I dug a hole in the most important pillar
in my house and put the important letter inside it.(鑿楹納書)
Yan Ying was an exceptional statesman of
the Qi Kingdom during China's Spring and Autumn period. Although he was short
in stature and of ordinary appearance, he was very wise.
History records a story about him.
In his old age, he fell seriously ill and
sensed his impending death. His wife sat by his bedside and asked him,
"What are your last words? Is there anything you want to do but haven't
yet, that you want me to do for you? You can tell me."
Our ancestors left behind many good habits
and precepts. I hope that our children will continue to uphold these and pass
them down to our descendants. This is what I cherish, and I hope you can help
me fulfil this wish.'
Upon hearing Yan Ying's wish, his wife
nodded with tears in her eyes.
Yan Ying then took his wife's hand, pointed
to the most important pillar in their bedroom and said to her, "
'I wrote a letter to our child, but he is
too young to understand its contents.
I dug a hole in the main pillar of our
house and placed the important letter inside.
When our child turns 18, please give him
this letter.
His wife nodded tearfully in agreement. She
then asked a question.
'What did you write in your letter?'
Though very weak, Yan Ying had a bright
light in his eyes. He told his wife,
'In this letter, I reminded our child to be
mindful of proportion in his actions, to know when to stop and not to overdo
things.
I gave a few examples to illustrate my
point.'
In a family, we must maintain a sufficient
supply of cloth. If we lack cloth, the family will not have enough to make
clothes.
Similarly, we must ensure that our cattle
and horses are strong enough. If they become weak, our family will be unable to
use them for travel or ploughing.
This concept applies not only to families,
but also to nations.
A nation must maintain a sufficient number
of intellectuals. If a nation has too few intellectuals, it will face an
increasing decline.
A nation must also maintain sufficient
funding for its central government. If the central government is short of funds
and needs to borrow, the nation will descend into chaos.
The idiom literally translates as 'I dug a
hole in the main pillar of my house and placed the important letter inside'.
It is used to describe cherishing and
transmitting culture and teachings.
Dear friend, what insights or inspiration did you gain from this story?
What are some of the good traditions and customs in your family? If you were to die today, who would you want to see or what would you want to say?
I hope this story gives you some new insights.
鑿楹納書(I dug a hole in the most important
pillar in my house and put the important letter inside it.)
我在家中最主要的柱子上挖了一個洞，然後把那封重要的信放在那個洞中。
(晏嬰)是中國的春秋時代的齊王國的一位傑出的政治家，他的身材很矮小，他的長相很普通，但是他很有智慧。
歷史書上記載過一個關於他的故事。
他年老時生了一場重病，他自己感覺到自己快要死了，他的妻子坐在他的床前，他的妻子對他說，你有什麼遺言呢?你有什麼想做但是仍未做，需要我為你完成的事情呢?你可以告訴我。
我們的家族的祖先們留下了很多好的習慣與規訓，我希望我們的孩子可以繼續遵守這些好的習慣與規訓並且把這些習慣與規訓流傳到我們的後代，這就是我所掛念的，我希望你可以協助完成我的這個願望。
晏嬰的妻子聽到晏嬰的願望後，她流著淚點頭表示答應。
晏嬰接著又拉起他的妻子的手，晏嬰指著他的臥房中那根最主要的柱子並對他的妻子說。
我寫了一封信要給我們的孩子，但我們的孩子的年齡還很小，他現在還無法理解我寫的這封信的內容。
我在家中最主要的柱子上挖了一個洞，然後把那封重要的信放在那個洞中。
等我們的孩子18歲之後，你就幫我把這封信交給我們的孩子。
他的妻子流著淚點頭表示答應。他的妻子接著問了一個問題。
你這封信中寫了那些內容呢?
晏嬰的身體已經非常衰弱但是他眼睛充滿著光芒，他對他的妻子說。
這封信中，我提醒我們的孩子做事情時要把握分寸，要知道何時應該要停止，不應該把事情做過頭。
我舉幾個例子來說明我的觀點。
一個家庭中、我們要保持布匹的數量的充足，若是我們所擁有布匹的數量有缺，那麼這個家庭就會遭遇到沒有布匹來製作衣服的困境。
一個家庭中、我們要保持我們養的牛與馬的體力的充足，若是我們養的牛與馬的體力的被耗盡，那麼我們的家庭就會遭遇到沒有動物來協助我們出行與耕田的困境。
這個觀點不只適用於我們家庭，也可以運用在一個國家。
一個國家中、我們要保持知識分子的數量充足。若是一個國家中的知識分子的數量太少，那麼這個王國就會面臨愈來愈衰敗的危機。
一個王國中、我們要保持中央政府的經費充足。若是一個國家的中央政府的經費短缺與需要借貸，那麼這個王國的秩序就會陷入混亂。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是我在家中最主要的柱子上挖了一個洞，然後把那封重要的信放在那個洞中。
這句成語被用來形容一個人對於文化還有訓誨的珍視與傳承。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有什麼樣的或有什麼樣的啟發呢。
你的家族中有那些你認為好的傳統風俗呢?你如果今天會死，你會想見到誰或跟誰說那些話呢?
我希望這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晏子春秋-卷6
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%99%8F%E5%AD%90%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B/%E5%8D%B7%E5%85%AD