Expose these plants to sunlight for one day, then place them in a frozen environment for ten consecutive days.(一暴十寒)
Expose these plants to sunlight for one
day, then place them in a frozen environment for ten consecutive days.(一暴十寒)
The Spring and Autumn and Warring States
periods in China were chaotic times, but they were also a golden age of Chinese
philosophy.
Many famous thinkers lived during this era,
offering their own solutions to social and existential problems.
One such figure was the Confucian scholar
Mencius. He believed that a king should rule his kingdom with benevolence and
compassion and that his most important task should be to meet the needs of his
people.
Mencius travelled widely to promote his
ideas to various kings.
His writings include a record of a dialogue
between him and a scholar named Gaozi.
Mencius said to Gaozi:
'You ask me why the kings ruling the
kingdoms nowadays are all so foolish. Why are they unwilling to accept good
advice from honest people that could improve their kingdoms? Why do they always
listen to bad advice from cunning people that harms their kingdoms' progress?'
Mencius paused for a moment, then continued
to Gaozi.
'Let me give you an example to illustrate
my point. First, let me ask you a question: Do you know which plants are easy
to grow?'
Gaozi replied.
'Many plants are easy to grow. Many
roadside weeds can flourish with just a little soil. There are too many easy-to-grow
plants.'
Mencius replied.
'Suppose you let these easy-to-grow plants
bask in the sun for a day and then put them in an extremely cold place for ten
consecutive days. Do you think they can still grow lushly then?"
Gaozi replied.
'I think the environment you described
would be very unfavourable for plant growth. If these easy-to-grow plants were
placed in such an environment, they would quickly die.'
Mencius replied with a smile.
These kings spend so little time with me!
As soon as I leave, they are surrounded by cunning and deceitful people who can
easily seduce them. Do you think good thoughts can sprout and grow in such
circumstances?
This idiom literally translates as exposing
these plants to the sun for one day and then placing them in a frozen
environment for ten consecutive days.
It is used to describe someone who lacks
perseverance, frequently interrupts their work and cannot persist.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
What kind of friends do you usually
surround yourself with? Do you consider yourself a persevering person?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
一暴十寒(Expose these plants to sunlight for
one day, then place them in a frozen environment for ten consecutive days.)
中國的春秋時代與戰國時代是一個極度混亂的年代，但那段間同時也是中國思想上的黃金時代。
有許多著名的思想家生活在那個年代，這些思想家針對當時的社會問題與人生問題提出了各自認為最好的解決的辦法和思想。
儒家的一位名字叫做(孟軻)的學者就是其中一個代表性人物，他認為一個國王應該要用仁愛與仁慈來治理他的王國，一個國王應該要把滿足百姓的生活需求當作最重要的任務。
孟軻持續地到各個王國中去向各個王國的國王宣傳他的想法。
在孟軻所寫的書中，紀錄的一段他與當時一個名字叫做告子的學者的對話。
孟軻對告子說。
你問我為何現在統治各個王國的國王怎麼都那麼愚昧呢?這些國王怎麼都不願意接受那些正直的人提出的能夠提振王國的發展的那些好意見呢?為何這些國王總是聽從那些狡詐的人提出的損害王國的進步的那些不好的意見呢?
孟軻停頓了一下後繼續對告子說。
我舉一個例子來說明我的看法，我先問你一個問題，你知道那些植物很容易生長嗎?
告子回答。
有很多植物都很容易生長啊，路邊很多野草只要有一些泥土就可以生長非常茂盛，容易生長的植物太多了。
孟子回答。
假設你讓這些容易生長的植物曬一天的太陽後就讓這些植物連續十天放在極其冰凍的地方，那麼你認為這些植物還可以生長得很茂盛嗎?
告子回答。
我認為你說的這種環境非常不利於植物的生長，如果這些容易生長的植物放在這種環境中，那麼這些植物很快就會死亡。
孟子微笑著回答。
這些國王跟我在一起的時間那麼少，我只要離開那些國王之後，那些國王身邊就會立刻圍滿了那些會讓他們陷入誘惑的奸詐的人之中，在這種情況之下，你認為那些國王內心中的那些善良的念頭可以發芽長大嗎?
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是把這些植物曬一天太陽後接著連續十天把這些植物放在冰凍的環境中。
這句成語被用來形容一個人人做事缺乏恆心，經常中斷且無法持久。
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。
你身邊通常都會聚集那些朋友呢?你認為自己是否是一個有恆心的人呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為孟子-告子上-9條