He played a stringed instrument and sang a
sorrowful song alone.(獨絃哀歌)
Zhuangzi was one of the most famous
thinkers and philosophers in Chinese history. Despite living a life of poverty,
he deeply enjoyed its simplicity.
He believed that spiritual freedom was far
more important than physical pleasure. His attitude towards life had a profound
influence on later generations of Chinese people.
He lived during the Warring States period
and is considered a leading figure in Daoist thought.
He wrote a book, from which a short excerpt
is summarised below.
Confucius had a student named Duanmu Ci,
who was also known as Zigong. Most later generations referred to this student
of Confucius as Zigong.
One day, while travelling to the southern
state of Chu, Zigong saw a vegetable garden by the roadside. An elderly farmer
was laboriously watering his crops with a large, heavy earthenware jar.
Zigong observed the farmer quietly by the
roadside for about ten minutes. The more he observed, the more unbearable he
found the farmer's inefficiency. Unable to suppress his impulse, Zigong
approached the farmer and suggested a more efficient method.
Zigong was surprised that the old farmer
already knew the method he wanted to share. During their conversation, Zigong
was astonished by how far beyond his comprehension the old farmer's ideas were.
After listening to the old farmer, Zigong
lowered his head in shame and remained silent.
Seeing Zigong's reaction, the old farmer
smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said:
'From your clothing and your words, I would
say that you are a very educated and cultured person. Who is your
teacher?"
Zigong raised his head proudly and replied,
'My teacher's name is Confucius. He was a
nobleman from the State of Lu. He was very famous and had over three thousand
students. He taught us a great deal about knowledge and life principles."
After hearing Zigong's words, the old
farmer smiled and said, 'So your teacher is Confucius?'
Based on my understanding of him, he was a
very learned man. He emulated the virtuous men of antiquity in terms of
morality and unconsciously projected an air of superiority.
He had a good reputation and often played
stringed instruments and sang sad songs alone, using this act to make himself
seem refined.
The old farmer paused for a moment, then
continued: 'Your teacher taught you to use your abilities to make the world a
better place. But first, you must transform your pride into humility. You must
first manage your own heart and every action you take.
I think this is the most important thing
you should do now.
All right, I need to get back to work. I
won't chat with you anymore. Please leave.'
(The idiom literally means 'playing
stringed instruments alone and singing sad songs'.) It describes someone who
engages in contrived and insincere actions in order to gain a good reputation
and praise from others.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did
you gain from this story?
Do you know anyone who performs deceptive
actions for fame? How would you evaluate this type of person?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
獨絃哀歌(He played a stringed instrument and
sang a sorrowful song alone.)
獨自彈奏弦樂器並唱著悲傷的歌曲。
莊周是中國歷史上最著名的思想家與哲學家之一。他一生生活在貧困之中，卻十分享受這種簡單。
莊子認為精神的自由遠比肉體的享樂更重要。他的生活態度，深深影響了後世的中國人。
莊周生活在戰國時代，後世將他視為道家思想的代表人物。
他寫過一本書，這本書中有一個故事的中間一小段的大意如下。
孔子有一個名字叫做端木賜的學生，這個學生還有另外一個名字，這名字叫做(子貢)，後代大部分都用(子貢)來稱呼孔子的這個學生。
有一天，子貢到南方的楚國途中，他看見路旁有一塊菜園，一位年邁的農夫正抱著一個又大又沉的陶甕，艱難地為農作物澆水。
(子貢)在路旁靜靜觀察了大約十分鐘，愈看愈覺得難以忍受這種低效率，他按捺不住內心的衝動，他主動走到老農夫面前向老農夫分享一個如何改進效率的方法。
子貢沒有想到這個老農夫早就知道他想要分享的那個改進效率的方法，在與老農夫對談的過程中，子貢驚訝這個老農夫所提出的思想的高度竟然超過自己所可以理解的範圍。
子貢聽完這個老農夫的話後就羞愧地低下頭，沉默不說話。
這個老農夫看到子貢的表現後，他微笑著拍了拍子貢的肩膀並對子貢說。
從你的穿的服裝和你說的話中，我認為你是一個很有教且很有文化的人，你的老師是誰呢?
子貢抬起頭來很驕傲的對老農夫說。
我的老師的名字叫做孔子，他是魯王國的貴族，他的名聲很大，他有超過3000個學生，他教導了我們很多知識和關於生命的道理。
老農夫聽完子貢的話後他微笑著回應。
原來你的老師是孔子啊。。
根據我對你的老師的理解，他是一個很博學的人，他在道德水平上效法古代的那些賢能的人，他不自覺的表現出他比所有人都更加的傑出的姿態。
他有著很好的名聲，他常常獨自彈奏弦樂器並唱著悲傷的歌曲，他藉由這個特別的舉動來讓別人覺得他很高雅。
老農夫停頓了一下然後繼續說。
你的老師教導你們要發揮自己的能力讓這個世界變得更好，但是我認為你在讓這個世界變得更好之前，你應該先把自己的驕傲的心態調整成謙卑，你應該先管理好你自己的心和管理好你自己的每一個行動。
我認為這才是你現在首先重要要做的事。
好了，我要繼續工作了，我不跟你聊天了，你請離開吧。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是獨自彈奏弦樂器並唱著悲傷的歌曲。
這句成語被用來形容一個人為了謀取到好名聲與別人的讚美，這個人做出了一些做作的、並非出自本心的行動。
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。
你是否認識這種為了名譽而做出許多虛假的行動的人嗎?你會如何評量這種類型的人呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為莊子-外篇-天地-11條