After nine years of farming, the kingdom
will have stored enough food to last three years.(耕九餘三)
Dai Sheng was an important Confucian
scholar during the Han dynasty.
He collected many Confucian texts and
compiled them into a book, the 'Book of Rites'. This book is the 'Book of
Rites'.
It records the rules and regulations of the
ancient Zhou dynasty in China in detail. It records the etiquette and norms
that people of every social class should abide by.
The Zhou dynasty was the last feudal
dynasty in Chinese history and the longest-lasting.
The Zhou dynasty king distributed land
within the dynasty to nobles, who were kings in their own territories. They had
to pay the Zhou king a certain amount of money and goods every year.
A few decades after the Zhou Dynasty was
established, more and more nobles emerged, establishing over 140 kingdoms
within the dynasty.
The Book of Rites also set out a detailed
code of conduct for these leaders, to help them govern their kingdoms.
The following passage is taken from this
book:
Every leader of a kingdom must embrace the
concept that, when the harvest is abundant, excessive extravagance and waste
should be avoided. If this concept is upheld and implemented, the kingdom will
not encounter difficulties or crises when famine strikes.
A kingdom is considered to have
insufficient reserves if it does not have nine years' worth of grain in its
treasury.
If a kingdom does not have six years' worth
of grain in its treasury, it is considered to be experiencing a reserve crisis.
If a kingdom has less than three years'
worth of grain in its treasury, then the country is on the verge of extinction.
How can the goal of storing enough reserve
materials be achieved? It can be done in a very simple way.
When the people's harvest is handed over to
the treasury, one-third of the grain must be left as a reserve.
If this method is implemented, after three
years of cultivation, the kingdom can store enough grain for one year; after
nine years, enough grain can be stored for three years.
This will ensure that when the kingdom
encounters floods and droughts, the people will not face the threat of hunger
and death. They will be able to live in peace, and the kingdom's leaders will
be able to eat, sleep and have fun in peace while governing the kingdom for a
long time.
This idiom means that, after nine years of
cultivation, the kingdom can store enough food for three years.
This idiom is used to describe a person or
organisation that has the habit of saving money during normal times.
Dear friends, what inspiration or ideas
have you gained from this story?
How will you allocate your salary? Have you
ever borrowed money from others due to a lack of funds?
I hope this story brings you new insights.
耕九餘三(After nine years of farming, the
kingdom will have stored enough food to last three years.)
(戴聖)是漢王朝時代的一個重要的儒家學者。
他蒐集了許多儒家的文章，編著成為一本書。這本書就是(禮記)。
這本書中詳細地記載了中國古代的周王朝的典章制度，在這本書中紀錄了生活在這個社會的每個階層的人應該遵守的禮儀與規範。
周王朝是中國歷史上最後一個封建世襲的王朝，周王朝也是中國歷史上延續時間最久的王朝。
周王朝的國王把王朝內的土地分給王朝中的貴族們，這些貴族在自己的領地各自稱王。這些貴族們必須每年進貢一定的金錢與貨品給周王朝的國王。
周王朝建立幾十年後，王朝內的貴族愈來愈多，周王朝中這些貴族們所建立的王國超過140個。
禮記這本書中也針對了這些王國的領導者制定了一套很詳細的規則，這些規則可以協助這些王國的領導者治理好自己的王國。
這本書中有一段如下。
每個王國的領導者都要有一個重要的觀念，這個觀念就是在王國內的收成豐收的時候不可以過過度的鋪張與浪費，如果可以有這個觀念並且確實去執行，在遇到王國內遭遇飢荒的時候才不會陷入困難與危機。
一個王國如果國庫中沒有九年的存糧，那麼這個國家就算是儲備不足。
一個王國如果國庫中沒有六年的存糧，那麼這個國家就算是儲備危急。
一個王國如果國庫中沒有三年的存糧，那麼這個國家就在滅亡的邊緣了。
要如何達成儲存足夠站儲備物資的目標呢?可以用一個很簡單方法來完成。
這個方法就是當人民的收成上繳國庫後，一定要先留下三分之一的糧食當作存糧。
照這個方式去確實執行，人民耕種三年後、王國中就能儲存一年夠用的存糧、人民耕種九年後、王國中就能夠儲存三年夠用的存糧。
如果這樣執行，那麼這個王國遇到水災與乾旱時百姓就不會面臨飢餓與死亡的威脅，老百姓能夠平安的生活，這個王國的領導者也才能夠安心的吃飯與睡覺與玩樂，這個王國的領導者也才可以長久的治理這個王國。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是人民耕種九年後、王國中就能夠儲存三年夠用的存糧。
這句成語被用來形容一個人或一個組織在平時就有儲蓄的習慣。
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。
你領到薪水後你會怎樣分配你的錢呢?你是否曾經因為缺錢而向別人借錢嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為禮記-王制