Source: Excerpt from Mencius' Born in Worry and Died in Happiness, distributed in a piece of land, Fu Shuo held it between blocks, glued it in fish salt, Guan Yiwu held it among scholars, Sun Shuai held it in the sea, and Bixi held it in the city.

Vernacular translation: Obedience to farming was appointed, from building a wall, Jiaozi was appointed from selling fish and salt, Guan Yiwu was rescued from prison officials and appointed, Sun Shuai was appointed from a secluded place on the seashore, and Prissy was redeemed from the slave market and appointed.

This article comes from "Born in Worry and Died in Happiness" written by Mencius in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Extended data writing background:

The book Born in Worry and Died in Happiness consists of seven articles, which is a compilation of Mencius' speeches during the Warring States Period. It records Mencius' contention with hundred schools of thought, his words and deeds, and his lobbying for princes, etc. It was compiled by Mencius and his disciples (Zhang Wan, etc.). ).

Born in sorrow and died in happiness, it records Mencius' thoughts on governing the country, political strategies (benevolent governance, Wang Ba's debate, people-oriented, respecting the right and wrong of the monarch, and the people are more important than the monarch) and political actions. The book was written in the mid-Warring States period and belongs to Confucian classics.

His theoretical starting point is the theory of good nature and advocates the rule of virtue. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Jiang was born in sorrow and died in happiness. Together with The Analects of Confucius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean, he is called the Four Books.

Since the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has been regarded as a family heirloom. Just like our textbooks. Born in sorrow and died in happiness is the biggest and heaviest of the four books, with more than 35 thousand words. From then until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the four books have been a compulsory part of the imperial examination.

The theory of "born in sorrow and died in happiness" is not only pure and broad, but also full of vigor and beauty. (Five Classics: Poetry, Book, Ceremony, Book of Changes, Spring and Autumn Period)

About the author:

Mencius (about 372 BC-289 BC) was born in Zouguo (now Zoucheng, Jining, Shandong) during the Warring States Period.

A famous philosopher, thinker, politician and educator in the Warring States period, one of the representatives of Confucianism, was second only to Confucius, and was also called "Confucius and Mencius" with Confucius. Advocating "benevolent government", he first put forward the idea that "the people are more expensive than the monarch".