To discard all previous achievements. (前功盡棄)
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 respective 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 initial investment had increased fivefold, they were overjoyed.
Aji returned home for only one night; the
next morning, he went out to do business again.
Aji returned to the village where lacquer
was produced. After quickly gathering his goods, he set off immediately for the
big cities to trade. He was a man who dared to try new things. Not satisfied
with his initial success, he tried doing business in different cities. While
doing business in each city, he paid close attention to the prices of essential
goods and memorised this valuable information.
Unlike others, Aji would buy a batch of
lacquer, sell it in another city, and then use the profits to buy daily
necessities or food, which he would resell in a third city.
Most lacquer merchants had a simple
business model: they would wholesale a batch of lacquer, sell it in different
cities, and then take the profits and capital back to the village where the lacquer
was produced to restock.
Unlike others, Aji would buy a batch of
lacquer, sell it in another city, and then use the profits to buy daily
necessities or food, which he would resell in a third city.
Because he was quick-witted, Aji made money
very quickly. Within a few months, his capital had reached nearly two thousand
taels of silver.
Looking at this large sum of money, Aji
said to himself,
'I have too much money now. If others find
out, I might encounter some unexpected risks.
I must be more careful not to discard all
previous achievements.
Chinese New Year is coming soon. I should
take this opportunity to take this silver back to my hometown.
If I see an opportunity, I'll use some of
the money to buy land near my hometown. After the New Year celebrations, I'll
use the rest as start-up capital for a business."
Aji was a decisive person. After making his
decision, he immediately packed his bags and prepared to return home.
This idiom translates literally as 'to
discard all previous achievements'. It often describes someone who is initially
very successful at something, but then makes a fatal mistake, causing all their
previous efforts to be wasted.
Dear friend,What inspiration or insights did you gain from this story?
Are you aware of any hidden information around
you? Have you ever considered setting up a business?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
前功盡棄(To discard all previous achievements)
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。
阿寄再次回到那座生產漆的村莊，他在最短的時間內拿到他的貨品之後就立刻出發到大城市中去做生意，阿寄是一個勇於嘗試的人，他沒有因為第一次的成功而感到滿足，他嘗試著去不同的城市做生意，他到了各個不同城市做生意的時候，他會關心每個不同城市之間的一些民生必需品的物價，他把這些重要且寶貴的資訊記在自己的心理。
大部分的商人只會專心做一種特殊的物品的買賣，但是阿寄很靈活，他會按照每個城市去調整自己販售的物品。
大部分跟他一樣銷售漆的商人們的想法都很單純，這些人批發了一批漆到不同的城市去販售完畢後，這些商人就會把所獲得的利潤與本錢拿回那座專門生產漆的村莊再度進貨。
阿寄跟這些人不一樣，當阿寄批發了一批漆並且到別的城市銷售完畢後，他會在那座城市購買一些他認為有利潤的生活用品或食品然後到另外一座城市去販售。
因為阿寄的頭腦很靈活，所以他賺錢的速度變得非常快，幾個月後，他的本金就已經高達將近兩千兩銀子了。
阿寄看著自己手上擁有這一大筆金錢，他對自己說。
我現在手邊的錢太多了，如果別人知道我身上有那麼多錢，那麼我可能會遭遇到一些意外的風險。
我必須要更加小心謹慎，我才能避免自己把之前的功勞全部拋棄。
再過一陣子就是中國新年了，我應該趁這個機會把這些銀子帶回故鄉，
到時候如果有機會就拿出一部分的錢去買些家鄉附近的土地，剩下的錢過年後我在拿來當作本錢去做生意。
阿寄是一個做決定很明快的人，他決定好了之後就立刻整理包裹並且準備回故鄉。
這句成語直接翻譯是把之前的功勞全部丟棄。
這句成語通常被形容一個人做一件事情原本非常成功，但這個人在最後犯下一個致命的錯誤導致這個人之前所付出的所有努力全部白費。
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
你是否了解你生活周遭的一些隱性的資訊呢?你是否曾經嘗試過做生意呢?
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
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