A beautiful woman feeling sad as she
approaches old age.(美人遲暮)
During the Warring States period in ancient
China, there was a famous minister named Qu Yuan in the Kingdom of Chu.
This was a time of great chaos and turmoil.
Of royal descent, Qu Yuan was deeply concerned with the affairs of state in the
Chu Kingdom and the lives of its people.
A man of lofty ideals, he sought to reform
the Chu Kingdom's corrupt central government and bravely fought against the
ministers who cared only about pleasure, power and wealth.
Ultimately, however, he did not realise his
ideals. At the age of 64, having suffered a devastating setback, he took his
own life by jumping into a river.
He is also recognised as China's first
poet. He wrote a poem expressing his life experiences and pursuits. This poem,
comprising over 2,400 characters, is considered the most magnificent lyric poem
in Chinese literary history.
It is titled Li Sao, which literally means 'the sorrows I have suffered'.
The general meaning of the eight lines of
this poem is as follows: "I am endowed with many beautiful inner virtues,
and I constantly cultivate my talents and self-improvement.
I adorn my body with beautiful, elegant
flowers.
I sense the rapid passage of time and worry
that I am not seizing these fleeting moments well enough. I worry that I won't
have enough time to shape my beautiful soul.
Every morning, I pick magnolias from the
hills.
Every evening, I gather sedge from the
water.
I watch the sun and moon move and rotate,
marvelling at the relentless pace of time.
I sense the cycle of the four seasons, and
I see trees and plants experiencing the same cycle of growth and decay. I see a
beautiful woman feeling sad as she
approaches old age.
I wonder why a kingdom's leader would
appoint the wicked and treacherous instead of the upright and capable. I'm
perplexed by the fact that the leaders of the Kingdom of Chu refused to update
their outdated laws.
This idiom literally refers to a beautiful
woman fading with age and feeling sad as she approaches old age.
It is also used to describe the regret and
sadness felt when beautiful people, things or ideals fade with time.
Dear friends, what insights or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
Have you ever felt sad about someone
ageing? Would you describe your current mental state as young, middle-aged or
elderly?
I hope this story will provide you with
some new insights.
美人遲暮(A beautiful woman feeling sad as she
approaches old age.)
中國的戰國時代的楚王國有一個著名的大臣，他的名字叫做屈原。
中國的戰國時代是一個非常混亂且動盪的時代，屈原有王室的血統，他對楚王國的國家大事非常的關心，他也很在乎楚王國的人民的生活。
他是一個有著崇高的理想的人，他想要改革楚王國的腐敗的中央政府，他奮勇對抗當時楚王國的許多只想要享樂與只在乎權力與金錢的大臣們。
他最終沒有實現他的人生理想，在他大約64歲那一年，他在經歷一次巨大的打擊之後，他選擇跳河自殺。
他也是中國公認的第一個詩人，他寫過詩一首詩來表述說他的人生遭遇與他的人生追求，這首詩多達2400多個字，是是中國文學史上最宏偉的抒情長詩。
這首詩的詩名叫做(離騷)，直接翻譯的意思是我所遭遇到的憂患。
這首詩中有八句詩的大概意思如下。
我天生就有許多美好的內在的美德，我還不斷地強化自己的修養與才能。
我用許多美麗又高雅的花當我身上的裝飾與配巾。
我感受到時間飛快的流逝，我害怕自己沒有好好大把握這飛逝的時光，我擔心我沒有足夠的時間讓歲月來塑造我美好的心靈。
每天清晨，我會去採摘山岡上的木蘭花，
每天傍晚，我撿取水洲中的卷施草。
我看著太陽與月亮不同的輪轉與運行，我感嘆時間的毫不停留。
我感受到一年之中四季不同的循環，我看自然的樹木與野草也一樣經歷著繁榮與凋零的循環，我看到一個美麗的女子正在因為她的年紀接近暮年而感傷。
我很疑惑，為何一個王國的領導者不願意任用那些正直且有能力的賢能的人，而去任用那些邪惡奸詐的人。
我感到很疑惑，爲什麼楚王國的領導者不肯改變楚王國中那些已經過時的法度?
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是一個美人年華老去，一個美麗的女子正在因為她的年紀接近暮年而感傷。
這句成語被用來比喻一切美好的人或事物，立如理想、才華、青春或是機遇等因時間流逝而凋零後一種充滿了無可奈何的惋惜與感傷。
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。
你曾經因為誰的年老而感到傷感嗎?你認為你現在的心理狀態是青年中年還是老年呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為楚-屈原-離騷