A game played by the servants who looked
after the pigs(牧豬奴戲)
There was a famous general in the Jin
Dynasty of China. His name was Tao Kan. There is a story about him recorded in
history books.
He made great contributions to the Eastern
Jin Dynasty and put down many rebellions during the dynasty.
He served in the military for 41 years. At
the age of 76, he applied for retirement due to illness. He died less than two
months after retiring.
He was very strict with his soldiers and
treated them like his own family.
When these soldiers made minor mistakes, he
would counsel them, and when these soldiers made serious mistakes, he would
severely rebuke them.
His starting point for rebuking these
soldiers was to make them better people. His soldiers understood him, so they
all respected him.
Life in the army is boring and dull, so
some soldiers would drink and gamble during their breaks.
He advised these soldiers to use their time
to study and enrich themselves. Although these soldiers verbally agreed, they
still met to gamble and drink in private.
Once, several officers under his command
delayed their work because of drinking and gambling. When he found out what had
happened, he was very angry and demanded that these officers hand over all the
Chinese rice wine and gambling equipment they had hidden privately.
After the officers took out the Chinese
rice wine and gambling utensils, he ordered the soldiers to throw them all into
a river near their camp.
He spoke to these officers who had made
mistakes with a very sad heart.
The favourite pastime of some of the
servants who help to tend the pigs is gambling. These people have no lofty
goals, so they use gambling to pass the time when they are free each day.
I trust you very much. I think each of you
has great skills and I believe you all have a good future. I am very sad and I
hope that you will stop indulging in gambling, a game that has no benefits.
You should use your spare time to read more
books. It is best to read positive and proactive books, books that can help you
improve your life.
You are all very young. I do not think it
is appropriate for you to read the books of Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi at your age.
These books are too otherworldly. I suggest that you read some more worldly
books. These books will be more beneficial to your life.
The literal translation of this idiom is
'the game played by the servants who look after the pigs'.
This idiom is used to refer to gambling.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
do you get after listening to this story?
How do you see gambling? What books do you
think would be more helpful to you at this stage of your life?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
牧豬奴戲(A game played by the servants who
looked after the pigs)
中國的晉王朝時代有一個著名的將軍，他的名字叫做陶侃，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他對於東晉王朝有很大的貢獻，他曾經平定了東晉王朝中的很多場的叛亂。
他擔任軍職長達41年，他76歲那一年他因為生病所以申請退休，他退休後不到兩個月就過世了。
他管理士兵非常的嚴格，他看待他所帶領的士兵們如同自己的家人一樣。
這些士兵們如果犯了輕微的錯誤，他就會勸告他們，當這些士兵們犯了嚴重的錯誤時，他會嚴厲的責備他們。
他責備這些士兵的出發點是為了讓這些士兵們成為一個更好的人，他手下的士兵們理解他，因此他手下的士兵們都很尊敬他。
軍中的生活很枯燥又很乏味，因此有些士兵們會在休息的時候喝酒與賭博。
他勸告這些士兵們應該利用時間念書充實自己，這些士兵們雖然口頭答應，但是私底下仍然會聚集在一起賭博與喝酒。
有一次，他手下的幾個軍官因為喝酒與賭博而耽誤的公事，他查明事情的經過後非常的生氣，他要求把那幾個軍官把它們私藏的中國米酒與賭博的用具全部拿出來。
這些軍官把這些中國米酒與賭博的用具拿出來後，他下令士兵們把這些中國米酒與賭博的用具全部丟到他們軍營附近的一條河中。
他用很沉痛的心情對這些犯了錯的軍官們說。
那些幫人家看管豬的一些奴僕們最喜歡的娛樂就是賭博，這些人沒有遠大的目標，所以他們每天空閒的時候就藉著賭博來打發時間。
我很信任你們，我認為你們每個人的能力都很好，我相信你們都會有很好的前景與未來。我很難過，我希望你們不要再沉迷與賭博這種沒有益處的遊戲。
你們應該要利用空閒的時候多念書，最好是念一些正面與積極的書，一些對於如何改善你的人生與生活有幫助的書。
你們都很年輕，我認為你們這個年紀不適合念老子與莊子的書，這些書太出世，我建議你們應該念一些比較入世的書，這些書對你們的人生比較會有正面的幫助。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思看管豬的奴僕們玩的遊戲。
這句成語被用來指賭博。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你如何看待賭博這種行為呢?你認為那些書對你現階段的人生比較有幫助呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晉書-卷66-陶侃傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%99%89%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7066