Eight Saints of Xu Jiang in Luo Zhong

original text

Sima Wengong's "Preface to Rites" has five people who are good at looking good [1]; Lu Nangong [2] wrote "No Bullying", three books are poor, not seen in historians. Jade Qing [3] revised history to serve the country and posted the unsuccessful filial piety. Here we talk about Ji [4]. All the books in Wengongfu are from Xia County, Shaanxi Province. Liu Taitai, a doctor, lived a bereavement life, eating meat without drinking for three years, which is beyond the reach of scholars in this world. His younger brothers Yong Yi and You Xiaoyou Lian Jin. A flood in Xia County drowned hundreds of people, and those who started to engage in logistics and engaged in logistics in other people's homes all needed to die [6]. A monk died, and there are [7] tens of thousands of dollars in the room. Yongyi County has admitted it, please return the money to his children. If villagers are in debt, they will be destroyed. Let's take Zhou Wenxi as an example. His brother is a heavy drinker and supports his brother for a living. His brother is sometimes beaten, but his neighbors feel aggrieved and say angrily, "My brother has never beaten me. Why don't you alienate my brother!" Stepmother Su Qingwen often says to his wife, "If you do something for my mother, you will be driven away!" Stepmothers are few and have no children, so they are safe all their lives. It is said that Taiwan Province pavilions are good painters, the imperial court built Jingling Palace, and transferred painters from all over the country to the capital. After that, they were ordered to choose the best painter, leaving Hanlin as an official and winning the first place. Say goodbye to the elders and return to the fields.

The books of South University of Science and Technology are all from Jianchang, Cheng Nan. Chen Ce said that if you try to buy a mule, you can't bear to be carried or moved by others. You were ordered to keep it in the wild, once it died. His son and cunning [9] plan, because the official lost his horse, that is, wearing the back of the mule to show off Jia. Since I sold it, I can't help but report it. Officer person doubt policy love also, secret. Please use the saddle as much as possible, and you can't be at a loss all day. Thanks again. Some people buy silverware by policy. If Luo Qi is the one, the policy will not follow that of Luo Qi. The man said, "I have seen your money. What is it now [10]? " Ce said, "Of course. Those who pledged money but didn't have it for a long time, they are too fragile to be appointed. As soon as they heard that the government was going to marry a woman, they became ill! " Take what you deserve and throw it into the blazing charcoal with the silverware, saying, "I'm afraid I'll get the pledge or false silver, so I want to try it publicly." Buy abalone if you are in danger, and the balance is thick and clean. The fisherman left, leaving his whole body behind. Please say, "I only bought five pounds, which has doubled for the public." I want to drink 1 1. " The whole surprise, the number of fish chasers returns, and the reward is straight 12. He took another sip of wine and said, "What you want is wine. Why do you bully people? " Zeng Shuqing said that it was easy for the north to buy pottery, but it failed. Someone sold it together, and Uncle Qing paid 13. Jude 14 asked, "What is it now?" The man said to him, "Look for your ears before serving the public." Uncle Qing said, "No, there is a new famine in the north. I won't do it. Why don't I tell you the mistake? " It's no longer for sale. Uncle Qing's family is poor, and his wife is hungry and cold. Alas, these eight people are all virtuous!

To annotate ...

[1] Yan Lu: refers to ordinary people. Lu, in ancient times, twenty-five families were all Lu; Yan, the door of the lane. [2] Lu Nangong: Confucianism,No. Guanyuan, Jianchang (now Jiangxi), a writer in the Song Dynasty, is the author of "Guanyuan Collection". [3] Qing: It has a recent meaning. [4] Chat: temporarily. Chatting, for the time being; Ji, Tong "Ji". [5] bereavement: bereavement of parents. Live and defend. [6] T: Pick it out and take it away. [7] Accommodation: consignment. [8] Yang: Shit, shit. [9] Skillful hand (z m 4 ng): a cunning agent in the horse market. [10] Kim: I'm stingy and won't give it. 1 1: the meaning of giving. 12 straight: pass "value", equivalent attribute. 13 Najia: paid. 14 Jude: By the way.

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Sima Guang's Preface to Rites says that there are five people who do good deeds among the people. Lu Nangong (now from Jiangxi) wrote "No Bullying", in which three people were written, all of whom were not recorded by historians because of their humble origins. Recently, when I was compiling the national history, I tried to record the filial piety of these eight people in the national history, but I failed. So it's recorded here for the time being. The five people mentioned by Sima Guang are all from Xia County, Shaanxi Province. One is a doctor, named Mrs. Liu, who has been filial to her parents for three years and does not drink or eat meat. I think this is very difficult for the literati nowadays. Second, Mrs. Liu's younger brother, Liu Yongyi, is especially filial, friendly, honest and cautious. When there was a flood in Xia County, hundreds of people drowned. Yongyi stood at the door with a bamboo pole. Someone and the logistics passed by the door and they were all salvaged. There was once a monk who left tens of thousands of dollars in Yongyi's house and later died. Yongyi went to the county to explain the matter and asked to return the money to the monk's apprentice. If a villager borrows money from him, but he can't pay it back on time because he is poor, he will burn the loan and destroy it. The third is Zhou Wenxi, whose brother likes to drink and feeds on his brother. His brother often beats Wen Zhen when he is drunk. His neighbors feel wronged and comfort Wen Zhen. Wen Wen said angrily, "My brother never hit me. Why do you want to sow discord between our brothers? " Fourth, Su Qingwen, who is known for his filial piety to his stepmother, often said to his wife, "If you don't wait on my mother patiently and carefully, I will kick you out." Stepmother was widowed and childless when she was young, then lived alone with Su Qingwen and finally died. The fifth is Taiwan Province Pavilion, which is good at painting. At that time, the court decided to build Jingling Palace, so it recruited famous painters from all over the country to Beijing. After this incident, the imperial court selected outstanding people to stay in the Hanlin Academy, and granted official positions, and Tai Heng ranked first. But because his father was old, he gave up his official position and resigned to serve his parents in his hometown.

The three people recorded in Lunan Palace are all from Jianchang, Cheng Nan. First, Chen Ce once bought a mule. After buying it back, he found that mules could not be saddled, rode or carried. But Chen Ce couldn't bear to sell it to others, so he ordered someone to keep it in a thatched cottage outside the village until it died of old age. His son colluded with a treacherous horse dealer. When an official passed by, a horse died. They scuffed the back of the mule, boasted about it and sold it to the official. Not long after the donkey was sold, Chen Ce heard about it and quickly caught up and told the buyer the truth. The officer suspected that Chen Ce also liked mules and wanted to buy them, so he hid them. Chen Ce asked the officer to try to put the saddle on the mule's back, but it didn't work all day. Thank you very much for returning the mule to Chen Ce. Someone once asked Chen Ce to buy silverware with light and soft texture and pepper eye decoration, but Chen Ce did not agree. The man said, "I see you have this kind of silverware at home." Why not sell it to me now? " Chen Ce replied, "Yes, I have silverware here, but someone lent it to me. After a long time, silverware has become very old and fragile, and can no longer be used. I heard that you want to use this as a dowry for your daughter. How can I harm you with discarded silverware? " After that, he threw all the silverware in his house into the burning charcoal fire and said to the buyer, "I'm worried that the person who bought the silverware may be cheated by the mortgagee, so I'll verify its authenticity for you." The second is danger. When buying fish, the broker fiddled with the scale and deliberately weighed a few kilograms more. After the fisherman left, the agent said to Kevin·Z, "You only bought five Jin, and I secretly weighed ten Jin for you. You have to buy me a drink. " Kevin·Z was very surprised after hearing this. He hurried to catch up with the fish seller, ran several miles before catching up, and overpaid the fish that the agent gave him, according to the equivalent value. He invited the broker to drink and said, "You just want to drink, so why bully the poor fish seller?" Third, Zeng Shuqing bought some pottery and sold it to the north, which failed. Once, people in the pottery business like him bought from him. Uncle Qing promised to sell it to him and paid for it. By the way, he asked, "What are you doing buying these pottery now?" The man replied, "I just did what you thought." Uncle Qing immediately said to him, "You can't do this. I didn't sell this batch of pottery to the north because of the famine in the north. Why don't I tell you this now and let you suffer such a big loss? " So uncle Qing didn't sell the stock to him. At that time, uncle Qing's family was poor, and even his wife's hunger, cold and food and clothing were difficult to take care of. Alas, the above eight people can really be called good people and sages!

Comment and analysis

This paper records eight ordinary people who can be called sages, and the author deeply regrets that their deeds cannot be recorded in the official history. Confucius once said that there are five kinds of people: mediocrity, scholars, gentlemen, sages and saints. The so-called mediocre people can't say good things in their mouths, but they don't know how to worry. When they are dominated by physical desires, their thoughts will go bad. The so-called scholars, even if they are not perfect, should have integrity and be very cautious in their words and deeds; The so-called gentleman, that is, faithful without boasting virtue, benevolent without showing his face, thoughtful and clear, and not arguing with others; The so-called sage, whose behavior conforms to the rules and regulations without hurting himself, whose speech can be taken by the world without hurting himself, is so rich that he owns the world without hiding it, and gives his property to the world without worrying that he will be poor; People who are wise enough to know the road and face all kinds of things without getting tired of dealing with them and can clearly distinguish the essence of everything are saints.

These five levels are actually a process of gradually improving one's ideological and moral level by restraining material desires. Such as Mrs. Liu and Su Qingwen, practice filial piety, love each other like brothers, and do not take ill-gotten gains, reaching the realm of literati. If they stick to it all their lives, they can be called gentlemen. But dangerous behavior can prevent the fishmonger from being cheated and losing money, and point out the fault of the broker without making him lose face. It can be called loyalty, righteousness and righteousness, and it is an impeccable gentleman's trip. As for the two levels of saints and sages, they are too ethereal, and I am afraid that the average person can't reach them, but the degree of a gentleman is also regarded as the sage of the average person. The key is not to restrain material desires and cultivate morality just because of your humble position. Morality is an action. For ordinary people, living a moral life is not reflected in vigorous feats, but only in ordinary daily behavior.