Original works:
Be born at hardship, die at peace and happiness
Mencius [Warring States Period]
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.
Translation:
Shun was used from farming in the fields, from building walls, from selling fish and salt, Guan Yiwu was released from prison officials and appointed, Sun Shuai was used from a secluded place by the sea, and Prissy was redeemed from the slave market and used. Therefore, if God wants to put a heavy responsibility on a person, he must first make him feel heartache, make him tired, starve him, make him thin, make him poor and make him do things badly. In this way, his thoughts will be shocked, his temperament will become tough and his ability will increase.
People often make mistakes before they can correct them; Inner upset, blocked thoughts, and then you can rise; Only when it is expressed on the face and revealed in words can it be understood. A country is often in danger of collapse if it does not have ministers who stick to the statutes and sages who can assist the king, and if it does not have comparable neighboring countries and foreign disasters. In this way, we know that adversity can make people live, and ease and happiness can make people die.
Comment on words and phrases:
Shun: Yao's surname is Zhong Hua. Don Shi Yao tilled the fields in Lishan (in the southeast of Jinan, Shandong Province, and in the southeast of yongji city, Shanxi Province). "My father is stubborn, my mother is proud, my brother is proud, and I can be filial." Emperor Yao made him a man in the mountains, not fascinated by storms and thunderstorms, and passed him down as the son of heaven. The name of the country is Yu, and the history is Yu Shun. His deeds can be found in Shangshu Yaodian and Historical Records of Five Emperors.
Ascend, here refers to being appointed.
Qu ǐ n: Tian mu, which means cultivated land here. Field canal.
Fu Shuo (fù yuè): In Shang Dynasty, Xu Mi (a criminal) was built in Fuxian County (also known as Yan Fu, in Pinglu East, Shaanxi Province). The Shang people, eager to flourish in Yin Dynasty, dreamed of a saint who said that he regarded all the ministers as wrong, which made people look for wild things. When he met Wu Ding, Wu Ding said, "Yes." With its words, it is a saint, and it is a phase, and it is ruled by yin. Therefore, Fu Xian's surname was named Fu Shuo. His deeds can be found in Historical Records Yin Benji and so on.
Lift: selected.
Building board: When building a wall, put the soil between two splints and tamp it with a pestle to make it firm. A pestle used to build and tamp soil.
Jiao Wei (gé): Minister of Shang Zhouwang, known as a saint with Wei Zi, Ji Zi and Prince Bigan.
Fish salt: This refers to fishing and drying salt at the seaside. According to Historical Records, Yan was spared by fish and salt between Bohai Sea and Bohai Sea. Connecting the mountains with the sea, there are plenty of fish and salt.
Guan Yiwu: Guan Zhong was born in Yingshang (now Yingshang County, Anhui Province) and his family was poor. For Gong Zijiu of Qi, Gong Zijiu failed to accede to the throne, and Xiaobai acceded to the throne for Qi Huangong. Qi Huangong knew his sage, released his prisoner, regarded him as a relative, and called him Guan Zhong. Biographies of Historical Records of Yan Guan: "Guan Zhong is both useful and multi-pronged, but dominating. Nine princes, one day, Guan Zhong's plan. "
Judge: Prison officer.
Sun Shuai 'ao (áo): Lou's surname is Ao, his name is Sun Shu, and his name is Ai Lie. In the Spring and Autumn Period, he was the prime minister of Chu. Originally, I was a "humble person to think about". Think about today in Gushi, Henan, that remote place is called contempt.
Sea: By the sea.
Bailixi (xρ): It's also a hundred miles. This is Dr. Guo Yu. The State of Jin destroyed the State of Yu, and Priscilla was taken into exile with the monarch of the State of Yu. Jin married a woman of Qin, and Prissy married Qin as a courtier. Prissy fled to Chu and went to Wan (now Nanyang, Henan), where I was held hostage by people on the border of Chu. When Qin Mugong heard about Qi Xian, he wanted to redeem it again. He was afraid that the Chu people would not agree, so he let people say to Chu, "Minister Prissy is not here. Please redeem it with five sheepskins. " The Chu people then went with the flow. At that time, Bai Lixi was over 70 years old. When he arrived in the Qin Dynasty, Qin Mugong released his prisoners and held talks with him for three days, which was a great joy. Awarded to the national government, known as the "five doctors", it is said that Bailixi, Uncle Jian and Shu are the government, and "opening a thousand miles to dominate Xirong" has become one of the "five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period". The deeds can be found in Historical Records of Qin Benji.
City: market.
Therefore: So.
Ren: responsibility, burden.
There are: pronouns, this and these.
There is also an auxiliary word, which is used at the end of the first half sentence to indicate a pause, and the second half sentence will explain.
Must: definitely.
Bitterness: the causative usage of adjectives makes ....
Mind: will.
Old: The causative usage of verbs makes ... tired.
Hunger: The causative usage of the verb makes ... hungry.
Body skin: skin.
Empty: The causative use of adjectives makes ... impoverished.
Asshole: The causative usage of adjectives makes ... upside down. Violate, violate or violate. Chaos and disorder.
What did you do: What did you do.
So: in that way ...
Verb: The causative usage of the verb makes ... disturb.
Appreciation of works:
Born in sorrow, died in happiness, is a well-argued, eloquent reasoning prose. The outstanding feature of the article in writing is to put forward the argument first, then make in-depth analysis, extension and inference, and finally deduce the central argument of the article. Firstly, the author lists six examples of people who cheer up in difficulties, work hard and finally achieve great achievements, which proves that hardship can inspire people to make great achievements, hardship can promote people to make new achievements, and adversity can cultivate talents, which proves the correctness of the central argument; Then, the author further demonstrates the truth that sorrow is greater than heart death from two different angles: the development of a person and the rise and fall of a country. In the end, the conclusion that "born in sorrow and died in happiness" is very convincing.
The first paragraph of the article lists the true deeds of several historical figures by analogy logic method, which shows that adversity can temper people's will and character, thus making them strong and fearless; And failures and setbacks can make people learn lessons, become smart and resourceful, and increase their talents. Therefore, after experiencing hardships, they can often be entrusted with important tasks, and these people often make outstanding contributions.
The second paragraph of the article, following the meaning of the previous paragraph, first explains the positive role of difficulties (troubles) and setbacks from the front, and emphasizes that people with will should face difficulties, meet difficulties, work hard to overcome them, exercise their intelligence and enhance their talents, so as to reverse adversity and overcome difficulties. Then explain from the opposite side that a carefree life and a superior and smooth environment often make people feel depressed, unwilling to make progress, afraid of difficulties and lose their fighting spirit. Finally, the central argument of the article is summarized: "Born in sorrow, died in happiness". This sentence has not only become a famous sentence and a famous epigram, but also a truth proved by numerous historical facts at home and abroad.
Rhetorically, born in sorrow and died in happiness, inductive reasoning, parallelism and duality are used. Generally speaking, the writing method of bedding can create a grand momentum; If not handled properly, it will also lead to complex procrastination. Mencius' article, though in the form of compound sentence, still gives people the impression of concise writing, because Mencius pays great attention to the choice of words and tries to expand the capacity of each word, especially verbs. Parallelism and antithesis not only make the tone of the article patchy, but also create an overwhelming momentum, which enhances the artistry of the article and the persuasiveness of the argument.
Creative background:
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were wars and disputes. If a country wants to be in an invincible position, it can't be content with the status quo, and it must work hard instead of making progress. If a person is at ease and has no ability to overcome difficulties and get rid of difficulties, then he will be helpless in the face of difficulties, depressed and desperate when he encounters setbacks, just like standing under a collapsed wall, his life is in danger at any time. Therefore, Mencius's "born in sorrow and died in happiness" is to remind people that no matter what time, they must have a sense of anxiety and be prepared for danger in times of peace, so that they can last forever; If you are content with the status quo, "get drunk today, wake up tomorrow and think deeply", you may be sad and sleepy all your life.
About the author:
Mencius (about 372 BC-289 BC) was born in Zouguo (now southeast of Zoucheng City, Shandong Province). Philosophers, thinkers and educators in the Warring States period were the representatives of Confucianism after Confucius and before Xunzi, and they were also called "Confucius and Mencius" with Confucius. Mencius advocated "benevolent government" and first put forward the idea that "the people are more important than the monarch", which was listed by Han Yu as a figure who inherited Confucius' "orthodoxy" in pre-Qin Confucianism and was named "Ya Sheng" in Yuan Dynasty. Speech works are included in the book Mencius.