Twisting legal provisions through sophistry(析言破律)
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 from the book
illustrates this:
'The leader of a kingdom should pay great
attention to establishing a good social atmosphere and order, and pay special
attention to the following situations.'
Some experts will misinterpret legal
provisions through sophistry, and some politicians will use attractive names to
disguise bad policies and use these policies to seek personal gain. This
situation should be investigated thoroughly.
Some people will deliberately incite and
provoke various conflicts within the kingdom to further their own political
interests. This situation should be investigated thoroughly.
Some people will create vulgar music or
wear weird costumes that do not meet society's general moral standards in order
to gain attention. This situation should also be investigated.
Some people will use illusions or strange
items to confuse people and promote their supernatural powers. This situation
should be investigated.
Some scholars will falsify information to
enhance their own reputation. When these scholars are exposed, they will still
use various ways to whitewash themselves. This situation should be investigated
thoroughly.
Some businesspeople will tell a lot of lies
to defraud people and further their own interests. This situation should be
investigated thoroughly.
Some people exploit the knowledge gap
between themselves and others to say things that sound right but are actually
wrong. This situation should be investigated.
Some people will present unjust and immoral
ideas as interesting opinions. This situation should be investigated thoroughly.
Some people will exploit religion to
deceive others. They exploit the gullibility of others to further their own
interests. This situation should be investigated thoroughly.
The above situations should be punished
with the most severe penalty.
The direct translation of this idiom is 'to
distort legal provisions through sophistry'.
Dear friends, what thoughts or feelings did
you have after listening to this story?
Do you think that the laws in your country
serve the interests of the people or of the wealthy elite? Is fraud a serious
crime in your country?
I hope this story will be informative.
析言破律(Twisting legal provisions through
sophistry)
(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。
這本書中有一段文字如下。
一個王國的領導者要非常注重如何建立良善的社會風氣與社會秩序，因此要針對下列幾種情況特別注意。
有些專家會通過詭辯方式曲解法律條文、有些政客會用一個好聽的名稱包裝一些壞的政策並且利用這些政策為自己謀取利益，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
有些人會為了謀取自己的政治利益故意煽動並且挑動王國內的各種不同的對立，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
有些人為了博取關注會故意製作一些不合乎社會一般道德標準的低俗音樂或是詭異服裝，這種情況就要嚴格查辦。
有些人會利用一些幻術或是奇特的物品來迷惑百姓，並且宣傳自己有著超越普通人的異能，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
有些學者會為了謀求自己的聲名會造假，當這些學者被揭穿後，這些學者仍然會用各種方式為自己洗白，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
有些商業人士會為了謀求自己的利益編造了很多謊言去詐騙百姓，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
有些人會利用自己與百姓們的知識落差去說一些聽起來是對的但實際上是錯的言論，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
有些人會把一些不公義與不道德的想法包裝成為光鮮的有趣的觀點，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
還有一些人會利用宗教的名義來蠱惑民眾，這些人會利用民眾的盲目相信來謀求自已的利益，這種情況要嚴格查辦。
上述這些情況都要判處最嚴厲的懲罰。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是通過詭辯方式曲解法律條文。
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。
你認為你的國家中的法律是為了百姓服務還是為了有錢人服務呢?你的國家對待詐欺犯的罪責是重還是輕呢？
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為禮記-王制