His face darkened with anger.(忿然作色)
Zhuangzi is 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 was later regarded as a leading figure in Daoist thought.
He wrote a book, and the following is a
brief excerpt from one of its stories:
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, Zigong travelled to the southern
state of Chu to seek business opportunities. En route, he came across a
vegetable garden by the roadside where 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, becoming increasingly frustrated by the
inefficiency. Unable to suppress his impulse, he approached the old farmer and
said:
'I can make a wooden tool. It's simple to
use and draws on mechanical principles to enable people to draw water from the
well quickly.
If you'd like, I can make one for you and
teach you how to use it.'
Perhaps because Zigong's manner of offering
this made the old man feel slighted, the old farmer's expression lost its
initial calm as Zigong spoke; his face darkened with anger.
However, the old farmer, who possessed
excellent self-control, quickly regained his composure. He took a deep breath,
smiled at Zigong and said,
'I've heard of and seen the wooden tool you
mentioned, but I choose not to make or use it.'
Zigong asked the old farmer, doubtfully.
'Since you know about this tool, why don't
you use it? Using it would save you a great deal of time.'
The old farmer replied,
'My teacher once told me the following:
'A person with a quick mind and the ability
to adapt rapidly to change will create and use a device or tool with a special
function, composed of many parts, in order to achieve their goals more quickly
and efficiently.'
Such a person seems intelligent, but my
teacher said that their heart is neither simple nor pure.
Because their heart is neither simple nor
pure, their mind and spirit cannot be concentrated, and they often feel uneasy
or restless.'
They will not be able to understand the
most fundamental truth of our world, nor can they feel the Tao.
Because my teacher taught me this, I choose
not to use the tool you mentioned.'
After hearing the old farmer's words,
Zigong lowered his head and remained silent.
Zigong was ashamed that his disdain for the
old farmer had been discovered and shocked by how far beyond his comprehension
the old farmer's ideas were.
This idiom translates as "His face
darkened with anger.".
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts did you gain from this story?
Are there any schools of thought that you cannot
understand at all? Have you ever looked down on someone because of their job?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
忿然作色(His face darkened with anger.)
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，子貢到南方的楚國尋找商業機會。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，他走到老農夫面前對老農夫說。
我會製作一種木製的器具，這種器具的結構很簡單，這種器具的設計概念是利用力學的原理讓人們可以非常快速地從井中取水。
如果你願意，我可以為你製作一個這種木製的器具並且教導你如何使用。
可能是因為(子貢)在分享這件事情的時候，他的態度讓這個老人覺得自己受到了輕視，因此子貢說話的時候，那個老農夫的表情失去了原本的平靜，老農夫的臉上因憤怒而變了臉色。
這個老農夫的修養很好，他在很短的時間內就地調整好自己的心情，他深吸了一口氣後微笑著對(子貢)說。
你所說的那種木製的器具我有聽過我也有看過，但是我選擇不去製造與使用這種器具。
(子貢)很疑惑地問那個老農夫。
你既然知道這個器具，那你為何不使用這種器具呢，若你使用這個器具可以大量的節省你的時間。
老農夫回答。
我的老師曾經對我說過下列這段話。
一個頭腦很靈活而且能迅速適應事物變化的人為了更快速且更有效率地達成自己的目的，這個人就會去製作並使用一種由許多零件組成的具備特殊作用的裝置或器具。
一個頭腦很靈活而且能迅速適應事物變化的人看起來很聰明，但是我的老師說。這類型的人的內心不夠簡單也不夠純淨。
這類型的人因為內心不夠簡單也不夠純淨，所以他們的心思和精神無法集中，他們的心中會經常性地感到不安定或煩躁。
這種類型的人將無法理解我們這個世界最核心的真理，他們無法感受到(道)。
因為我的老師曾經這樣教導我，所以我選擇不用你所說的那種器具。
子貢聽完這個老農夫的話後就低下頭，沉默不說話。
子貢的心中因為自己輕視那個老農夫的心態被發現而感到慚愧，他同時還感受到極大的震驚因為這個老農夫所提出的思想的高度超過他所可以理解的範圍。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是(因憤怒而變了臉色。
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。
有沒有哪種思想流派是你完全無法理解的呢?你曾經因為一個人的職業而瞧不起這個人嗎?
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