Classic story of inspirational idioms: Excellence
Mencius, named Ke, Zou, a native of southeast Zoucheng, Shandong Province, was a student of Confucius' grandson Zisi. Mencius was a great thinker and educator in the Warring States Period. He inherited Confucius' Confucianism, and he worshipped Confucius very much. In his mind, Confucius is a superhuman genius and saint.
One day, Mencius' student Gong Sunchou asked Mencius, "Teacher, are you already a saint?"
Mencius said, "Even Confucius dared not call himself a saint. What am I? "
Gong Sunchou listed Boyi, Yi Yin and other people who were famous for their virtue, and asked Mencius if he was like Confucius.
Mencius replied: "No one can compare with Confucius in the history of mankind."
Gong Sunchou then asked, "So, what's the difference between them and Confucius?"
Mencius borrowed a sentence from Confucius' student Youruo: "The same kind can be compared. Kirin and beast, phoenix and bird, Mount Tai and small mound, river and sea and small puddle are all of the same kind. But the former far exceeds its peers. Saints and ordinary people are the same kind, both human beings, but saints are far beyond that category. Since the beginning of mankind, no one is greater than Confucius. Confucius is outstanding. "
-"Mencius Gong Sunchou"
To explain the metaphor of a post station is that people or things gathered together are beyond that category and higher than that group. Describe a person's moral character and talent beyond his peers. Get out, over; Class, the same kind; Pull out, exceed; Extraction, the appearance of grass.
Learn and use Wang Kai's hard pen calligraphy among students.
Whether Mencius or Youruo, the punch line ignores the truth that "shine on you is better than blue". There is a saying: "The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and each wave is higher than the other." No one is absolutely supreme. Being a man should not be satisfied with mediocrity, but should strive to be an outstanding person and dare to challenge the supreme and authority. Only in this way can one live a comfortable life and enjoy life. The wheels of history and society can roll forward in this constant transcendence.
Classic story of inspirational idioms: Life is worse than death.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, in 550 AD, the political power of the Eastern Wei Dynasty was monopolized by the prime minister, Gao Yang. Gao Yang was in charge of all the political affairs in the Eastern Wei Dynasty and was bent on usurping and seizing power. At that time, Wei Xiaojing's Yuanshan bamboo slips were just an emperor who lived in his own position and did not seek his own government. Later, Gao Yang forced Emperor Wei Xiaojing to abdicate and handed the throne to him. In this way, Gao Yang established a new dynasty by despicable means. This dynasty was Beiqi, and Gao Yang became the Wen Xuandi of Beiqi.
In order to consolidate his rule and prevent the resurgence of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Gao Yang wiped out the power of Yuanshi County in the Eastern Wei Dynasty and killed the royal family in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, leaving almost no survivors to avoid future troubles.
In order to achieve his goal, Gao Yang used extremely cruel means. The first thing he killed was Emperor Wei filial piety and his three sons. He poisoned them with poisoned wine. After that, Gao Yang still felt that there were hidden dangers, so he ordered 44 close relatives of the imperial clan in Yuanshi County to be arrested and imprisoned. * * * before and after the execution of more than seven hundred people, even the baby. After killing relatives in Yuanshi County, Gao Yang also had his body thrown into Zhanghe River to feed the fish.
Gao Yang's behavior soon spread. This incident spread to the distant clan in Yuanshi County, and the distant clan was very afraid that Gao Yang's butcher knife would be cut on his head. They quickly got together to discuss countermeasures. A county magistrate named An said that the only way to save their lives at present is to ask for permission to leave Yuanshi County and change their surnames to Gao. When jing yuan Ann's cousin, jing yuan Hao, heard about this, he resolutely opposed this practice. He said angrily, "how can we abandon this clan and change his surname to save our lives?" A gentleman would rather die than surrender. I would rather die than keep my integrity than drag out an ignoble existence. " Timid Yuan Jing 'an told Gao Yang Hao Jing's despicable words in order to save his life. Gao Yang immediately arrested Hao Jing and put him to death. Because of reporting an meritorious service, he was given a high surname and promoted to a higher position.
However, the good times did not last long, and the cruel slaughter could not save the crumbling Beiqi regime. Yuan died of illness shortly after he was killed. After more than ten years, Beiqi also perished. However, Yuan's just behavior of "preferring death to surrender" has always been praised by later generations.
Later, according to this story, people simplified Yuan's "a gentleman would rather die than communicate" to the idiom "would rather die than communicate".
-"Beiqi Book jing yuan An Biography"
Solve the problem that the jade articles made by the post station are broken and the pottery is not preserved. It is better to die for justice than to drag out an ignoble existence.
It's never too old to learn ~ * * to live is better than to die. Flower Street in Liu Shaotang
The punch line is that Yuan is not afraid of power and would rather sacrifice his life for integrity and dignity. This spirit is very valuable. He expressed the tolerance of "life is worse than death" with practical actions. In his eyes, the value of dignity is greater than that of life! There is an old saying in China: "A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated", and the same is true. People with great power may not be called heroes, but just people who would rather die than surrender can.
Classic story of inspirational idioms: making a comeback
In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a man named Xie An. Born in a gentry, he was very clever when he was a teenager. He is not only knowledgeable, but also good at calligraphy. He is a good friend of Wang Xizhi, who often travels in the east mountain of Huiji, reciting poems and talking about articles. He was very famous among the literati class at that time, and everyone thought he was a very talented person. But he would rather live in seclusion in Dongshan than be an official. He was recommended to be an official. He has been in office for more than a month, and he doesn't want to do it.
Later, Huan Wen, the son-in-law of General Zheng, named Xie An Sima. In the case of necessity, Xie An had to agree. By this time, he was over forty years old. On the day when Xie An was about to take office, officials from the imperial court came to see him off. At this time, a Zhong Cheng named Gaoming joked with him: "You used to be high above the East Mountain, and you refused to come out as an official many times. I didn't expect to come out today!" Qing tired against the imperial edict, lying high in Dongshan, everyone had a good talk, An Shi refused to come out, and it would be like life! Hearing this, Xie An felt ashamed.
The story of a comeback was born here, and this four-word idiom was summed up from this sentence said by Gao Ming.
Xie An arrived at the Huan Wen shogunate, and Huan Wen was very happy. Two people chatted for a day, and the words were very speculative. Xie An later became prime minister. After Huan Wen died, he inherited Huan Wen's military and political power in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In August 383, Fu Jian set out from Chang 'an with an army of 870,000. On the way south, smoke billowed, infantry and cavalry, plus vehicles, horses and trench, the team was vast, almost thousands of miles long. A month later, Fu Jian's main force arrived in Xiangcheng, south of Shenqiu, Henan Province, and Yizhou Water Army also went downstream and eastward. Troops north of the Yellow River also arrived in Pengcheng, Xuzhou, Jiangsu. From east to west, on the long front of Vandory, the former Qin army went hand in hand, approaching the south of the Yangtze River. When the news reached Jiankang, Emperor Xiaowu of Jin and all the officials in Beijing panicked. The military and civilians in the Jin Dynasty were unwilling to let Jiangnan fall into the hands of the former Qin Dynasty, and everyone hoped that Prime Minister Xie An would make up his mind. Xie An strategized, with his brother Xie Shi as the viceroy, his nephew Xie Xuan as the former pioneer, and his son Xie Yan as the general, leading an army of 80,000, breaking the 800,000-strong army of the former Qin Dynasty and saving the Eastern Jin regime. At this time, Xie An is playing chess with the guests. He received the good news from Xie Xuan. After reading it calmly, he said nothing. He slowly turned to the chessboard and continued to play chess with the guests. The guest couldn't hold back and asked how the battle was won. Xie An replied: "Children kill the enemy very miserably." Speak calmly and behave calmly as usual.
-"Biography of Xie Jin"
The idiom "Xieyi Station" was originally used to describe quitting and returning to work after retirement. Now it is often used to describe the situation of regaining strength after failure or regaining status after losing strength. It refers to the story of Xie An's return to official career in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Because Xie An has lived in Dongshan for a long time, it is definitely not Dongshan in Hainan, so it is called "making a comeback".
When Liu Xiang retired from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games due to injury, he confided: I will definitely ~.
The punch line is that Xie An is brilliant, totally honest and indifferent to fame and fortune, which is enough to make those who pursue fame and gain and conform to the trend of the times ashamed, and also enough to make those who give up their personal dignity for official business and suck hemorrhoids humbly. Moreover, Xie An, who made a comeback at the age of 40, single-handedly planned the battle at the foot of water, which was related to the survival of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. With less, he won more, and the Eastern Jin regime turned the corner, but he was indifferent, which was enough to make those "elites" feel ashamed when they met sesame seeds! Making the past serve the present, rereading and learning from Xie An is of great benefit to educating people and inspiring people, as well as to lashing out the disadvantages of the current attachment situation, being eager for success and pursuing fame and profit.