He seeks joy in the morning and chases fun
in the evening.(朝歡暮樂)
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 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 resourceful person and,
after about six months, had earned over 2,000 taels of silver.
Aji and Ms Yan agreed on how to use the
money: they would buy some arable farmland with it.
In the village where Ms Yan and Aji lived,
the wealthiest family was the Yans. When Old Master Yan passed away, his son
Yan Shibao became the heir to all of the Yan family's wealth. This name has a
beautiful meaning, representing the inheritance of the Yan family's vast wealth
through the generations. However, Yan Shibao's behaviour is at odds with the
meaning of his name. He spends his days drinking and hosting banquets with his
wealthy, idle friends. He never works, instead chasing after things that bring
him pleasure and living a life of indulgence.He seeks joy in the morning and
chases fun in the evening.
Yan Shibao spends a great deal of money on
his pleasures every day. When he realises he has almost spent all of the
family's money, he decides to sell some of his land in order to maintain his
decadent lifestyle.
Yan Shibao ponders this:
'I have several thousand acres of land. Now
I want to sell some, but how much should I sell? If I sell 30 acres, I might
get 30 taels of silver, but that would only sustain me for about three months.
Then, after three months, won't I have to find a way to sell another 30
acres?"
Yan Shibao says to himself.
'Since I have so much land, I might as well
sell a thousand acres at once. That way, I can live a life of luxury for
several years without worrying about money.'
Having made his decision, Yan Shibao
announced that he was selling a thousand acres of land for three thousand taels
of silver, requiring the buyer to pay the full amount in cash upfront.
Three thousand taels of silver was a
substantial sum. Although there were some wealthy people in the village, none
of them could raise that much cash in such a short time. Therefore, nobody in
the village was able or willing to buy the land from Yan Shibao.
As Chinese New Year approached, Yan
Shibao's cash reserves dwindled. He started lowering the price, first reducing
it from three thousand taels to two thousand, and then to fifteen hundred
taels. Finally, he announced, 'Whoever buys these thousand acres of land from
me will also receive a house for free!' However, fifteen hundred taels of
silver was still a considerable sum, and no one was able or willing to buy it.
As his cash reserves continued to dwindle,
Yan Shibao became increasingly anxious.
Just then, Aji returned to the village with
the two thousand taels of silver he had earned. A few days later, he heard that
Yan Shibao was selling his land.
This idiom translates as "He seeks joy
in the morning and chases fun in the evening.".
It is often used to describe someone who
spends all day doing things that bring them joy.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Have you ever felt anxious due to a lack of
money? Does your name have any special meaning?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
朝歡暮樂(He seeks joy in the morning and
chases fun in the evening.)
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，他們決定要把這些錢拿來買一些可以耕種的農地。
顏女士與阿寄所住的村莊中，最有錢的那戶人家姓晏。晏老先生已經過世，晏家的所有財產的繼承人名叫(晏世保)，這個名字有著美好的含意，代表著世世代代都可以保有晏家鉅額的財富，但是晏世保的行為與這個名字的含意相反，他與他的一些有錢有閒的朋友們每天喝酒每天舉辦宴會，他從不工作，他從早到晚都在追逐令他覺得歡樂的事物，他過著放縱的生活。
晏世保每天要花非常多的錢在他的享樂上，當他發現自己已經快要把家中的所有現金全部花光之後，他為了維持自己的糜爛的生活，他決定要出售一部份的土地。
晏世保的心中這樣思考。
我有好幾千畝土地，現在我想要出售一部份，但我到底要出售多少土地比較好呢?
如果我出售30畝土地，那麼我可能可以得到30幾兩的銀子，但是30兩銀子只可以維持我大概三個月的生活開銷，那麼三個月我不就還要再想辦法再出售30畝土地嗎?
晏世保對自己說。
我既然有那麼多的土地，我乾脆一次出售一千畝土地好了。這樣我就可以過上好幾年的奢華宴樂的生活而不用擔心錢不夠用。
晏世保決定好了之後他就對外宣告他要賣一千畝土地，這批土地的售價是三千兩銀子，他同時要求買家要用現金一次付清所以的款項。
三千兩銀子是一筆非常大的數字，村莊內雖然也有一些有錢人，但是這些人都無法在短時間內籌措出那麼多的現金，因此村莊內一直沒有人表示有興趣且有能力跟晏世保購買這批土地。
隨著中國新年的日期愈來愈接近，晏世保手中的現金已經愈來愈不夠用，他便開始降價，他這一千畝的土地的價格從原本的三千兩銀子降價到兩千兩又降至一千五百兩，到最後他還對外宣布說。
如果跟我買這一千畝土地的人，我還免費送他一間房子，但是一千五百兩的銀子還是一筆很大的金額，因此遲遲沒有人表示有能力與意願願意購買。
隨著自己手邊的現金愈來愈少，宴世保的心情愈來愈焦躁。
就在這個時候，阿寄拿著他所賺到的兩千兩銀子回到村莊內，阿寄在他回到村莊內的幾天後，他聽到了晏世保要出售土地的這個消息。
這句成語直接翻譯是他早上追求歡喜晚上追逐快樂。
這句成語通常被形容一個人從早到晚都在追逐令他覺得歡樂的事物。
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
你曾經因為缺錢而感到焦慮嗎?你的名字蘊含著那些美好的含意嗎?
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
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