As inseparable as a person's hands and feet(手足之情)
In late Ming-Dynasty China, there was a
famous writer named Feng Menglong who compiled 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.
This 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. He was over fifty years old and had worked for the Xu family for many
years. Ms Yan's husband was Xu Zhe, who 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 elder brothers demanded the division of
the family property. The terms of the property division document, which was
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 Ms Yan the elderly Aji.
With Ms Yan's support, Aji used the 12
taels of silver she provided as start-up capital to start a business.
Aji was a very shrewd person. After about
six months, he had earned over 2,000 taels of silver.
Aji and Ms Yan agreed on how to use this
money. They later used 1,500 taels to buy 1,000 mu of land and a house from a
wealthy man named Yan Shibao.
Over the next ten years, Aji helped Ms Yan
earn a lot of money each year thanks to his caution, prudence and keen business
acumen, and her assets and land holdings increased year by year.
After consulting Ms Yan, Aji hired tutors
to educate the children from both families. The children grew up to be morally
upright and honest, and they all successfully married and started their own
families.
After retiring in his sixties, Aji helped
Ms Yan manage her assets diligently.
Despite the wealth he had helped Ms Yan
accumulate over the years, he was neither proud nor arrogant; on the contrary,
he remained humble and unassuming.
Although he remained Ms Yan's servant, his
good behaviour and character earned him the deep respect and admiration of the
villagers, both young and old.
Aji lived to the age of 80. When he fell
seriously ill, his family and Ms Yan's family cared for him diligently, hoping
for his recovery. However, he faced his illness with equanimity, showing no
fear of death and accepting that it was the inevitable end for everyone.
Before he died, he said to Ms Yan, "…
'I have something I'd like to ask your
permission to do. I hope you won't be offended by my suggestion.'
Tears streaming down her face, Ms. Yan
replied,
'Please tell me what you want to say.'
A-Ji said to Ms Yan.
'Over 20 years ago, after your husband
passed away, his two older brothers demanded a division of the family estate.
You were very afraid at the time, and this also led to my decision to start my
own business later on.
'I think we should learn a lesson from
this. Your two sons have a very good relationship now — their bond is as
inseparable as a person's hands and feet. But in a few years, when they are
older, or after you pass away, they may want to divide the estate.'
To avoid their relationship deteriorating
due to feelings of unfairness during the division of the estate, I suggest you
think about this matter early and prepare in advance.'
After saying this, A-Ji took two pieces of
paper from beside his pillow and handed them to Ms Yan. 'I have divided all
your assets fairly in two. If you have no objections, you can use this document
to proceed with the division.'
After explaining this, A-Ji said to Ms Yan:
'I feel I am about to die. I would like to
say goodbye to my family, your family and everyone else I care about, including
Xu Yan and Xu Zhao. Please gather them all in my room. I want to see everyone
one last time before I die.'
Ms Yan agreed to A-Ji's request.
After seeing everyone he wanted to see,
A-Ji peacefully closed his eyes and left this world.
This idiom translates literally as
inseparable as a person's hands and feet.
It is used to describe the bond between
brothers.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
What is your attitude towards death? If you
were to die today, would you be at peace and have no regrets?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
手足之情(As inseparable as a person's hands
and feet)
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，他長期在徐家工作。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。
在顏女士的支持之下，阿寄拿著顏女士所提供的12兩銀子作為創業資金去做生意。
阿寄是一個很會動腦筋的人，經過大約半年後，他賺到了超過2000兩的銀子。
阿寄與顏女士兩個人針對這筆錢的使用方式取得了一個共識，他們後來用其中的1500兩銀子跟一個名字叫做晏世保的富戶買了1000畝土地與一間房屋。
在接下來的十多年內，阿寄憑藉著他的小心與謹慎還有敏銳的商業頭腦，每年都幫顏女士賺了很多錢，顏女士所擁有的資產與土地也一年比一年增加。
阿寄在經過與顏女士商量後，聘請了老師來教導兩個家庭中的孩子們讀書，幾個孩子成年後都養成有道德感與很正直的個性，這幾個孩子也都順利的結婚成家。
阿寄六十幾歲後退休後非常用心地的協助顏女士管理她的資產。
他沒有因為自己這些年來幫顏女士賺了那麼多錢而感到驕傲與自大，相反的，他的態度謙卑與低調。
阿寄的身分雖然仍然是顏女士的僕人，但是由於他的好行為與好品行，村莊中的不論老少的村民們都非常的尊敬與重視他。
阿寄活到80歲。他生了一場很重的病，他的家人與顏女士全家都很用心的照顧他希望他的病情好轉，但是他對自己的病情表現出很坦然的態度，他對死亡並不感到恐懼，因為他知道死亡是每個人都有的終局。
他臨死之前，他對顏女士說。
我有一件事情想要請求妳的同意，希望妳不要因為我的建議感到被冒犯。
顏女士流著淚回答。
你有甚麼話想說請盡管告訴我。
阿寄對顏女士說。
20幾年前，你的丈夫過世後，你的丈夫的兩個哥哥提出了分拆家族財產的要求，這件事情在當時造成了妳極大的恐懼，也造成了後來我出門做生意的契機。
我認為我們應該從這件事情上得到教訓，妳的兩個兒子現在的感情很好，他們的情誼就像是一個人身上的手與腳一樣的不可分割。但是再過幾年之後，他們的年紀更大一點之後，或者妳過世之後，他們可能就會想要分拆家產。
為了避免到時候它們因為分拆家產的過程中覺得不公平所已造成兩個人之前的感情由好轉壞，我建議妳應該要提早思考這件事情並且提早做好準備。
說完這些話後，阿寄從他的枕頭邊拿出兩張紙交給顏女士並說。
我已經把妳所有的財產公平的分成兩份，如果妳沒有意見，那麼妳可以直接使用我這份文件來進行財產的分拆。
交代完這件事情之後，阿寄對顏女士說。
我感覺到我快要離世了，我希望可以跟我的家人和妳的家人和其他所有我關心的人告別，包含徐言與徐召，請妳幫我召集這些些人到我的房間內，我想要在死亡之前再見所有人一面。
顏女士答應了阿寄的要求。
當阿寄見到所有他想見的人之後，他安詳的閉上眼睛離開這個世界。
這句成語直接翻譯同一個身體的手與腳之間不可分割的情誼。
這句成語被用來形容兄弟之間的情誼。
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
你對死亡抱持著怎樣的態度呢?你如果今天就要離世，你是否能夠覺得安心與沒有遺憾呢?
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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