Thousand Characters

Chapter 43

[Original text]

Taxes are ripe and new, and rewards are encouraged.Meng Ke Dunsu, Shi Yu Bingzhi.

【Note】

Tax: In the eyes of the ancients, giving the newly harvested crops to the country is called tax, and giving money to the country is called Fu.Taxes and taxes are different.Gong: It is called tribute from the subordinate to the superior.Depose: punishment.Zhi: promotion.Meng Ke: That is, Mencius, whose status in Confucianism is second only to Confucius.Dun: Admired, admired.Pigment: Silk that has not been dyed is called pigment.Shi Yu: The name of a person, a contemporary of Confucius, a famous doctor in Weiguo.Bingzhi: refers to being upright and upright in doing things.The first two sentences here tell us that after the crops are harvested, the grain should be handed over to the state as tax, and the state will then encourage the production of farmers and the promotion of officials according to the amount of tax paid.The achievements of officials in ancient my country were closely related to the amount of tax revenue.The last two sentences talk about Mencius and Shi Yu, two famous figures with upright temperaments in history. They both embody the benevolence, righteousness and virtue that are especially emphasized in traditional Chinese culture.

【Interpretation】

As soon as the crops are ripe, taxes must be paid, and the newly harvested grains must be handed over to the state; government officials should reward farmers according to the amount of grain paid, and the state should also give officials corresponding promotions.Mencius, the sub-sage, admired the true nature of simplicity.Doctor Shi Yu has the character of integrity and fortitude.

【allusion】

Yao and Shun abdicated Yao and Shun were two virtuous monarchs in ancient my country.Yao's surname is Yiqi, and his name is Tao Tang, so he is called Tang Yao.Yao started governing the world at the age of 16 and has done countless good deeds. He is noble but not arrogant, rich but not lazy, mighty but kind.During Yao's reign, he governed the Yellow River and established laws and regulations. He was busy for decades. When he was 86 years old, he felt that he was old and weak.People suggested that Yao choose from among his sons, but Yao said: "I don't want to choose my own son or relatives, and I don't care whether the person comes from a humble or poor background. The important thing is whether this person is kind-hearted and has real talents and learning. "After listening to Yao's words, many people thought of Shun, so everyone recommended Shun at one stroke.Shun's surname was Yao, and he was from Jizhou. His family background was humble. His mother died young and his father was blind. In his 30s, he has not yet married a wife, and only supports his family by fishing. He is honest, kind, and understands righteousness.Yao was very satisfied with everyone's introduction to Shun, but Yao was always cautious and decided to test Shun, so he married his two daughters, Ehuang and Nvying, to Shun.Ehuang and Nvying were born noble, but Shun didn't care about it, but carefully taught them to work together, run the house together, and honor their parents together. In this way, Shun led his two wives to abide by filial piety and live a thrifty and happy life. .Ehuang and Nvying reported all this to their father, and Yao immediately fell in love with this young man.Yao also sent Shun to various places to work with the people to see how he dealt with some complicated problems.Shun went to various villages to farm and work, and wherever he went, the people followed closely. Shun taught them to be humble to each other, you help me, I help you, and they live in peace and harmony like a family.Three years later, several villages have a bumper harvest every year, and the things they make are exquisite and meticulous.Knowing all this, Yao was overjoyed and rewarded Shun with a big house, hundreds of cattle and sheep and a lot of wealth.When Shun's blind father and younger brother Xiang heard that Shun got so many things at once, they were very jealous and decided to kill Shun.One day, his father asked Shun to repair the roof of the granary. When Shun was on the roof and was busy repairing it, Xiang secretly took the ladder below and set a fire to kill Shun.When Shun saw the fire, he wanted to get down from the roof of the warehouse, but he had no ladder, so he took the two bamboo hats he had brought up and jumped down. Fortunately, he was not injured.Unexpectedly, when their father and Xiang saw that Shun was not dead, they made another plan and tricked Shun into digging out the well. They filled the well with earth and stones together, trying to bury Shun alive, but Shun cleverly dug at the side of the well. Get out of a tunnel and get home safely.Shun knew that his father and younger brother wanted to assassinate him, but he still filial to his father and cared about his younger brother as before, which moved them.After knowing these things, Yao thought that Shun was indeed a rare and virtuous talent, so he handed over the power to Shun, and he took a group of people to inspect various places.After Shun took office, he exercised the power of governance for 20 years. He fulfilled his duties, knew people and used them well, and managed all kinds of affairs in an orderly manner. Enjoy the days and years with more peace of mind.Later, when Shun was old, he handed over the throne to Dayu who had made great contributions to water control at the meeting of the tribal alliance, and the prosperity of the Chinese nation was continuously passed down.Shi Yu upholds the ancient state of Wei, and there is a historian named Shi Yu who records state affairs.Wei Linggong, the monarch of Wei State, doted on a man named Mi Zixia very much, and let him do whatever he wanted, which caused a lot of complaints in the court.Although the court ministers hated Mi Zixia very much, they didn't dare to say anything, they were all afraid of offending Wei Linggong.Only Shi Yu, who is upright, is not afraid of offending others, and has repeatedly persuaded Wei Linggong not to let Mi Zixia do anything wrong, but Wei Linggong is still unwilling to listen to his opinions.Seeing that many times of persuasion had no effect, Shi Yu felt disheartened, and he still did not give up persuading Wei Linggong to choose talented and noble people to govern the country until his death.After Shi Yu's death, Duke Ling of Wei felt very sad and felt that he had lost a good minister who dared to speak out. He also gradually understood Shi Yu's good intentions in persuading him, and gradually alienated his favorite minister Mi Zixia.From then on, Weiguo's politics moved towards Qingming, and the country became more and more prosperous, which was praised and praised by the people at that time. "The Analects of Confucius" has a high evaluation of Shi Yu's behavior, and praised him: "Zaizai! Shi Yu. A country with the right is like an arrow, and a state with no way is like an arrow." That is to say, regardless of social turmoil or stability, Shi Yu's words and deeds will always be They are all sharp and straight like arrows.No matter when and where a person is, even if he encounters some temporary difficulties, he must maintain his integrity.In daily life, if you see some bad phenomena and behaviors, you must bravely point them out, so that our society will become better and better.

(End of this chapter)