A young man ate fatty meat and millet at every meal.(膏粱少年)
Following the collapse of the Jin dynasty
in China, the country descended into a prolonged period of chaos.
From 439 to 581 AD, five dynasties rose and
fell in northern China: the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi
and Northern Zhou.
Meanwhile, from 420 to 589 AD, four
dynasties rose and fell in southern China: the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Southern
Liang and Southern Chen.
During this chaotic period, many
intelligent and ambitious young people sought to transform the society in which
they lived through their own efforts.
One such young man was Wang Ji, the son of
the famous minister Wang Sengqian. Wang Ji was one such young man, harbouring
ideals of reforming the political system of the time.
He was a rather impatient and impulsive
man, highly driven. Born into one of the most prominent and powerful families
of the time, he received an excellent education from a young age and was an
avid reader.
His favourite and most respected historical
figure was Fan Pang, a minister of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He
frequently read Fan Pang's biography.
Fan Pang lived during the late Eastern Han
dynasty, a time of great political and economic turmoil. However, he remained
unaffected by the circumstances, upholding his moral principles of justice and
kindness and defending his ideals. At the age of 33, he was framed by a corrupt
and powerful group and executed that same year.
In 494 AD, the 19-year-old Wang Ji wrote an
article offering sharp criticism and specific suggestions regarding the political
environment of the time. He intended to submit this article to the King of the
Southern Qi dynasty, who was in power at the time.
After reading Wang Ji's article, his
brother said to him:
'You and I are alike. We were both young
people who ate plenty of fatty meat and millet at every meal.' We were
fortunate to be born into such an influential family, with good connections to
the royal family.
However, having read this article, I must
tell you honestly that I don't think your current status and position are
suitable for writing such a strongly worded article. I believe the current king
would absolutely not accept your criticism of the central government, and the
current ministers would not support your views.'
Your suggestions are excellent, but I
suggest you put this article away for now. Wait a few years until you're an
influential minister in the central government, and then resubmit your reform
proposals.'
Wang Ji accepted his brother's advice, but
he did not expect his life to be so short. He died suddenly in an accident at
the age of 21, unable to realise his ideals.
The idiom literally translates as 'a young
man who has fatty meat and millet to eat at every meal'.
It is used to describe a young man from a
wealthy family.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
If you knew your life was coming to an end, what would you plan to do? If you were Wang Ji, would you have listened to your brother's advice?
I hope this story gives you some new insights.
膏粱少年(A young man ate fatty meat and millet
at every meal.)
中國的晉王朝結束之後，中國陷入一段長時間的混亂狀態。
西元439年到西元581年，這段期間內中國的北方更換了五個王朝。這五個王朝的名字依序是北魏王朝、東魏王朝、西魏王朝、北齊王朝和北周王朝。
西元420年到西元589年，這段期間內中國的南方更換了四個王朝，這四個王朝的名字依序是劉宋王朝、南齊王朝、南梁王朝與南陳王朝。
在這個混亂的年代，很多有知識有志氣的年輕人都想要透過自己的力量去改變自己所生活的這個社會。
那個時代有一個著名的名字叫做王僧虔的大臣，他有一個兒子名字叫做王寂，王寂就是這樣一個懷抱著對當時的政治體制抱持著改革理想的的青年人。
王寂的個性比較急躁，他是一個非常有行動力的人，他出生在當時代最著名與最有權力的一個家族，他從小就接受了良好的教育，他讀了很多書。
王寂最喜歡與最尊敬的一個歷史人物是中國東漢王朝的一個名字叫做范滂的大臣，他常常讀范滂的傳記。
范滂生活的年代是東漢王朝的末期，當時的政治環境與社會經濟都非常的動亂，但是范滂沒有被大環境所影響，他堅持正義與善良的道德觀，他捍衛自己的理想，他在33歲的時候被當時的一個擁有巨大權力的貪腐集團誣陷，他那一年被害死。
西元494年，當時尚未滿20歲的王寂寫了一篇文章，他在這篇文章中針對了當時的政治環境提出了嚴厲批評與具體建議，他想要把這篇文章交給當時掌權的南齊王朝的國王。
王寂的哥哥看完王寂寫的這篇文章就對王寂說。
你跟我一樣，我們都是每餐都有肥肉與小米可以吃的少年人，我們很幸運出生在一個極具有影響力的家族，我們家族與皇室的關係很好。
但是看完這篇文章後，我必須誠實地告訴你，我認為以你當下的身分與地位都還不適合提出這邊措辭嚴厲的文章，我認為現任的國王絕對無法接受你對中央政府的批評，現任的大臣們也不可能支持你的這些觀點。
我認為你提出的這些建議都非常的棒，但我認為你應該先把這篇文章收起來，等幾年後，你成為一個中央政府內具有影響力的大臣後，你再重新提出你的這些改革方案。
王寂接受了他的哥哥的建議，但是他沒有想到他自己的生命如此短暫，王寂在21歲時就突然因為意外過世，他來不及實現他的理想。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是每餐都有肥肉與小米可以吃的少年人。
這句成語被用來形容一個出身在一個非常富裕的家庭中的少年人。
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。
如果你知道你的生命已經快走到盡頭，你會做那些你原本計畫中的事呢?你如果是王寂，你認為你會聽從你的哥哥的建議嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為南齊書-卷33-王僧虔傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%8D%97%E9%BD%8A%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B733