Shun was born in mu, Fu Shuo was born in the middle of the building, and the glue was in fish and salt. Guan Yi I was a scholar, Sun Shuai was in the sea, and a hundred miles was in the city.
Therefore, when the sky falls, people must first suffer their minds, their bones and muscles, starve their bodies, empty their bodies, and mess around. Therefore, patience has benefited them a lot.
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.
Then I know that I was born in sorrow and died in happiness.
Meaning:
Shun came from farming in the fields, from the work of building walls, from selling fish and salt, Guan Yiwu was rescued from prison officials and appointed, Sun Shuai came from a secluded place by the sea, and Prissy was redeemed from the slave market and used.
Therefore, if God wants to put the heavy responsibility on a person, he must first make his mind fidgety, his bones and muscles tired, his body hungry, his body empty and weak, and his every move is unsatisfactory. Only in this way can he inspire his mind, make his temperament patient and increase his abilities that he does not have.
A person often makes mistakes before he can correct them; When the heart is hard, the mind is blocked. Then you can work hard; Other people's anger is shown on their faces, resentment is spit in their words, and then you will know. A country is often in danger of collapse if it has no ministers who stick to the laws and sages who can assist the king at home, and no comparable neighboring countries and disasters from foreign countries abroad.
In this way, we know that sadness and injury are enough to make people live, and comfort and enjoyment are enough to make people perish.
Mencius in the Warring States period said that he was born in sorrow and died in happiness.
Extended data
In this short chapter of less than 200 words, Mencius expounded the profound truth of "born in sorrow and died in happiness" around the relationship between objective environment and the fate of individuals and countries.
The article says that if a person wants to achieve great things, he must go through many difficulties and hardships. Only when he has gone through hardships and seen the world can he exercise his will, increase his talents and take on heavy responsibilities. Enjoy yourself at ease. Growing up in a greenhouse, you can't develop the ability to overcome difficulties and get rid of adversity. You will be helpless in the face of difficulties, and you will be depressed and desperate when you encounter setbacks and adversity, which often leads to disaster. So he came to the conclusion: "Born in sorrow, died in happiness".
At the beginning, the article did not put forward any positive views, but listed six ancient sages who rose from poverty, such as Yu Shun, Fu Shuo, Jiao Wei, Guan Zhong, Sun Shuai and Bai Xixi. The common feature of these six people is that they all went through hardships before they took on the "heavy responsibility".
It is precisely because of the extraordinary price paid that these sages can "bear the burden of humiliation and have benefited from the impossibility" and achieve great things. So the conclusion behind this in turn explains the success of these six sages.
Mencius advocated good nature, and benevolence, courtesy and wisdom were born in the heart, that is, born in sex. Let nature take its course, that is, taking benevolence as its own responsibility. "Ceng Yi can't do it" has increased their ability to do things that they could not have done. Fate setbacks, physical and mental hardships, not only did not make them yield, but sharpened their personality, increased their talent, made them more mature, and eventually became outstanding figures in history.
Trouble can make people excited-happiness can relax their fighting spirit; Survive in adversity and perish in prosperity. This is the dialectics of life and this is the philosophy of life. This is also a famous conclusion put forward by Mencius as another Confucian master after Confucius, which embodies the Confucian thought of making great efforts and actively using the world.