It means that it is difficult to predict the coming and going of gods. You don’t know when they will come suddenly, so how can you be tired of being punished?
From "Daya·Yi", it is a piece in the "Book of Songs", the first collection of poems in ancient China. It is said to have been written by Wei Wugong. The whole poem has twelve chapters, the first three chapters have eight lines in each chapter, and the last nine chapters have ten lines in each chapter. The language of this poem is concise and can be called a mine of idioms. Idioms such as "sleeping long and hard at night", "Bai Gui's stain", "untouchable tongue", "reciprocating love", "teaching one's face", and "sincerely admonishing" all come from this poem.
The whole poem (excerpt) is as follows:
Respect your friend as a gentleman, collect your gentle face, and avoid any mistakes.
You are worthy of being in your room. There is no day when it is not revealed, so don’t look at it in the clouds.
God’s thoughts cannot be comprehended, but can be reflected upon!
The translation is as follows:
Looking at you entertaining the nobles, your face is cheerful and smiling, be careful not to make any mistakes.
Looking at you alone in the room, you are doing things worthy of God. Xiu said, "The light in the room is dark, no one can see me clearly."
It is difficult to predict the coming and going of gods. You don’t know when they will suddenly come, so how can you be tired of being punished?
Extended information:
King Ping of Zhou was Yijiu, the son of King You of Zhou. King You was mediocre and cruel, but he doted on Bao Si, and was finally killed by the invading Xirong army in Mount Li. After King You died, Yijiu was proclaimed king.
In the second year of King Ping of Zhou (770 BC), Marquis Wen of Jin, Duke Wu of Zheng, Duke Wu of Wei, Duke Xiang of Qin, etc. escorted King Ping to Luoyi by force, and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began. At that time, the Zhou Dynasty was in decline and the princes were in power. King Ping's governance was improper. "Wang Feng·Junzi in Service" and "Wang Feng·Yangzhi Shui" were assassinated by King Ping's envoys, "a gentleman's service will last indefinitely" and "not care for his people, but garrisoned far away from his mother's house (Shen State)" "The work.
The author of "Daya·Yi", Duke Wu of Wei, was a veteran of the Zhou Dynasty and experienced four dynasties: King Li, King Xuan, King You, and King Ping. He was an eyewitness to the exile of King Li, the resurgence of King Xuan, and the fall of King You. When King Ping was in power, he was already eighty or ninety years old. Seeing the corrupt conduct and political darkness of King Ping whom he supported, he could not help but feel worried and angry, so he wrote this poem. .
Baidu Encyclopedia - Daya·Yi