I will neither pursue nor blame you for
your past mistakes.(既往不咎)
There was a famous general in the Tang
dynasty of China named Li Jing, whose story is recorded in history books.
Following the fall of the Han Dynasty, China
entered a period of division and turmoil known as the Northern and Southern
Dynasties. This continued until 581 AD, when the Sui Dynasty was founded by
Yang Jian and China was unified once more, bringing stability back to the
region.
After Yang Jian's death in 604 AD, his
second son succeeded him on the throne.
This son was named Yang Guang and is
considered one of the most controversial leaders in Chinese history. He was
both a tyrant and a great builder. His radical measures plunged the people of
the Sui dynasty into extreme suffering.
From 617 AD onwards, many generals across
China who controlled armies began to rise up against the central government led
by Yang Guang. One of these generals was Li Yuan.
Li Jing joined the revolutionary army led
by Li Yuan.
After the fall of the Sui Dynasty in 618
AD, Li Yuan formally established the Tang Dynasty. At that time, many warlords
and bandits still existed throughout China, particularly in border regions
where chaos reigned.
In 620 AD, Li Yuan told Li Jing,
'There is a warlord named Xiao Xian in
Sichuan Province. I am sending you as a secret envoy to visit him. I hope you
can persuade him to join the Tang Dynasty under my leadership.'
Upon receiving the order, Li Jing
immediately set off with one or two trusted soldiers towards Hubei Province,
which borders Sichuan, as planned.
However, when he reached the vicinity of
Sichuan, he encountered trouble. Due to the large number of troops that Xiao
Xian had stationed on the border, Li Jing was unable to cross it for several
weeks and was also unable to contact Xiao Xian.
Confinement to the palace meant that Li
Yuan was unable to comprehend the difficulties Li Jing had actually faced.
Mistakenly believing that Li Jing was neglecting his duties, he became furious
and even ordered his execution. Fortunately, an official named Xu Shao pleaded
on Li Jing's behalf, preventing his execution.
In order to accomplish his mission, Li Jing
changed his strategy and decided to enter Sichuan Province via a less travelled
route. He arrived in a place called Kuizhou, which is now part of Chongqing,
China.
Upon arrival, the Tang Dynasty official in
charge of Kuizhou told him, "
'There is a minority ethnic group in the
vicinity. They have formed an armed force and are attacking us. Our soldiers
are unable to stop them.'
Upon hearing this, Li Jing carefully
inquired about the terrain, the soldiers and the enemy. He then devised a
comprehensive strategic plan to assist the local official in defeating the
minority army and killing their leader. Over 5,000 minority soldiers were
captured. After officials in Kuizhou reported this news to the capital, Li Yuan
was overjoyed. He even wrote a special official document publicly praising Li
Jing's military achievements. The document reads as follows:
'You are extremely loyal to the Tang
Dynasty and have devoted yourself wholeheartedly to fighting for it. You have
rendered great service, so I am publicly commending you to everyone.
Because of your excellent performance in
this war, I will award you a substantial sum of money.'
Li Yuan also wrote a private letter to Li
Jing, stating:
'I am very happy that you have achieved
great merit. I will not blame you for your past mistakes. Please continue to
serve the Tang Dynasty wholeheartedly.'
This idiom translates as 'I will not pursue
or blame you for your past mistakes.'
Dear friend,
What are your thoughts or feelings after
hearing this story? Do you respect the views of people working on the front
line? Why do you think Li Yuan wrote a private letter to Li Jing? I hope this
story provides you with some new insights.
既往不咎(I will neither pursue nor blame you
for your past mistakes.)
中國的唐王朝有一個著名的將軍，他的名字叫做李靖，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
中國在漢王朝滅亡之後，進入了一個分裂又動亂的南北王朝時代，直到西元581年，由楊堅建立的隋王朝統一中國之後，中國境內才又開始恢復安定。
西元604年，隋王朝的建立者楊堅過世之後，楊堅的次子繼承了王位。
楊堅的次子的名字叫做楊廣，他是中國歷史上一個非常有爭議的領導者，他既是一個暴君卻又是一個偉大的建設者。他的那些激進的措施讓隋王朝的百姓生活在極度的痛苦之中。
西元617年開始，中國的各地很多掌握軍隊的將領開始陸續起來反抗楊廣所領導的中央政府。李淵是這些起來反中央政府的將軍的其中之一。
李靖加入了由李淵所領導的革命軍隊。
西元618年，隋王朝滅亡後李淵正式成立唐王朝，當時的中國的各地仍然有很多的軍閥與土匪，尤其是一些邊疆地區仍然非常混亂。
西元620年，李淵對李靖說。
中國的四川省這個地方有著一個名字叫做蕭銑的軍閥，我要派你為密使去拜訪蕭銑，我希望你說服蕭銑加入我所領導的唐王朝的體系內。
李靖收到命令後，他立刻帶著一兩個自己所信任的士兵前一起往現在中國的湖北省，湖北省與四川省相鄰，他計畫。
當李靖到了接近四川省的地方的時候，他遇到了麻煩，由於蕭銑在四川省的邊境派駐的很多的軍隊，李靖花了好幾周的時間仍然無法越過邊界，他也無法聯絡到蕭銑。
李淵在皇宮內，因為他沒有在第一線的戰場上，所以他沒有辦法理解李靖實際上遇到的種種困難，他誤以為李靖怠忽職守非常的生氣，李淵氣到要下令處死李靖，還好有一個名叫(許紹)的官員替李靖求情，李靖才沒有被判處成死刑。
李靖為了達成任務，後來他改變策略，他決定要從另外一條比較冷門的路線進入四川省，所以他到了現在的中國的重慶市一個名字叫做(夔州)的地方。
他到的這個地方的時候，管理(夔州)的唐王朝的官員對他說。
這附近有一個少數民族、他們組建了一支武裝力量來攻擊我們，我們的士兵無法阻擋他們的攻擊。
李靖聽到這個消息後，他就仔細地詢問了這個官員有關於這個地方的地形與士兵還有敵人的種種資訊，他接著提出了一套完整的戰略規劃，他協助這個地方官員打敗了這支由少數民族所組成的軍隊並且殺了這支軍隊的首領，他們總共俘虜了超過5000個少數民族的士兵。
管理(夔州)的官員把這個消息回報到首都後，李淵非常的開心，李淵還特別寫了一封公文公開表揚李靖的戰功。這封公文的內文如下。
你對唐王朝非常的忠誠、你盡全力來為唐王朝征戰。你立了大功勞，所以我特別公開的對所有人表示我對你的嘉獎。
由於你這次的戰爭表現非常好，我會特別賞賜許多錢財給你當作獎金。
李淵又私底下寫了一封信給李靖，在這封信中寫著。
你建立了大功勞，我很開心，對於你過去的錯誤我不會再追究與責難。請你繼續盡心的為唐王朝效力。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是對於你過去的錯誤我不會再追究與責難。
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。
你是否會尊重那些在最前線的人們的意見呢?你認為李淵為何要私底下寫一封信給李靖呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為舊唐書-卷67-李靖傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%88%8A%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B767