Starting but not finishing.(有始無終)
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
modestly well-off to extremely wealthy.
This story, written by Feng Menglong, is
set in the mid-Ming Dynasty, a time of national strength and peace.
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 plowing and transportation to themselves and assigned Aji,
who was elderly, to Ms Yan.
After being forced herself to accept this
division of the family property, Ms Yan returned to her room feeling extremely
panicked. She had no skills with which to support and five children to raise.
She felt that she and her children had no one to rely on in this world and
couldn't help but cry uncontrollably.
Just then, someone knocked on her door.
Startled, she asked,
"Who's there?"
An old voice came from outside the door.
"It's me, Aji. I want to discuss
something with you.'
Ms Yan wiped away her tears, opened the
door and invited Aji to sit down inside.
After sitting down, Aji said to Ms Yan,
'Given the current situation, I believe that we need to change our thinking and
methods to break through our current predicament.
In these circumstances, I believe that the
only way to make money quickly is to do business. If you give me some funds, I
can look for business opportunities tomorrow.
As long as I use the funds carefully, I am
confident that we can make a substantial profit.
After hearing Aji's suggestion, Ms Yan
agreed that it made a lot of sense.
She had known Aji for several years through
her marriage to Xu Zhe. She knew that he was an honest and upright person, but
she still had some concerns. After thinking for a few minutes, she said to Aji,
'You're already in your fifties. I'm still
a little worried about your age. With your current physical strength, I'm
worried that you won't be able to withstand traveling between different cities
for long periods."
Aji replied with a smile, 'I think you
don't need to worry. 'Although I'm in my fifties and my physical strength can't
compare to that of young people, my body is still very healthy. I have a
lifetime of wisdom in my mind, and I believe my spirit is better than that of
many young people."
Ms Yan then asked Aji,
'You've never had any experience in business
before. What goods do you plan to sell?'
A-Ji replied,
'I believe I can make money selling
anything. The most important principle is to make different judgments based on
the region and time period.
The second is to only do business with the
capital you have. Don't be greedy and take on more than you can handle.
As long as I adhere to these two
principles, I think I will make money, but the amount will vary depending on
the circumstances.'
Ms Yan agreed with A-Ji's views and,
trusting her character and integrity, ultimately decided to support her
proposal.
She wiped away her tears and began to take
stock of her possessions. She gathered all the valuables in her house, totaling
12 taels of silver. Based on the purchasing power at the time, this amount
could support an average family for about a year.
When Ms Yan handed the money to A-Ji, she
spoke to her very carefully.
'This amount of money, though small,
represents all the funds we have available. I'm entrusting it to you today, and
you must use it carefully.
I don't expect you to make a huge profit; I
just hope you can earn enough to improve our lives.'
Be extremely cautious and careful when
doing business outside. Pay attention to your health and safety.' Some people
are good at boasting, but often don't finish what they start. I don't think
you're the kind of person who just talks big. I look forward to hearing good
news when you come home next time.
This idiom literally means 'starting but
not finishing'.
It is used to describe someone who gives up
halfway through a task, leaving it unfinished.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Have you ever given up halfway through
something? Do you have principles that you adhere to?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
有始無終(Starting but not finishing.)
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，許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。
顏女士在大廳中被迫接受這個不公平的拆分家中財產的協議後，她回到自已的房間內，她感到非常的恐慌，她沒有任何謀生的技能，她還有五個孩子要扶養，她感覺自己與五個小孩在這個世界上沒有任何依靠，她忍不住不停地哭泣。
就在這個時候，有人敲她的房間的門，她嚇了一跳，她問。
外面是誰在敲門呢?
門外傳來一個蒼老的聲音。
我是(阿寄)，我想要跟你討論一些事情。
顏女士擦乾眼淚後把房門打開並迎接阿寄到房間中坐下。
阿寄坐下後對顏女士說。
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，但她的內心還是有擔心，她思考了幾分鐘後對阿寄說。
妳已經50幾歲了，我還是有點擔心你的年紀太大，我擔心以你目前的體力，你撐不住長期在各個城市中奔走。
阿寄笑著回答。
我認為妳並不用擔心，我雖然年紀已經50幾歲了，我的體力比不上那些年輕人，但是我的身體還很健康，我的頭腦中藏著我一生的智慧，我自認為我的精神比很多年輕人更好。
顏女士接著問阿寄。
你從來沒有出門經商過的經驗，你之後想要販售那些商品呢?
阿寄回答。
我認為買賣那些東西都可以賺到錢，我認為最重要的第一原則是應該要根據每個地區與每個時間區間的不同做出不同的判斷。
另外第二個重要的原則就是有多少本錢就做多少生意，不要貪心做出超出自己能力的買賣。
只要我把持這兩個原則，我想我就會賺到錢，但賺的錢多或少，會依據當時的時機而不同。
顏女士很認同阿寄的看法，加上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。
她抹乾眼淚，開始清點自己所擁有的財物，她把她家中所有有價值的東西全部湊一湊，她總共湊出了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。
我不會過分的期望你藉由這筆資金就賺到非常多的利潤，我只希望你可以賺點可以讓我們改善生活的利潤就可以了。
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，有些人很會說大話，這些人做事的時候通常都有開始但是沒有終局，我認為你不是那種只會說大話的人，我期待下次你回家的時候，可以帶好消息回來。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是有開始但是沒有終局。
這句成語被用來形容一個人做一件事情做到一半就放棄了，這個人做的這件事情處於一種無法完成的一種狀態。
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。
你是否曾經做一件事情的時候在中途就放棄呢?你做事情的時候有自己所堅持的一些原則嗎?
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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