A King of Remarkable Morality and
Intelligence(聖帝明王)
During China's Han dynasty, there was a
renowned Confucian scholar named Liu Xin whose story is recorded in history
books.
The Spring and Autumn Period and the
Warring States Period were chaotic times in China, but they were also a golden
age for Chinese thought.
Many renowned thinkers lived during this
era, each proposing their own solutions and philosophies to the social issues
of the time.
Some advocated social stability through
moral education, while others emphasised the need for clear laws to build a
better society.
Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, was
one of these thinkers.
However, the Confucian ideals he promoted
were not well regarded during these periods. After years of war and unrest,
many of the Confucian classics were lost.
Confucianism began to rise in popularity
with the seventh king of the Han dynasty. From then on, Confucianism became the
dominant ideology in Chinese academia and politics.
Liu Xin was born around 150 years after the
Han Dynasty was founded. He wrote an essay to the king at the time regarding
certain phenomena of the era.
The first paragraph of this essay is as
follows:
China has a very long history. Throughout
the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, many great kings emerged. These kings were
exceptional in terms of both moral integrity and intelligence. They governed
China along the path of righteousness and integrity, and the country's national
strength and economy flourished.
However, during the Spring and Autumn and
Warring States periods of the Zhou dynasty, the kings gradually lost control
over the various vassal states across China. Confucius was born into this
chaotic era.
He proposed that restoring the legal system
and ritual norms of the early Zhou dynasty would reinstate peace and stability.
Confucianism was not widely respected at
the time. Following Confucius's death, his disciples were unable to promote his
ideas during that turbulent era, resulting in a decline in the popularity of
Confucianism.
Following the establishment of the Qin
dynasty, Confucian thought was severely suppressed. Consequently, many
Confucian texts were destroyed and many scholars were executed.
This idiom literally means 'a king of
exceptional morality and wisdom'.
It is used to describe a truly great king.
Dear friends, what insights or inspiration
have you gained from this story?
Are there any famous thinkers you know of?
What is the prevailing political ideology in your country?
I hope this story has given you some new
insights.
聖帝明王(A King of Remarkable Morality and
Intelligence)
中國的漢王朝有一個著名的儒家學者，他的名字叫做劉歆，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
中國的春秋時代與戰國世代是一個極度混亂的年代，但那段間同時也是中國思想上的黃金時代。
有許多著名的思想家生活在那個年代，這些思想家針對當時的社會問題與人生問題提出了各自認為最好的解決的辦法和思想。
有些思想家認為要用道德教育來讓社會更安定，有些思想家強調要用明確的法律來建構一個更好的社會。
儒家的創始者孔子就是這些著名的思想家之一。
孔子所推廣的儒家的理念在春秋時代與戰國時代並不受到重視，經過長年的戰爭與動亂，所以很多儒家的經典書籍都已經失散。
儒家思想的興起開始於漢王朝的第七位國王，從這位國王之後，儒家思想開始成為中國學術界與政治界的主流思想。
劉歆出生的時間大約在漢王朝建立的150年後，他針對當時的一些現象寫了一篇文章給當時的國王。
這段文章的第一段如下。
中國的歷史非常的悠久，在夏王朝、商王朝到周王朝這三個王朝中，出現過許多偉大的國王，這些國王的道德與智能都非常卓越，這些國王沿著正確與正直的道路去治理中國，中國的國力與經濟愈來愈興盛。
周王朝的春秋時代與戰國時代，周王朝的國王對中國各地的諸侯逐漸失去了掌控力，孔子就出生在那個混亂的時代。
孔子提出他的主張，他認為要恢復到周王朝建立初年的法律制度與禮儀規範才能夠讓周王朝恢復到周王朝建立初期的和平與穩定。
儒家的思想在當時不受到重視，孔子死後他的學生也跟孔子一樣無法在那個動亂的時代推廣儒家的想法，儒家的思想就開始變得愈來愈不受重視。
秦王朝建立之後，儒家的想法更是受到了極大的打壓，所以很多的儒家的經典書籍在那個時代被集中銷毀，很多的儒家學者被殺害。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是道德與智能都非常卓越的國王。
這句成語被用來形容一個非常偉大的國王。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有什麼樣的或有什麼樣的啟發呢。
你知道那些著名的思想家嗎?你的國家目前在政治上的主流思想為何呢?
我希望這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為漢書-卷36-楚元王傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7036