This person's own actions or views are
wrong, yet they try to correct others.(枉己正人)
The founder of China's Shang Dynasty was
King Zi Tang, also known as Shang Tang. After establishing the Shang dynasty,
he appointed a renowned scholar to serve as prime minister in the central
government. This scholar's name was Yi Yin.
During the Warring States period in China,
the famous Confucian scholar Mencius once discussed Yi Yin, a renowned prime
minister from ancient China, with his friends.
Mencius said to his friend:
There are two folk sayings about how Yi Yin
entered the central government of the Shang dynasty.
The first is that the king of the Shang
Dynasty hired him as a royal chef because his cooking skills were so good.
However, the founding king of the Shang
Dynasty later discovered that Yi Yin's talents extended far beyond cooking. He
also had a wealth of knowledge and unique insights, so the king made him an
official in the central government.
Yi Yin performed well at work and, as a
result, the founding king trusted him more and more. Finally, Yi Yin became the
prime minister of the Shang Dynasty.
However, I think this statement is wrong.
If a person's actions or views are wrong,
yet they try to correct others, I don't believe they will achieve their goal.
If a person despises themselves and does
not believe they have any outstanding talents, I don't think they will be able
to offer honest and powerful criticism of the society they live in.
We all behave differently. Some are more
enthusiastic, some are calmer, some like to socialise, and some prefer to be
alone. However, I believe that people with exceptional talent and knowledge,
such as Yi Yin, have one thing in common: they all have high standards of
behaviour and morality.
Yi Yin would not have readily agreed to
become the royal chef of the Shang Dynasty for money and reputation alone.
Therefore, I believe that another statement
is more in line with historical facts.
After establishing the Shang Dynasty, Shang
Tang realised that to manage it well, he would need many talented people in the
central government to assist him.
Shang Tang had heard that Yi Yin was a very
talented individual with a great deal of historical knowledge. He was familiar
with how some of the greatest kings in ancient China had governed their
kingdoms.
Shang Tang was very sincere and continued
to visit Yi Yin until he finally agreed to join the central government of the
Shang Dynasty.
Yi
Yin became a great prime minister, and Shang Tang a great leader. Together,
they established a set of systems and laws, laying the foundation for the Shang
Dynasty to last for around 500 years.
This idiom means that a person's own
actions or positions are wrong, yet they try to correct others.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
does this story give you? Have you ever met someone who likes to correct others
when they behave badly? What are your thoughts on people who like to correct
others' mistakes?
I hope this story brings you new insights.
枉己正人(This person's own actions or views
are wrong, yet they try to correct others.)
創立中國的商王朝的國王的名字叫做(子湯)，他也被稱為(商湯)，他建立了商王朝之後，聘請了一個當時很有名的學者進入中央政府擔任宰相，這個學者的名字叫做(伊尹)。
中國的戰國時代，儒家有一個名字叫做(孟軻)的著名學者曾經與他的朋友討論到伊尹這個中國古代著名的宰相。
孟軻對他的朋友說。
關於伊尹如何進入商王朝的中央政府，民間有兩種說法。
第一種說法是因為伊尹的廚藝很好，所以商王朝的國王聘任擔任皇家廚師。
商王朝的開國國王後來發現伊尹的才能遠不止廚藝，伊尹還有很豐富的學問與很獨特的見解，所以商王朝的開國國王讓他擔任中央政府內的官員。
伊尹由於工作表現很好，所以商王朝的開國國王愈來愈信任他，伊尹最後成為商王朝的宰相。
我認為這種說法是錯的。
如果一個人自身行動或立場不對，但這個人卻試圖糾正他人，那麼我認為這個人將無法達成自己的目的。
如果一個人輕視自己不認為自己有卓越的才能，那麼我認為這個人將無法對他所生活的社會提出正直且有力的諍言。
我們每地人的行為方式都不同，有些人比較熱情，有些人比較冷靜，有些人喜歡跟朋友聚在一起，有些人喜歡獨處，但是我認為像是伊尹這種類型的有著卓越的才能與知識的人，他們都有一個共同的特點，這個特點就是他們都是很對自己的行為與道德都採取高標準的人。
伊尹不可能會為了得到金錢與名譽就輕易地答應商王朝的國王的聘任去擔任皇家廚師。
因此我認為另外一種說法比較符合史實。
這個說法就是商湯建立商王朝之後，他知道如果自己要管理好商王朝、那麼自己就需要很多有才能的人進入中央政府協助自己。
商湯聽說伊尹是一個很有才能的人，而且伊尹對於歷史很有研究，伊尹熟知中國古代的一些偉大的君王如何治理好自己的王國的方法。
商湯非常的真誠且持續地去拜訪伊尹，伊尹最後才決定要加入商王朝的中央政府工作。
伊尹是一個偉大的宰相，商湯也是一個偉大的領袖，他們兩個人一起建立了一套制度與法律，他們兩個人奠定了商王朝持續大約500年的根基。
這句成語的意思是一個人自身行動或立場不對，但這個人卻試圖糾正他人。
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。
你是否遇過這種自己行為不好卻喜歡糾正別人的人呢?你如何看待那些喜歡糾正別人的錯誤的人呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為墨子-尚賢下-3條
https://ctext.org/mozi/exaltation-of-the-virtuous-iii/zh
出處為孟子-萬張上-7條