He was strong and unyielding personality, insisting on his own opinions and refusing to accept those of others.(剛愎自用)
He was strong and unyielding personality,
insisting on his own opinions and refusing to accept those of others.(剛愎自用)
During the Qing dynasty in China, there was
a famous writer, poet and gourmet named Yuan Mei.
He once wrote a book about poetry in which
he collected stories about contemporary literati and their poems, as well as
interesting anecdotes about them. He also commented on poems by many poets
throughout Chinese history.
One story in the book goes as follows:
I knew an official named Hong Su Ren who
held a mid-level position in the capital. He was a simple and principled man.
One day, the Prime Minister said to him in
private:
'When you passed the imperial examination,
I was the chief examiner.
I highly praised your knowledge and
insights at the time, which is why I gave you a high score and you were able to
pass the second level of the examination.'
Hong Su Ren replied:
'That's right. I've always remembered that,
and I'm very grateful to you.'
The Prime Minister asked...
'But recently, I've heard some of your
comments about me in private.' You said that I have a strong and unyielding
personality; that I am insists ; that I insist on my own opinions; and that I
do not accept the opinions of others.
Why do you criticise me like this?"
The Prime Minister's words were tinged with
anger.
Hong Suren replied calmly.
I admit that I said those things. I do
think you're insisting, and that you're set in your ways and unwilling to
accept the opinions of others.
Hong Suren paused, then continued.
'Your personality doesn't possess the
strong, unyielding qualities of a principled person. I added this positive
comment specifically because I wanted to downplay your negative traits.'
Perhaps because of this behaviour, he
offended the Prime Minister, and was later transferred away from the capital to
a post near Hunan Province in China.
He had few friends. His best friend was
called Chen Meicen. After he was transferred away from the capital, he wrote a
poem and sent it to Chen Meicen. The poem's general meaning is as follows:
'The place where I live now has 36 lakes.
The water is like a mirror, reflecting the flaws in our appearances. If someone
of high moral character came here, they could use the water in these lakes to
examine themselves closely for any minor flaws.
Looking at the inkstone and pen on my desk,
I wrote this poem for you, my good friend of noble character, because I miss
you.
This idiom translates as "he has a
strong and unyielding personality; he is stubborn and wilful, insisting on his
own opinions and refusing to accept others' views".
It is used to describe someone with a
stubborn and unyielding personality who insists on their own views and is
unable to listen to others.
Dear friend, what insights have you gained
from this story? Have you ever privately commented on the behaviour or
personality of others? If you were Hong Suren, would you comment on your
superior in this way? I hope this story gives you some new insights.
剛愎自用(He was strong and unyielding
personality, insisting on his own opinions and refusing to accept those of
others.)
中國的清王朝有一個著名的文學家與詩人與美食家，他的名字叫做袁枚。
他曾經寫過一本由關於詩的書，他在這本書中搜錄了很多他那個時代的一些文人與他們所寫的詩與有關於這些文人的有趣故事，他在這本書中也評論了中國歷史上的許多詩人的詩。
這本書中有一個故事的大概意思如下。
我認識一個官員，他的名字叫做洪素人，他在首都擔任一個中級官員，他是一個性格樸實而且很有原則的人。
有一天宰相在一個私底下的場合對他說。
你當初通過科舉考試時，我是主考官。
當時我對你學識與見解有很高的評價，所以我給了你很高的分數，因為如此所以你才能夠通過第二級的科舉考試。
洪素人回答。
沒有錯，這件事情我一直記得，我的心中一直很感謝你。
宰相問。
但我最近聽到一些你在私底下評論我的話，你說我的個性剛強堅硬，我很固執任性，我很堅持自己的意見，我不接受他人的意見。
你為何這樣批評我呢。
宰相的言語中已經帶著怒氣。
洪素人很平靜的回答。
我承認我的確說過這些話，我的確認為你的個性又固執又任性，你很堅持自己的意見，你不接受他人的意見。
洪素人停頓了一下繼續說。
你的個性中並沒有像是一個有原則的人一樣的剛強堅硬的特質，因為我想要淡化你的那些不好的特質，所以我才特別加上這一句正面的評語。
可能是因為他的這個行為得罪了宰相，所以後來他被調離首都，他被派任到中國的湖南省附近。
他的朋友很少，最好的一個朋友的名字叫做(陳梅岑)，他被調離首都後，他寫過一首詩寄回首都給(陳梅岑)，這首詩的大概意思如下。
我現在住的這個地方有36個湖，湖水如同鏡子，可以反映出我們每個人的外貌上有沒有缺失，一個道德高尚的人如果來到我現在這個地方，他一定可以用這36個湖的湖水來仔細檢討自己有沒有犯下任何微小的錯誤。
看著我的書桌上的硯台與筆，因為想念你這位品格高尚的好朋友，所以我寫下這首詩給你。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是他的個性剛強堅硬，他很固執任性，他很堅持自己的意見，他不接受別人的意見。
這句成語被用來形容一個人個性固執堅硬，這個人堅持己見且無法聽取別人的意見。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有什麼樣的或有什麼樣的啟發呢
你是否曾經私底下評論他人的行為或個性呢?你如果是洪素人，你認為你會這樣評論自已的長官嗎?
我期待這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為清-袁枚-隨園詩話-卷14-68條
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%9A%A8%E5%9C%92%E8%A9%A9%E8%A9%B1/14