“When God entrusts a person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind and muscles.” - God wants to place a heavy responsibility on this person, and must first strain his mind and muscles. Tired.
Source of the work
It comes from the article "Born in sorrow, died in peace" in "Mencius Gaozi Xia" by Mencius.
This article is a rigorously argued and eloquent reasoning prose. The author first cites six examples of people who finally took on major responsibilities after being tempered by poverty and setbacks, proving that sorrow can inspire people to work hard and hardships can encourage people to achieve new achievements. Then, the author further demonstrates from two different perspectives: a person's development and a country's rise and fall. Worry leads to survival, and happiness leads to death. In the end, things came to a conclusion, and he came to the conclusion that "I was born in sorrow and died in happiness." The full text adopts a writing method that combines listing of historical examples and reasoning, and infers layer by layer, making the article compact and well-argued. In addition, the article often uses parallel sentences and antithetical sentences. Even if the tone is inconsistent, it creates an unstoppable momentum and effectively enhances the power of the article. the persuasiveness of the argument.
Original text of the work
Shun [1] issued [2] in the garden [3], Fu Shuo [4] lifted [5] in the building [6] , Jiao Ge[7] was lifted up among the fish and salt[8], Guan Yiwu[9] was lifted up among the scholars[10], Sun Shuao[11] was lifted up into the sea[12], Baili Xi[13] was lifted up into the city[14] .
Therefore [15] Heaven will assign a great responsibility [16] so [17] people [18] must [19] first suffer [20] their minds [21] and work [22] their muscles and bones, Hungry [23] His body and skin [24], Empty [25] His body, his behavior [26] His actions [27], So [28] Action [29] Heart and endurance [30] Nature, Zeng [31] Benefit what it cannot do [32].
People always [33] make mistakes [34], and then they can change; trapped in the heart [35], balanced by considerations [36], and then act [37]; manifested in color [38], developed in Sound [39], and then metaphor [40]. If you enter [41], you will be homeless [42] and you will be beaten [43]. If you leave [44], you will be invincible. [45] If there are foreign invaders [46], the country will be destroyed [47].
Then I know that I am born from sorrow [49] and die from happiness [50].
Notes on the work
1. Shun: Yao’s surname and Chonghua’s given name. During the reign of Emperor Yao of the Tang Dynasty, he farmed in Mount Li (southeast of Jinan, Shandong, or southeast of Yongji, present-day Shanxi). "The father was stubborn, the mother was loud, the younger brother was proud, and he was able to be harmonious and filial." Emperor Yao sent him to the mountains and rivers, and encountered a storm and thunderstorm. , Shun's behavior was not lost, so he passed on the throne of emperor. The name of the country is Yu, and the history is called Yu Shun. Deeds can be found in "Shangshu·Yao Dian" and "Historical Records·The Chronicles of the Five Emperors", etc.
2. Fa: start, refers to appointment.
3. 玎 (quǎn) mu: field mu, which here means cultivated land. Barking, field ditches.
4. Fu Shuo (fù yuè): During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, it was Xu Mi (a kind of prisoner) and built in Fu Dian (also known as Fu Yan, in the east of Pinglu, Shanxi today). King Wu Ding of Shang Dynasty wanted to prosper the Yin Dynasty. He dreamed of a saint named Suo. Seeing Wu Ding, Wu Ding said: "That's right." He said to him that he was a saint, and he regarded him as a prime minister, and the Yin State was in great power. So he took Fu Xian as his surname and gave him the name Fu Shuo. Deeds can be found in "Historical Records·Yin Benji" and so on.
5. Ju: selection.
6. Block building: When building a wall, put soil between two plywood and pound the soil with a pestle to make it solid. A pestle used for building and pounding soil.
7. Jiao Ge (gé): A minister of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, he is also called a wise man together with Wei Zi, Ji Zi and Prince Bigan.
8. Fish salt: This means fishing and salting on the beach. "Historical Records" says that Yan is between Bojie, where there is plenty of fish and salt; it brings mountains and seas together, where there is plenty of fish and salt.
9. Guan Yiwu: Guan Zhong was from Yingshang (now Xuchang, Henan), and his family was poor. He assisted Prince Jiu of Qi State, but Prince Jiu failed to ascend the throne. Prince Xiaobai ascended the throne as Duke Huan of Qi. Duke Huan of Qi knew that he was a virtuous man, released him from prison, made him his prime minister, and respectfully called him Zhongfu. "Historical Records·Biography of Guan Yan": "Guan Zhong was in charge of Qi, and Duke Huan of Qi became the hegemon. The nine princes united to unite the world, and this was Guan Zhong's plan.
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10. Scholar: prison officer.
11. Sun Shuao (áo): surname, name Ao, courtesy name Sun Shu, first name Ai Lie. In the Spring and Autumn Period, he was the order of the State of Chu Yin (prime minister). Originally "the humble person of Qisi", Qisi was in Gushi, Henan Province, and the remote place was called Bi.
12. Sea: 13. , Baili Xi (xī): Also known as Baili Xi. The Jin State destroyed the Yu State, and Baili Xi was captured to the Jin State together with the king of the Yu State. Baili Xi married his daughter to the Qin State. She was taken as a concubine and brought to Qin. Baili Xi fled to Chu and went to Wan (now Nanyang, Henan), where she was captured by the people on the border of Chu. When Duke Mu of Qin heard about his virtue, he wanted to redeem her, and he was afraid of the Chu people. If he refused, he sent someone to call Chu and say, "My concubine Baili Xi is here. Please redeem her with five pieces of sheepskin." "The Chu people followed him. At that time, Baili Xi was more than seventy years old. When he arrived in Qin, Duke Mu of Qin personally released him from prison and talked about state affairs for three days. He was very happy. He was awarded the state administration and was known as the "Five-Level Doctor". It was called Qin in history. Mu Gong used Baili Xi, Jian Shu, and Yu to govern. He "opened up a thousand miles and conquered Xirong" and became one of the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period". His deeds can be found in "Historical Records of Qin"
14. , Shi: Market.
15. So:
16. Responsibility, burden, mission
17. Yes: pronoun, this. These.
18. Also: Particle, used at the end of the first half of the sentence to indicate a pause, and the second half of the sentence will be explained.
19. Must:
20. Bitterness: the use of the verb to make... distressed.
21. Xinzhi: will.
22. Lao: the use of the verb to make... ...tired.
23. Hungry: the verb used to make... hungry.
24. Body: skin
25. Empty: The use of adjectives makes... poor. Empty, poor.
26. The use of adjectives makes... confusing. Chaos, confusion.
27. Doing: doing.
28. Using (in that way...)
29. , verb: the use of the verb to make...
30. Tolerance: the use of the adjective to make...
31. Zeng: Same as "increase." ", increase.
32. Ability: talent.
33. Heng: often, always.
34. Guo: fault, fault.
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35. Trapped in the heart: Confused in the heart
36. Hengyu: Congested. Heng is the same as "horizontal", which means obstruction.
37. Zuo: rise up, which means to make a difference.
38. Zheng Yu color: there is Zheng experience in the complexion, which means a haggard look. Color, face, complexion. Zhao Qi's Notes on Mencius: "If Qu Yuan looked haggard, the fisherman would be surprised to see him. "Historical Records: Biography of Qu Yuan Jia Yi": "Qu Yuan, as for the riverside, was said to be on the bank of the river, looking haggard and withered. When the fisherman saw it, he asked, "Isn't your son from the Sanlv official?" Why come to this? ’ Qu Yuan said: ‘The whole world is turbid and I alone am clear. Everyone is drunk and I am alone awake. This is how I see and let go. ’”
39. Fa Yusheng: There is expression in speech, which means anger in speech. Zhao Qi’s Notes on Mencius: “Ruoning Qi Shang’s song is different from Huan Gong’s. "Ning Qi was a native of Wei in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was poor and worked as a cart puller. When he arrived at Qi, he fed the oxen under the cart. Duke Huan of Qi went out at night to greet guests. When Ning Qi saw him, he quickly struck the horns of his oxen and sang. The song goes: " Nanshan is full of gangue and white rocks are rotten. Yao and Shun were not born in the same place. The short cloth and unlined clothes are suitable for you to wear. From midnight to midnight, the long night will be long. "Qi Huan Gong summoned and spoke, and he was pleased with it, and he thought he was a great official.
40. Later metaphor: Then people knew him. Metaphor, know, understand.
41. Enter: the use of nouns Adverbial, in the country.
42. Legalist: A minister who adheres to the law.
43. Fu (bì): a wise man who can assist the monarch. Assist.
44. Out: the noun is used as an adverbial, in foreign countries.
45. Enemy country: a country with comparable strength and strength.
46. Foreign invasion: disasters from abroad.
47. Heng: often.
48. Death: perish.
49. Born from sorrow: Worry makes people survive and develop.
50. Die from comfort: Comfort and enjoyment make people languish and die.
Translation of the work
Shun was appointed from the fields, Fu Yue was appointed from the work of building walls, Jiao Ke was appointed from the fish and salt trade, Guan Yiwu was appointed from Sun Shuao was rescued from the hands of prison officials and appointed. Sun Shuao was appointed from a seclusion on the seaside. Baili Xi was redeemed from the slave market and appointed.
So when God wants to place a heavy responsibility on this person, he must first make his mind distressed, make his muscles and bones tired, make him suffer from hunger, make him suffer from poverty, and make him do what he has done. Things are turned upside down and confused to shock his heart, toughen his temperament, and increase his abilities that he does not have before.
A person often makes mistakes so that he can correct them later; he is confused in his heart and blocked by thoughts. Only then can you know what to do; others' anger is expressed in their faces, and their resentment is expressed in their words, and only then can it be known to others. (If) a country does not have ministers who adhere to the law and wise men who can assist the king at home, and there are no countries with comparable strength and ability to compete abroad, and there are disasters from abroad, such a country will often perish.
Only in this way can we understand that worrying about disasters can make people (or countries) survive and develop, while ease and enjoyment can make people (or countries) perish.
Creative background
As the most important representative of the Confucian school after Confucius, Mencius developed Confucius's "benevolence" into the theory of "benevolent government" and put forward the principle of "the people are valued and the monarch is valued." Thought, it advocates that the monarch implements "benevolent government" and "shares happiness" with the people. Mencius' thought and doctrine is the work "Mencius". "Mencius" records Mencius' words and deeds and is a dialogue-style work. Its distinctive features are: first, it is full of momentum, eloquent and vivid; second, it is good at explaining things with typical examples, metaphors and fables. This article is selected from "Mencius Gaozi Xia". During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were wars and disputes. If a country wanted to be invincible, it had to work hard and not be content with the status quo and not make progress. This article is written against this background.
Appreciation of the work
The full text is divided into two parts.
Part One (Paragraphs 1 and 2): Give examples to demonstrate the truth that talents must be cultivated in a difficult environment. (Divided into two levels)
Level 1 (Shun came to... and was promoted to the city): List the examples of six famous figures in history to show that those who have achieved greatness have gone through a lot of hard work.
Level 2 (therefore, heaven descends...what it cannot do): It discusses that in order for people to shoulder heavy responsibilities, make a difference, and achieve great things, they must first undergo some hard training in their thoughts, life, and behavior. .
The second part (paragraphs 3 and 4): Discusses the principle that people can only work hard when they are in trouble, but a country often perishes when it is not in trouble. To point out the central point: Born in sorrow, died in happiness. (Divided into three levels)
Level 1 (people pass through forever...and then metaphor): From a positive perspective, people must go through setbacks and hardships in order to make progress and achieve something.
Level 2 (If you enter, there will be nothing...the country will perish): from personal inference to governing the country, further demonstrating the necessity of hard training.
Level 3 (Then you will know...well-being): Point out the central point - live in sorrow and die in peace and happiness. At the beginning of the article, the author listed six examples of ancient sages who rose up despite difficulties and sorrows to prove that "when heaven is about to entrust a great responsibility to a person, he must first suffer his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body, and deplete his body. The well-known conclusion is that "the actions of the people will mess up their actions, so if they are tempted to endure, they will benefit what they can't do." This reasoning process belongs to the inductive reasoning in logic, that is, from the first six special cases, the following conclusions with general meaning are summarized; and through the latter conclusions, the reasons for the success of the first six characters are explained: difficult environment, On the one hand, it brings hardship, hunger, poverty, fatigue, and worry to people, which is often unsatisfactory. But on the other hand, it is also these difficulties that strengthen and inspire people's will, allowing people to constantly overcome difficulties and survive. Increased intelligence and talent.
The reason is that Mencius paid great attention to word choice and tried to expand the capacity of each word, especially the verb. Taking the first paragraph as an example, there are six sentences and six verbs, including one "fa" and five "lift". It not only shows the character's movement from humbleness to prominence, but also hints at the character's identity: Shun, the gentleman. , is a saint. His success is certainly due to Yao's appreciation, but it mainly relies on his own talents and efforts, so he is called "fa"; Fu Shuo and others are ministers and wise men. Their success is certainly due to their own talents. and hard work, but it mainly relies on the knowledge and experience of the master, so it is called "lift".
Like all literati and scholars who have made brilliant achievements, Mencius was not very proud of his life. This article is so well written, it is truly the result of "motivated and lyrical".
Comments from famous experts
Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty's "Enemy Warning": The existence of the enemy will destroy the disaster, and the enemy will be summoned when he is gone.
Song Dynasty Ouyang Xiu's "Preface to the Biography of Lingguan in the History of the Five Dynasties": Worry and labor can rejuvenate a country, while leisure can destroy one's life.
Wu Kaisheng of the Qing Dynasty's "Reedition of Mencius' Grammar Reading": the whole body is circling, building up momentum for the last two sentences, and the composition is extremely strange, Jia Sheng's "Crossing the Qin Dynasty". From what comes out. Thousands of coils and hundreds of folds, thickly gathered into formations, folded purely with force, without any ripples or marks.
About the author
Mencius (372 BC to 289 BC), named Ke, was born in the state of Zou (now Zoucheng, Shandong) in the middle of the Warring States Period. He was the most important thinker in Confucianism after Confucius. Mencius traveled around the world to promote his ideas of "benevolent government" and "kingly way". However, because the princely states were busy with wars and mergers at that time, his views were considered "broad" and almost no one adopted them. In his later years, Mencius returned to the state of Zou and wrote books with his disciples. He wrote 7 chapters and 269 chapters in "Mencius". The language of "Mencius" is clear and clear, and it is also full of emotions, with majestic momentum and powerful motivational power.