Searching and exploring, upward and
downward.(上下求索)
During the Warring States period in 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 stood up against
ministers who cared only about pleasure, power and wealth.
Ultimately, however, he did not achieve his
goals. 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'.
In the first half of the poem, Qu Yuan
describes the discouraging experiences he had in the human world. The King of
Chu refused to accept his honest advice and many of his ministers slandered and
marginalised him. He felt that all his efforts were in vain. At this low point,
he told himself, 'I shall not be defeated. I am pursuing the truth. The road
ahead is long, but I will search high and low, and exhaust all my efforts in
pursuit of life's truth."
In the second half of the poem, Qu Yuan
describes how he felt that his soul had transcended the constraints of the
flesh and entered a sacred spiritual world. There, he confided in several great
ancient emperors. After hearing Qu Yuan's tales of injustice and his political
ideals, these emperors offered him affirmation and encouragement. Their words
gave Qu Yuan spiritual recognition and strength.
After leaving this sacred, spiritual world,
Qu Yuan said to himself, 'I will now journey to Heaven to seek the fairest
judgement and reaffirm the correctness of the path I have taken.'
But this time, he was disappointed. He
could not even enter the gates of Heaven. His path to appealing to the Supreme
Being of the Universe had been blocked, and he fell into a state of profound
despair.
He lamented the fact that he had not found
a wise ruler in the human world or a place to realise his ideals in the
universe. This journey of exploration ultimately plunged Qu Yuan into a state
of utter loneliness and hopelessness.
These two key lines later became an
immortal idiom in the poem "Li Sao".
It is used to describe someone who dares to
realise their lofty ideals, is not afraid of the long journey and dares to
explore and pursue them in all directions.
The idiom literally means to search and
explore in all directions. It can be used to describe a fearless and courageous
spirit in exploration.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
What is your ultimate goal in life? How
much effort are you willing to put in to achieve it?
I hope this story brings you new insights.
上下求索(Searching and exploring, upward and
downward.)
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隻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受到的憂患。
這首詩的前半部分，他描繪了自己在人間經歷的種種令他感覺到灰心的事情，楚國的國王君王不接納他的諍言，他周圍的許多大臣們中傷與排擠他，他感覺到自己的種種努力都是徒然，就在他感覺到極度的沮喪的時候，他對自己說，我不應該被打敗，我正在追尋真理，我前方的道路還很漫長，但我將上上下下地尋找與探索，我會用盡我所有的努力去追求人生的真理。
在這首詩的下半段，屈原描繪了自己感覺到自己的靈魂超越了肉體的束縛，他的靈魂到了一個神聖的精神世界，他在這裡向古代的幾個非常偉大的君王傾訴，這幾個古代的君王在聽完屈原所遭遇的不公平的對待與他的政治理想後，這幾個君王給予屈原正面的肯定與鼓勵，這幾個古代的君王的話中讓屈原獲得了精神上的認同與力量。
離開了這個神聖的精神世界後，屈原對自己說，我接著要去天界，我要到那裏去尋求最公平的裁決與再次確認我所走的這一條道路的正確性。
但是這一次他失望了，他連天界的大門都進不去，他向這個宇宙中的最高主宰申訴的道路被阻斷，他陷入了一種最根本的絕望之中。
他悲哀的感受他不僅只是在人間沒有找到賢明的君王，他在宇宙間也都尋覓不到理想的寄託。這次的探索路途，最終卻反而將屈原推入了一個徹底的、無路可走的孤獨境地。
在離騷這首詩中，中間的這兩句關鍵的詩句，後來凝練成了這一句不朽的成語。
這句成語被用來形容一種一個人勇於實現自己崇高的理想，這個人不懼路途漫長，這個人勇於進行全方位探索與追求的執著精神。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是向上與向下地去尋找與探索。
這句成語可以被用來形容一種不畏艱險且勇於探索的精神。
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。
你的人生的終極理想為何呢?為了實現你的人生的終極理想，你願意付出多少努力呢?
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