Believe these words and consider them to be
true.(信以為真)
During the late Ming dynasty in 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
modestly well-off to extremely 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. 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 older 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 assigned the elderly Aji to Ms Yan.
Following discussions, Aji and Ms Yan
reached a consensus: Ms Yan would provide the start-up capital, which Aji would
use to start a business.
Aji was a very resourceful person. After
several weeks, he had completed three successful transactions and his initial
capital had grown from 12 taels of silver to over 60 taels.
Aji was honest and cautious. He felt it was
necessary to share the details and results of his business dealings with his
family and Ms Yan in advance, to put their minds at rest.
When Ms Yan and Aji's family heard that
their business capital had increased fivefold, they were overjoyed.
Aji returned home and stayed for just one
night. The next morning, he went out to do business again.
About two hours after Aji left, Xu Yan and
Xu Zhao went to Ms Yan's house and said some very negative things to her.
They said to Ms Yan:
'Judging by the situation, we think Aji is
dishonest; he's a liar.
He told you he had made a lot of money, yet
he hasn't brought home a single tael of silver for you. You're too naive.
We're very surprised. His actions clearly
show that he's deceiving you, yet you believe these words and consider them to
be true."
After hearing this, the smile on Ms Yan's
face disappeared.
Xu Yan and Xu Zhao paused for a moment,
then continued speaking to her.
'Since marrying Xu Zhe, you've been a
housewife; you don't understand how wicked people can be.
We believe that some of the 12 taels of
silver you gave to Aji were your dowry and that perhaps some were your
hard-earned savings over the years.
How could you be so foolish? If you had
consulted us, we would have advised you on how to use that money wisely. We
would have advised you to buy a small plot of land because land is the most
valuable asset.
How could you be so stupid? How could you
give that money to Aji, who has no business experience? Your decision was
terrible.
Upon hearing these words, Ms Yan was at a
loss for how to respond. Her initial happiness turned to worry. Although she
didn't think Aji had deceived her, she felt that what Xu Yan and Xu Zhao said
seemed quite reasonable. From that day on, she was sad every day.
This idiom translates literally as
"believing these words and considering them true".
It is usually used to describe someone who
believes a statement or event to be true.
It can also be used to describe someone who
trusts another person and believes that person is honest.
Dear friend, What insights or thoughts did
you gain from this story?
Have you ever trusted others too easily and
suffered losses as a result?
Have you ever stopped trusting someone you
originally trusted because someone else told you to?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
信以為真(Believe these words and consider them
to be true.)
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。
阿寄與顏女士經過討論之後，他們兩個人取得了一個共識，這個共識就是由顏女士提供創業資金，然後由阿寄拿著這筆創業資金去做生意。
阿寄是一個很會動腦筋的人，在阿寄拿著這筆創業資金去做了幾周的生意之後，阿寄就完成了三次成功的買賣銷售，他身上的本錢已經從原本的12兩銀子膨脹到60幾兩銀子了。
阿寄是一個很老實很謹慎的人，他認為必須要先跟他的家人與顏女士分享這幾周來的一些經商的細節與最終的結果，這樣他的家人語言女士才會感覺安心。
當顏女士與阿寄的家人聽到阿寄說他們的創業本金已經膨脹五倍之後，顏女士與阿寄的家人都感到非常的開心。
阿寄回到家中只待了一個晚上，隔天清晨，他就再度出門去做生意。
當阿寄離開家中大約兩個小時後，(徐言)與(徐召)走進顏女士的家，他們兩個人對顏女士說了一些很負面的話。
他們對顏女士說。
照這種情形看起來，我們認為阿寄他是一個不誠實的人，他是個騙子。
阿寄對你說他賺很多錢，但是他連一兩銀子都沒有帶回家並且交給你，你的心思太單純了。
我們覺得很訝異，阿寄的行動很明顯的表現出他在欺騙你，你竟然相信這些話並且認為這些話是真的。
顏女士聽完這些話後她臉上的笑容消失了。
(徐言)與(徐召)停頓了一下繼續對顏女士說。
你從嫁給徐哲後，你就一直待在家中做一個家庭主婦，你不了解人心的險惡。
你拿給阿寄的那12兩銀子裡面我們認為應該有一部分是你得嫁妝吧，可能還有一部分是你們這幾年來辛苦儲蓄存下來的。
你怎麼會那麼笨呢?若你來諮詢我們兩個人的意見，那麼我們兩個人一定會告訴你如何正確地運用這筆錢，我們會告訴你要去買一小塊田地，因為土地是最重要且最保值的資產。
你怎麼那麼傻呢?你怎麼會把那些錢交給從來沒有做過生意的阿寄呢?你這個決策真的太糟糕了。
顏女士聽完這些話後不知道如何反駁，她的心情從原本的開心變成擔憂，他不認為阿寄欺騙她，但是她同時也覺得(徐言)與(徐召)說的話好像很有道哩，從那天起，她每天都感覺憂愁。
這句成語直接翻譯是相信這些話並且認為這些話是真的。
這句成語通常被形容一個人相信一段話或一件事並且認為這段話或這件事是真的。
這句成語也可以被用來形容一個人相信另外一個人並且認為這個人是誠實的。
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
你是否曾經輕易地相信別人導致自己受到損失呢?你是否曾經因為別人的挑撥而不信任你原本信任的人呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些一些新的收穫。
出處為馮夢龍-醒世恆言-卷35-徐老僕義憤成家
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E9%86%92%E4%B8%96%E6%81%86%E8%A8%80/%E7%AC%AC35%E5%8D%B7