be frugal, I will lose my place. How can it be as if I were to die in one day?" Oh, great sage. Foresight and foresight are beyond the reach of ordinary people?

Yu Sun said: "Frugality is the greatest virtue; luxury is the greatest evil." ***, the same thing. It is said that all those who are virtuous come from frugality. If a husband is frugal, he will have few desires; if a gentleman has few desires, he will not be servile to things and can walk in a straight line; if a villain has few desires, he will be able to use his own body and use it wisely, which will offend the Feng family. Therefore, it is said: "Frugality is the ultimate virtue." Extravagance leads to many desires; a gentleman's many desires lead to greed for wealth and honor, which will lead to disaster in vain; a villain's many desires lead to excessive use, ruining the family and losing one's life; therefore, if you want to be an official, you will bribe, and if you live in the country, you will steal, so it is said: "Luxury, The evil is great. "

In the past, when his father was studying porridge to make ends meet, Meng Xizi knew that there would be a master in his future. Ji Wenzi looked at the three kings. The concubine did not wear silk and the horse did not eat millet. The gentleman thought he was loyal. Guan Zhonglu (1 o u) Gui (g u T) Zhu Hong (hong), Shan Jie Zao Tax (z h u 6), Confucius despised his small utensils. Gongsun Wenzi enjoyed Duke Ling of Wei. Shi Quan (q i u) knew that he was in trouble, and he was in Xu (x u). As a result, he was offended by his wealth and fled. How could one eclipse ten thousand yuan a day, and his grandson be so arrogant that his whole family be ruined? Shi Chong praised others for his extravagance, but he died in Dongshi because of it. In recent times, Kou Caigong was a wealthy man, but because of his great achievements, no one could blame him. His descendants followed his family tradition, and many of them are now poor. There are many others who have made a name for themselves by being frugal and have ruined themselves by being extravagant. It is impossible to enumerate them. Let me give you a few examples to teach you. If you are not a mere disciple, you should obey and practice. You should teach your descendants so that they can know the customs of their predecessors.

Translation

I was originally from a poor family, and I have inherited a clean family tradition from generation to generation.

I don't like luxury by nature. When I was a child, my elders gave me gorgeous clothes decorated with gold and silver ornaments, but I was always shy to take them off. When I was twenty years old, I was listed as a Jinshi. When I attended the wedding banquet, I was the only one who did not wear a flower. In the same year, I said: "The emperor has given it to you to wear, and you cannot violate it." In this way, I wore a hairpin with a flower. Usually I only dress to keep out the cold, and eat only to fill my stomach. I don’t dare to wear dirty and torn clothes to gain a good reputation by going against the secular rules. I just follow my nature. Everyone is proud of luxury, but in my heart I only regard frugality and simplicity as beauty. People laughed at my stubbornness and lack of generosity, but I did not think it was a flaw. I answered them: "Confucius said, 'It is better to be stubborn and ignorant than to be luxurious and proud.' He also said, 'There are very few people who make mistakes because of frugality.' He also said, ' Aspiring to the truth, people actually regard frugality as a shortcoming and mistake. Oh, how strange it is!"

In recent years, social customs have become particularly extravagant and luxurious. Most of the people who work as errands wear clothes similar to those of scholars. The farmers wore silk shoes. I remember that during the Tiansheng reign, my late grandfather was the judge of the group shepherds. When a guest arrived, there was always a wine reception. Sometimes the wine was served three times, sometimes five times, and the most was seven times. The wine was bought from the market, and the fruit was just pears. , chestnuts, red dates, persimmons, etc., the dishes are only dried meat, meat sauce, vegetable soup, etc., and the utensils are only porcelain and lacquerware: this was the case in the homes of scholar-bureaucrats at that time, and people did not think there was anything wrong with it. There are many gatherings but the etiquette is attentive. The material is not rich but the affection is deep. In the homes of today's scholar-bureaucrats, wine is not brewed according to the inner court brewing method, fruits and dishes are not rare and exotic from far away, there are not many varieties of food, and tables are not filled with utensils, so they dare not allow guests and friends to gather, and it often takes several months to operate. Gather together before you dare to send an invitation post. If someone does not do this, people will rush to criticize him, thinking that he is mean and stingy, so there are probably very few people who do not follow the worldly luxury. Ah, the customs are so corrupted that even if those in official positions cannot prohibit them, can they bear to encourage bad customs?

I also heard that when Li Wenjing was the prime minister, he built a residence inside Fengqiu Gate. There is only room for one horse to turn around. Some people said it was too narrow. Duke Wen Jing said with a smile: "The residence should be passed down to descendants. It is indeed narrow for the prime minister's office, but the office hall for the Taizhu and Fengli officials is already very wide." Participating in politics, Duke Lu served as an admonishment officer. At that time, people from the Zhen sect were eager to summon him and found him in the hotel. Entering the palace, Zhenzong asked him where he came from, and he answered truthfully. The emperor said: "You are a high-ranking and prestigious official, why do you go to the hotel to drink?" Lu Gong replied: "My family is poor. When the guests come, there are no utensils, vegetables and fruits, so I have to go to the hotel to treat the guests to drinks." Thinking that he has nothing to hide, he values ??him even more. When Zhang Wenjiegong was the prime minister, his enjoyment of life was just like when he was the judge of Heyang Jiedu. Some people close to him advised him: "You already have a lot of salary now, but your life is so simple. How can you Although you are confident that you are honest and frugal, people outside are scolding you, saying that you are as hypocritical as Gongsun Honggaibu. You should listen to the opinions of others." Zhang Gong sighed and said, "With my salary today, even if you are a hypocritical person. If the whole family is well clothed and well fed, why should I worry about it? But according to human nature, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. How can I have such a large salary forever? How can I save my health? Long-term maintenance? If one day the situation is different from today, and the family has been accustomed to a luxurious life for a long time, and cannot be frugal immediately, it will definitely lead to losing the support of life, which will be worse than if I am not in office, alive or dead at home. How can our lives be as usual as usual?" Alas, how can mediocre people match the foresight of these sages and sages?

Yusun said: "Frugality is the most common characteristic of good moral character; Luxury is the greatest of all vices. "***, that is. It is said that moral people are formed by frugality. Frugality means less greed. A gentleman with less greed will not be manipulated by external things and can act in an upright way. Ordinary people with few desires can restrain themselves to save money, avoid crime, and enrich their families. Therefore, it is said: "Frugality, It is the only thing that has good moral character.

"Luxurious people will have many desires. A gentleman who has many desires will covet and envy wealth. If he does not follow the right path, he will bring disaster. A person with no status will have many desires and will squander them at will, which will ruin his family and destroy himself. Therefore, he must be an official. Will take bribes, and will definitely steal in the countryside, so it is said: "Luxury is the greatest of sins. ”

Once upon a time, Zheng Kao’s father lived on porridge, so Meng Xizi deduced that his descendants must have prominent people. Ji Wenzi assisted three monarchs. His concubines did not wear silk fabrics, horses did not eat grain, and there were A virtuous person thinks he is loyal. Guan Zhong used carved food containers and red hatbands. The chess games on the pillars were engraved with mountains, and the short pillars on the beams were painted with colorful paintings. Confucius despised him and thought that his uncle Wenzi was narrow-minded. When he invited Wei Linggong to his home for a banquet, Shi Eang knew that he was in trouble. When his son Gongshu Xu was convicted, he had to spend tens of thousands of dollars on food every day. Arrogance and extravagance ruined his family. Shi Chong showed off his luxury to others, and was eventually killed in Dongshi. Kou Caigong was the most extravagant at that time, but because of his great achievements, people did not criticize him. Many of his descendants were imbued with his luxurious family style and are now poor. Others have built a good reputation through frugality and have failed because of their extravagance. I cannot list them all. Let me give you a lesson by citing the deeds of a few people. You should practice frugality, and use these examples to teach your descendants so that they know the customs of their predecessors.

Appreciation

This is an admonition written by Sima Guang to his son. . Kang, Sima Kang, the son of Sima Guang, has been smart since he was a child and has learned a lot about the past and present. The core meaning of this article is to talk about the benefits of frugality and the disadvantages of luxury. It uses various examples to teach his son to be thrifty and avoid luxury.

Because it is a warning text. , so we pay great attention to basing it on facts. The examples cited are from ancient and modern people, and they are very well-measured and consistent with the situation, without any exaggeration or reduction. It does not say that there will be no banquets, but that only ordinary food and wine will be served. Precisely because it is an admonition, it appears serious when expounding the principles of strict frugality and opposition to luxury, which can arouse the high attention of those being admonished. At the same time, the father also appears to be very kind to his son's training, which is easy for his son to accept.