Clear as ice, pure as jade.(冰清玉潔)
During the Han dynasty in China, there was
a famous hermit named Zhi Jun whose story is recorded in history books.
One of his good friends was Sima Qian, a
renowned historian and thinker who served as an official in the central Han
government.
One day, Sima Qian wrote a letter to Zhi
Jun, the gist of which is as follows:
'I have studied the ancient classics and
come across some remarkable sentences in these books. The three highest values
in life are: first, to set an example of high moral conduct; second, to
develop one's own philosophical doctrine; and third, to have a successful
career.
You are a very talented person with lofty
ideals, and your character is as clear as ice and as pure as jade.
You are strict with yourself, you have
never done anything to damage your reputation, and you are a role model for all
of us.'
However, I believe you should exert more of
your influence. You should strive to influence others morally. Therefore, I
suggest you join me in working within the central government. I believe you
could become a high-ranking official and fully exert your positive influence on
society.
After receiving this letter, Zhi Jun
replied to Sima Qian. The gist of his reply is as follows:
'I believe that a person of high moral
character and wisdom will first assess their own abilities before accepting any
task. Only when they are sufficiently confident in their ability to complete
the task will they accept it.
If a person cannot clearly see their own
true abilities, or cannot evaluate themselves objectively and fairly, they will
regret and be ashamed of the wrong decisions they make.
While I am grateful for your praise and
trust, I do not believe that my knowledge, abilities and moral standards are
yet sufficient, so I will not be joining the central government as you have
done.
Our personalities are different. While you
aspire to be someone who can profoundly influence others, my life's wish is
simple. I just want to live a leisurely and peaceful life.
The two remained friends, and Zhi Jun later
lived in seclusion on a mountain near the capital, never changing his chosen
lifestyle until his death.
The idiom literally translates as "as
clear as ice, as pure as jade".
It is used to describe a person of noble
character and impeccable conduct.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
How do you want to live your life? What are
you willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
冰清玉潔(Clear as ice, pure as jade.)
中國的漢王朝有一個非常著名的隱士，他的名字叫做(摯峻)，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他有一個好朋友，這個好朋友的名字是司馬遷，司馬遷是一個著名的歷史學家與思想家，司馬遷在漢王朝的中央政府內擔任官員。
有一天，司馬遷寫了一封信給(摯峻)，這封信的大意如下。
我研究古代的經典，我在古代的經典書籍中有看過幾句我認為很棒的話。人生的最高價值有三項、第一項是樹立崇高的道德典範，第二項是創立自己的思想學說，第三是建立偉大的功績事業。
你是一個很有才能的人而且你有崇高的理想，你的品德就像冰一樣清澈，像玉一樣潔白。
你嚴格的要求自己，你沒有做過損害自己的名譽的事，你是我們所有人的楷模。
但我認為你應該要更加發揮你的影響力，你應該追求自己能夠在道德上深刻的影響別人，所以我建議你跟我一起進入中央政府內工作，我認為你可以成為一個很重要的高級官員，我認為到時後你就可以完全地發揮你對這個社會的正面的影響力。
摯峻收到這封信後，他回了一封信給司馬遷。這封信的大意如下。
我認為一個品德高尚與有智慧的人在接下任何的任務前都會先衡量自己的能力，只有這個人有足夠把握可以完成這個任務時，這個人才會接下這個任務。
如果一個人不能夠看清楚自己的真正的能力，不能夠客觀且公正的評量自己，那麼這個人將會因為自己做出錯誤的決定而讓自己感覺悔恨與恥辱。
我很感謝你對我的讚美與信任，但我認為我的學識與能力與道德水平都還不夠，所以我不會像你一樣進入中央政府內工作。
我的個性跟你不同，你想要成為一個可以深刻地影響他人的人，但我的人生願望很簡單，我只想要悠閒且從容地度過此生。
他們兩個人仍舊維持他們的友誼，摯峻後來隱居在首都附近的一座山上，直到去世他都沒有改變他的人生選擇。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是像冰一樣清澈，像玉一樣潔白。
這句成語被用來形容一個人的品德高尚且操行清白。
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。
你想要怎樣的度過你的一生呢?你願意為了完成自己的人生目標犧牲那些東西呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為高士傳-卷中-摯峻傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E9%AB%98%E5%A3%AB%E5%82%B3