Replacing one brutal force with another.(以暴易暴)
China has a very long history. The second
dynasty in Chinese history was the Shang Dynasty.
Established around 1600 BC, the Shang
Dynasty lasted approximately 500 years before falling around 1046 BC.
During this period, several small kingdoms
existed within China, one of which was the Guzhu Kingdom.
According to historical records, the
founder of the Guzhu Kingdom was a member of the Shang royal family. Its
capital was located near Tangshan City in present-day Hebei Province, China.
The eighth king of the Guzhu Kingdom was
named Yawei.
He had three sons: the eldest was called
Boyi, the second Yaping and the youngest Shuqi.
Boyi and Shuqi were together. After
travelling throughout China, they arrived at the Zhou Kingdom in their old age.
The last king of the Shang dynasty was
Emperor Xin. He was a brutal and cruel man who cared little for his people,
focusing solely on his own pleasure. Under his rule, the people lived in
extreme misery.
The people and princes of the time were
dissatisfied with his leadership. After Emperor Ji Fa succeeded him as king of
the Zhou Kingdom, he led a military uprising to overthrow the Shang dynasty.
When Boyi and Shuqi arrived at the Zhou
capital, they heard the news and went to see Ji Fa.
They said to him, 'Your father has just
passed away, so you should observe mourning for him. You should not attack the
Shang Dynasty. We are only princes. Even if the Shang king has misbehaved, he
is still the ruler. We should not rebel against our leader.
However, Ji Fa ignored the advice of Boyi
and Shuqi and chose to lead his army to attack the Shang capital.
In 1046 BC, he successfully defeated the
entire Shang army and established the Zhou dynasty, becoming ruler of all
China.
Upon hearing this news, Boyi and Shuqi were
filled with anger and grief. They believed that the establishment of the Zhou
dynasty was unjust.
Seeing themselves as subjects of the Shang
dynasty, they refused to eat food produced by those under Zhou rule. They
separated themselves from the crowds and took up residence on a mountain called
Shouyang.
With no food available there, they could
only gather wild vegetables, which barely sustained them. After several weeks,
nearing death from starvation, they wrote a poem.
The poem's general meaning is as follows:
'We two alone on this mountain have no food
to eat, only wild vegetables.
The ignorant people below the mountain
don't realise they've made a grave mistake. They have replaced one brutal force
with another.
We cannot return to the stability and
prosperity of ancient China. That era is long gone. Where can we go now?
Perhaps death is our best option; perhaps
it's our destiny.
This idiom literally means replacing one
brutal force with another.
Dear friends, what insights or thoughts
have you gained from hearing this story?
Have you ever fought for something you
thought was unjust? Do you believe that fate controls everyone, or do you
believe that you can change your destiny?
I hope this story brings you new insights.
以暴易暴(Replacing one brutal force with
another.)
中國的歷史非常的悠久，中國歷史上的第二個王朝是(商)王朝。
商王朝的建立時間大约是在西元前1600年，商王朝的滅亡時間大約是在西元前1046年，王朝續時間大約500年。
商王朝存在的同時，中國境內還有好幾個小王國，其中有一個小王國的名字叫做(孤竹)國。
根據歷史書的記載，孤竹國的創立者是商王朝的一個皇室成員，孤竹國的首都位置大約在現在中國的河北省的唐山市附近。
孤竹國的第八任國王的名字叫做(亞微)。
亞微有三個兒子，大兒子的名字叫做(伯夷)，二兒子的名字叫做(亞憑)，小兒子的名字叫做(叔齊)。
伯夷與叔齊兩個人一起在中國的各地遊歷，他們老年的時候到了當時的周王國。
商王朝的最後一任國王的名字叫做(帝辛)，帝辛是一個非常殘暴的人，他不關心百姓，他只在乎自己的享樂，在他的領導下，所有的百姓都過著非常痛苦的生活。
當時的百姓與諸侯們都對(帝辛)的領導感到不滿，(姬發)在繼任為周王國的國王後，他就帶領著這些百姓與諸侯們發動軍事革命，他們的目標是推翻商王朝。
伯夷與叔齊到的周王朝的首都之後，他們聽到了這個消息，他們兩個人就去見了(姬發)。
他們兩個人對姬發說。
你的父親也剛過世，所以你應該要為你的父親守喪。
你不應該發動軍隊攻打商王朝，我們都只是諸侯，商王朝的國王就算行為很壞，但他仍舊是我們的領導者，我們不應該反叛他。
姬發沒有聽從伯夷與叔齊的勸告，他仍舊選擇帶領軍隊進攻商王朝的首都。
西元前1046年，姬發成功地打敗了商王朝的所有軍隊，他建立了周王朝，他成為全中國的統治者。
伯夷與叔齊聽到這個消息後，他們兩個人非常的氣憤與傷心，他們認為周王朝的建立是不正義的。
他們認為自己是商王朝的人民，他們不願意吃周王朝的統治下的人民所生產的各種食物，他們兩個人就離開人群，他們到了一座名字叫做首陽的山上居住。
他們在山上沒有食物，他們只能摘取一些野菜來勉強維持他們的生命，幾個禮拜後，他們兩個人在快要餓死之前，他們寫了一首詩。
這首詩的大概意思如下。
我們兩個人在這座山上，我們沒有食物可以吃我們只可以吃一些野菜。
山下的那些無知的人民們不知道他們犯了嚴重的錯誤啊，他們用另一股殘暴的力量來代替原先那股殘暴的力量。
我們無法回到中國上古時代那個安定與興盛的時代，那個時代已經已經逝去，我們現在可以到那裡去呢?
可能死亡才是我們最好的歸宿吧，這可能是我們就是的命運吧。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思用另一股殘暴的力量來代替原先那股殘暴的力量。
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。
你是否曾經為了你認為不正義的事情做出那些努力呢?你相信命運掌握每個人還是相信自己的力量可以改變命運呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記-卷61-伯夷列傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7061