Predicting rain before the wind has even
blown.(未風先雨)
During the late Ming dynasty in China, a
famous writer named Feng Menglong wrote a collection of short stories.
One of these stories is about a loyal old
servant named Aji, who worked for a woman named Ms Yan.
Through his intelligence and prudence, Aji
changed the fate of Ms Yan and their two families, transforming them from
modest to wealthy.
The story, written by Feng Menglong, is set
in the mid-Ming Dynasty, a peaceful era of national strength.
Aji lived in a small village in Zhejiang
Province and was over fifty years old.
Ms Yan's husband was called Xu Zhe and had
two older brothers, Xu Yan and Xu Zhao.
Xu Zhe died of illness before reaching the
age of 30. Following his death, his two older brothers demanded the division of
the family property. The terms of the property division document drafted by Xu
Yan and Xu Zhao were unfair to Ms Yan. They allocated the oxen and horses that
could be used for ploughing and transportation to themselves and gave A-Ji, an
elderly man, to Ms Yan.
A-Ji told Ms Yan, 'Given the current
situation, I think we need to change our thinking and actions to break through
our current predicament.
Under these circumstances, I believe that
the only way to quickly make money is to do business. If you give me some
funds, I can go out and look for business opportunities tomorrow.
As long as I use these funds carefully, I
am sure that we will make a substantial profit.'
After hearing A-Ji's suggestion, Ms Yan
agreed that it made a lot of sense.
Ms. Yan had known A-Ji for several years
since marrying Xu Zhe. She knew that A-Ji was an honest and upright person, and
trusted his character and integrity. Therefore, she ultimately decided to
support A-Ji's proposal.
After taking stock of her belongings, Ms
Yan managed to scrape together 12 taels of silver. Based on the purchasing
power at the time, this sum could roughly cover the annual living expenses of
an average family.
When she handed the money to Aji, Ms Yan
said very seriously, 'This isn't a large sum, but it's all the money we have.
I'm giving you this money today; you must use it carefully.
When doing business outside, be extremely
cautious. Take care of your health and safety. I look forward to hearing good
news from you when you return home next time.'
After receiving the money, Aji told Ms Yan,
'Now that you have some funds, I'll prepare tonight and head out tomorrow to
look for business opportunities.'
Ms Yan asked Aji, 'Are you leaving
tomorrow? Won't you choose an auspicious day to go?'
Aji smiled and replied, 'I believe that
adhering to principles in life and work is more important than blindly
following so-called auspicious days. I believe that time is far more valuable
than money. I'll leave tomorrow.'
After returning home, Aji told his wife,
"Pack some simple belongings for me. I'm going out to do business
tomorrow."
His wife was surprised and asked why he was
going out to do business the next day. He told her about his discussion with Ms
Yan. After listening to him, she said, 'You're already 50 years old and have
never done business before. I think your decision is too hasty and rash. You
should return the 12 taels of silver to Ms Yan and tell her, 'Although you've
been allocated some poor quality farmland, I will do my best to help you
cultivate it.'
If you use this money to start a business
and make money, that would be great. But what if you lose all the money? The
lives of everyone in both our families would be plunged into hardship much
earlier.'
After hearing his wife's words, Aji replied
somewhat angrily, "I've made up my mind, and I trust my decision."
"Just because I've never been in business before doesn't mean I can't make
money from trading."
Thunderstorms often occur on hot summer
afternoons, and strong winds usually precede the downpour. I haven't even left
the house to do business yet, and you're already worried that I'll lose all my
money. You're like someone who predicts heavy rain before the wind has even
blown — a pessimistic person.
Fine, I won't argue with you anymore. I've
made up my mind. I'll pack my things, buy an umbrella and a pair of hemp shoes,
get some rest tonight and leave early tomorrow morning to see if I can find any
business opportunities.
This idiom literally means predicting rain
before the wind has even blown.
It is used to describe someone who
anticipates a negative outcome before anything has happened; someone who jumps
to conclusions too quickly.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did
you gain from this story?
Have you ever made decisions that your
family didn't approve of? If you were A-Ji, would you abandon your decisions
just because others don't believe in you?
I
hope this story gives you some new insights.
未風先雨(Predicting rain before the wind has
even blown.)
中國的明王朝末年，有一個著名的文學家，他的名字叫做(馮夢龍)，他寫過一本短篇小說集。
他的這本小說集中有一個有關於一個忠誠的老僕人的故事，這個老僕人的名字叫做(阿寄)，他的女主人是顏女士。
(阿寄)經由自己的聰明與謹慎而改變了顏女士與自己的兩個家庭的命運，他透過他的智慧與運氣讓顏女士的家庭從小康變成大富戶。
馮夢龍說的這個故事發生在明王朝的中葉，那是一個國力強盛的和平時代。
(阿寄)住在浙江省的一個小村莊內，他的年紀已經50幾歲了。
顏女士的先生的名字叫做(徐哲)，徐哲有兩個哥哥，這兩個哥哥的名字是(徐言)與(徐召)。
徐哲因為生病所以不到30歲就病逝，徐哲病逝後，徐哲的兩個哥哥提出了分拆家族財產的要求，徐言與徐召擬定的這份拆分財產的文件中的條件對顏女士並不公平，他們把可以幫忙耕地與運輸的牛與馬分配給自己，他們把年紀老邁的阿寄分配給顏女士。
阿寄對顏女士說。
我認為就現狀看來，我們應該改變我們的想法與作法才可能突破現在的困境。
在現在這種情況之下，我認為只有做生意才能夠快速讓我們賺到錢，只要妳給我一些資金，我明天就可以出門去尋找商業機會。
我相信只要我小心謹慎的使用這些資金，那麼我們一定可以賺到豐厚的利潤。
顏女士聽完阿寄的話後，她覺得阿寄的建議很有道理，
顏女士自從嫁給徐哲後，她已經認識阿寄好幾年了，她知道阿寄是一個正直而且誠實的人，她很信任阿寄的人格與品德，所以她最終決定支持阿寄的提議。
顏女士清點自己所擁有的財物之後湊出了12兩銀子，這筆錢依照當時的購買力來計算，大概可以提供一個普通家庭一年的生活開支。
顏女士把這些錢交給阿寄的時候，她很慎重地對阿寄說。
這些錢的金額雖然不多，但已經是我們全部的可以動用的資金了，今天我把這些錢交給你，你一定要謹慎地使用。
你自己在外面做生意的時候千萬要謹慎與小心，你要注意自己的健康與安全，我期待下次你回家的時候，可以帶好消息回來。
阿寄拿到這些銀子後對顏夫人說，既然你這邊已經有了一筆資金，那麼我今天晚上準備一下，明天就出門去尋找商業機會。
顏女士對阿寄說。
你明天就要出發嗎?你不挑選一個你覺得吉祥的日子再出門嗎?
阿寄笑著說。
我認為把握好做人做事的原則比迷信那些不確定的所謂的吉祥的日子更重要，我認為時間的價值遠比金錢珍貴，我明天就出門。
阿寄回到他家後，他對他的妻子說。
你幫我打包一些簡單的行李，我明天要出門去做生意了。
阿寄的妻子很驚訝的問他為何明天要出門做生意，阿寄把他跟顏女士的討論結果告訴了他的妻子。他的妻子聽完阿寄的話後對阿寄說。
你已經50歲了，你從來沒有做過生意，我認為你的這個決定做得太倉促又太草率了。
我認為你應該把這12兩銀子還給顏女士，然後對顏女士說，妳雖然分配到一些不好的農地，但我會盡力協助妳耕種。
你把這些錢拿去做生意，如果賺到一些錢那最好，但是如果你把這些錢都賠光了呢?到時候我們兩個家庭中的所有人的生活都會提早陷入困境。
阿寄聽完他的妻子的話後，他有點生氣的對他的妻子說。
我已經決定好了，我相信我自己的決定。雖然我這輩子從來沒有經商過，但你怎麼可以現在就假設我無法從商業買賣中賺到錢呢?
炎熱的夏季午後常常有大雷雨，在下大雷雨前因為氣流不穩定都會先颳風，我都還沒出門做生意，你就擔憂我會賠光所有錢，我認為你就像是一個還沒有颳風就先說會下大雨的對未來充滿悲觀的人。
算了，我不跟你爭辯了，我已經決定好了，我自己整理我的行李，我待要出門買一把雨傘和一雙麻鞋，今天晚上早點休息，明天一大早我就離開家裡去找看看有沒有生意機會。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是還沒有颳風就先斷定會下雨。
這句成語被用來形容一個人事情還沒發生前就憑空預想壞的結果，這個人過早下結論。
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。
你是否曾經做出一些你的家人們不認同的決定呢?你如果是阿寄你會因為別人不看好你而放棄自己的決定嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為馮夢龍-醒世恆言-卷35-徐老僕義憤成家
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