Saving those burned by fire and drowned by
water.(救焚拯溺)
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 the north of the country: 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.
The existence of these dynasties overlapped
somewhat and they did not succeed one another in a linear fashion.
The Northern Qi dynasty lasted only 27
years and had seven kings during this period.
Before the fall of the Northern Qi Kingdom,
the political situation was extremely chaotic. The king spent his days drinking
and partying, surrounded by treacherous ministers who only knew how to flatter
him. The king even ordered the execution of several loyal ministers, and the
people of Northern Qi lived in misery.
In 577 AD, the Northern Zhou king led his
army to quickly conquer the Northern Qi capital, bringing about the dynasty's
downfall.
After capturing the capital, the Northern
Zhou king immediately met with a Confucian scholar named Xiong Ansheng. Xiong
Ansheng was over eighty years old at the time, and the king treated him with
great respect.
When they met, the king took Xiong
Ansheng's hand and invited him to sit beside him.
He said to Xiong Ansheng:
'The king of Northern Qi was terrible;
under his rule, the people suffered as if burned by fire and drowned by water.
To save these people, who were like victims
of fire and flood, I attacked the Northern Qi Kingdom.
Although I emerged victorious from the war,
I am deeply saddened by the loss of life among soldiers and civilians on both
sides—something I did not wish to see.
After hearing the words of the King of
Northern Zhou, Xiong Ansheng replied:
'You did the right thing. During your
attack on the Northern Qi Kingdom, you encountered almost no resistance from
its soldiers or civilians. This proves that the soldiers and civilians hated
their king and wanted to break free from his rule. The people of Northern Qi
yearned for change.'
After listening, the King of Northern Zhou
nodded, paused, and continued, 'As far as I know, taxes in the Northern Qi
Kingdom have been extremely high in recent years, causing people to live in
extreme poverty.' I have an idea. I want to take all the money I obtained from
the Northern Qi palace and distribute it to the Northern Qi people. What do you
think of my idea?
After hearing the King of Northern Zhou's
words, Xiong Ansheng wholeheartedly agreed and replied firmly:
'You are a benevolent leader. You think from
the people's perspective and care about their lives. You are as wise as the
founder of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China. I believe your decision is
correct and that you should implement it. I can foresee that, once you have
implemented this policy, you will quickly gain the recognition and support of
the former Northern Qi Kingdom's people.
This idiom translates as "saving those
burned by fire and drowned by water".
It is used to describe someone who helps
those who are currently suffering.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Do you think your country's government is clean and efficient? If you were king of the Northern Zhou dynasty, would you be willing to distribute so much money to the people?
I hope this story gives you some new insights.
救焚拯溺(Saving those burned by fire and
drowned by water.)
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。
這幾個王朝的存在時間有所重疊，並非線性的一個接著一個。
北齊王朝建國只有短短的27年，在這27年內就換了7任國王。
北齊王國滅亡之前，政治情勢非常的混亂，國王每天喝酒宴樂，國王的身邊聚集著一批只會奉承的奸詐的大臣，國王更下令殺了好幾個忠誠的大臣，北齊王國的百姓們生活在痛苦之中，
西元577年，北周王朝當時的國王帶領著軍隊在很短的時間內就攻佔了北齊王國的首都，北齊王朝被滅亡。
北周王朝的國王攻佔北齊王國的首都後，他在第一時間見了一個名字叫做熊安生的儒家學者，熊安生的年齡當時已經超過80歲，北周王朝的國王用很尊敬的態度與熊安生對話。
北周王朝的國王與熊安生見面後，他拉著熊安生的手，他讓熊安生坐在自己的身邊。
北周王朝的國王對熊安生說。
北齊王國的國王非常的糟糕，在他的統治之下，百姓們就像是被火焚燒與被水淹沒一樣的痛苦。
為了拯救這些就像是被火焚燒與被水淹沒的人們，我才發動了軍隊攻打北齊王國。
戰爭的結果是我勝利了，但是我的內心感到非常的難過，因為戰爭的關係，我們與北齊王國都有很多士兵與人民死亡，這是我所不願意見到的。
熊安生聽到北周王國的國王的話後回答。
你做的是對的，你在攻打北齊王國的過程中，幾乎沒有遭遇到北齊王國的士兵與人民的反抗，這個結果證明北齊王國的士兵與百姓們都厭惡北齊王國的國王，他們都想要掙脫北齊王國的統治，北齊王國的人民們都渴望改變。
北周王國的國王聽完後點了點頭，他停頓了一下接著說。
據我所知，北齊王國這幾年來的稅賦非常的高，人們因此都生活在極度的貧困與缺乏之中。
我有一個想法，我想要把我從北齊王國的皇宮中所取得的錢財全部拿出來，我要把這些錢財發放給北齊王國的人民，你認為我的這個想法好不好呢?
熊安生聽到北周王國的國王的話後非常的認同，他堅定地回答。
你是一個仁德的領導者，你站在人民的立場去思考，你關心百姓們的生活，你就像是中國古代的周王朝的建立者一樣的賢明，我認為你的決定是對的，你應該要這樣做，我可以預見，當你執行這項政策之後，你會快速地受到原本北齊王國的百姓的認同與歡迎。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是拯救這些被火焚燒與被水淹沒的人。
這句成語被用來形容一個人去救助那些現在痛苦中的人。
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。
你認為你國家的政府是否清廉與有效率呢?你如果是北周王朝的國王，你願意把那麼多錢拿出來分給百姓們嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為周書-卷45-列傳37-儒林-熊安生傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%91%A8%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B745