A huge
tree that is already leaning cannot be held up by a single rope.(大樹將顛非一繩所維)
In the
Eastern Han Dynasty of China, there was a famous minister whose surname was
(Guo Tai). His parents called him (Tai) and when he grew up his friends called him
(Lin Zong). There is a story about him in the history books.
He
likes to make friends. His friends come from all walks of life, and he is very
sincere in his dealings with others.
He
lived in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The king at that time
trusted some of the eunuchs around him, and many relatives of the queen at that
time also worked in the central government.
The
political atmosphere at that time was very bad, and many kind and upright
officials were marginalised. He joined forces with some upright and kind
officials to fight against those treacherous and flattering eunuchs and
relatives of the queen.
He had
a good friend named Huang Qiong who was transferred to Wuhan City in Hubei
Province, China. Huang Qiong died of illness in Wuhan City a few years later.
He was very sad when he heard the news and went to Wuhan to attend Huang
Qiong's funeral.
At
Huang Qiong's funeral, a very strange person appeared. After entering Huang
Qiong's funeral hall, this person placed a roasted chicken he had brought with
him on a fresh straw. This person then soaked the coarse cloth used to wrap the
roasted chicken in some water, which after a few minutes emitted the aroma of
Chinese rice wine.
This
person used these things to worship Huang Qiong. This person didn't say a word
during the whole process. He left immediately after offering his condolences.
Everyone
there thought this person was very strange and wondered about his true
identity.
One of
Guo Tai's friends suddenly said
I seem
to know this person, his name is (Xu Zhi) and he lives in Nanchang City. He is
a very famous scholar and his moral standards are very high. Huang Qiong had
previously worked as an official in Nanchang City, so they might have known
each other then.
This
was the first meeting between Guo Tai and (Xu Zhi).
Xu Zhi
later told this to Guo Tai through Guo Tai's disciples.
A huge
tree that is already leaning cannot be held up by a single rope.
After
hearing this, Guo Tai became silent.
He was
very clever and understood immediately what Xu Zhi meant.
He was
in the central government, and he knew that within the central government of
the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were many forces constantly fighting, and these
forces were sacrificing the overall interests for their own interests.
He
really wanted to change this situation, so he made a lot of efforts, but he
also saw that his efforts had no effect.
After
hearing what Xu Zhi said, he began to think about what he should do.
Later
he concentrated on teaching. He had more than a thousand students and taught
Confucian knowledge to some idealistic young people.
He
changed because he knew that politics is temporary, but cultural heritage is
permanent.
This
idiom literally means that a huge tree that is already leaning cannot be held
up by a single rope.
It is
used to describe a situation where something has developed to the point where
it cannot be changed by one person alone.
Dear
friends, what are your feelings or thoughts after listening to this story?
What
is the political situation like in your country? Have you ever done anything to
change the society you live in?
I hope
this story can give you some new insights.
大樹將顛非一繩所維(A huge tree that is already leaning cannot
be held up by a single rope.)
中國的東漢王朝有一個著名的大臣，他的姓是(郭)。的父母給他取的名字是(泰)，長大後朋友稱呼他的名字是(林宗)。歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他很喜歡交朋友，他交的朋友涵蓋社會上的各個階層，他用很真誠的心與他人交往。
他生活的年代事東漢王朝的末年，當時的國王信任他身邊的一些宦官，當時的王后的很多親戚也進入中央政府內工作。
當時的政治風氣很不好，很多善良又正直的官員被排擠，他與一些正直又善良的官員一起對抗那些奸詐又喜歡奉承的宦官與王后的親戚。
他有一個名字叫做黃瓊的好朋友，這個好朋友被調任到現在的中國的湖北省的武漢市，黃瓊幾年後病逝在武漢市。他聽到這個消息後非常的悲痛，他到了武漢市去參加黃瓊的葬禮。
在黃瓊的葬禮上，出現了一個很奇怪的人，這個人走入黃瓊的靈堂後就把他帶來的一隻烤雞放在一些新鮮的茅草上，這個人接著把用來包裹烤雞的粗布浸泡在一些水裡面，這些水幾分鐘後就散發出中國米酒的香氣。
這個人用這些東西來祭拜黃瓊。這個人全程都沒有說話，這個人表達完他的悼念後就立刻離開。
在場的所有人都覺得這個人很奇怪，大家都很納悶這個人的真實身分。
郭泰的一個朋友突然說。
這個人我好像認識，他的名字是(徐穉)，他住在南昌市。他是一個很著名的學者，他的道德水平也很高。黃瓊以前曾經在南昌市擔任過官員，所以他們兩個人可能是那個時候認識的。
這是郭泰與(徐穉)的第一次見面。
徐穉後來曾經透過郭泰的學生對郭泰說。
只用一根繩子無法拉住一棵已經傾斜的巨大的樹
郭泰聽到這句話後，他沉默了。
他很聰明，他立刻理解徐穉的意思。
他身處中央政府內，他知道東漢王朝的中央政府內有許多股勢力不斷的爭鬥，這些幾股勢力為了各自的利益犧牲了整體的利益。
他很想改變這個情況，所以他付出了很多的努力，但是他也看出了自己的努力並沒有辦法產生效果。
他聽到徐穉的這些話後，他重新思考自己應該做些甚麼事。
他後來把重心放在教學上，他收了超過一千個學生，他教導一些有理想的青年人儒家的知識。
他的這個改變是因為他知道政治只是一時的，但文化的傳承會是長久的。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是只用一根繩子無法拉住一棵已經傾斜的巨大的樹
這句成語被用來形容一件事情已經發展到非一個人的力量可以改變的程度。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你國家中的政治情況如何呢?你是否曾經付出行動去改變你所生活的社會呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為後漢書-卷68-郭泰傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B768
出處為後漢書-徐穉傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B753#%E5%BE%90%E7%A8%9A