A nation's people are its foundation; if that foundation is firm, the nation will naturally be at peace.(民為邦本本固邦寧)
A nation's people are its foundation; if
that foundation is firm, the nation will naturally be at peace.(民為邦本本固邦寧)
The Xia dynasty was the first in Chinese
history, existing from around 2070 to 1600 BC. The third Xia king, Tai Kang, is
the subject of a story recorded in history books.
The Xia Dynasty's founder was Yu, a leader
who cared deeply about the lives of his people. Tai Kang was Yu's grandson and
the third Xia king.
Yu and his son governed the Xia Dynasty
diligently, and it enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity under their
rule. However, Tai Kang, having never experienced hardship or difficulty from a
young age due to his privileged upbringing, developed a pleasure-seeking
personality.
He loved hunting and continued this hobby
after becoming king. However, he neglected the lives of his people and failed
to govern the Xia dynasty diligently. During his reign, the political, economic
and military situations of the Xia Dynasty deteriorated, and the people became
increasingly dissatisfied with him.
On one occasion, he led his servants and
confidants on a hunting trip that lasted over 100 days. During this time, he
neither returned to the capital nor appointed a proxy, plunging the central
government into chaos.
The people's discontent with Tai Kang
reached breaking point. They organised themselves under the leadership of a man
named Hou Yi and refused to allow Tai Kang to continue as king of the Xia
dynasty. They refused to let him return to the lands ruled by the Xia dynasty,
and he never returned to his homeland until his death.
Following this event, Tai Kang's five
younger brothers wrote several poems to document it and express their views. A
short passage from these poems reads as follows:
Before his death, Yu, my great ancestor,
left instructions for his sons: 'We must be close to all the people and respect
them; we must never despise or belittle them.'
'A nation's people are its foundation; if
that foundation is firm, the nation will naturally be at peace.'
How important Yu's teachings were! Yet Tai
Kang ignored them.
This idiom translates directly as: 'A
nation's people are its foundation; if that foundation is firm, the nation will
naturally be at peace..
It is used to remind a nation's leaders of
the importance of its people.
Dear friend, what are your thoughts or
feelings after hearing this story?
Do your country's leaders care about their
people's lives? Do you agree with the current leadership in your country?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
民為邦本本固邦寧(A nation's people are its
foundation; if that foundation is firm, the nation will naturally be at peace.)
夏王朝是中國歷史上的第一個王朝，其存在時間大約為西元前2070年至西元前1600年之間。夏王朝的第三任國王的名字叫做(太康)，歷史書上記載了一個他個故事。
夏王朝的開國國王的名字是(禹)，他是一個非常關心百姓的生活的領導者，太康是(禹)的孫子，他是夏王朝的第三任的國王。
(禹)與他的兒子很用心的管理夏王朝，夏王朝處於長期的和平富足的狀態，太康從小就沒有受過艱難，也沒體驗過困苦的滋味，優越的生活條件養成了他喜歡享樂的個性。
太康很喜歡打獵，他在成為國王之後仍舊延續這項愛好，他不關心百姓的生活，也不用心去治理夏王朝，夏王朝在他的治理之下，政治與經濟還有軍事情況都愈來愈差，人民也對他愈來愈不滿。
有一次，太康帶領這一群僕役與親信去打獵，這次打獵的時間超過100天，在這100多天中，他沒有回到首都，也沒有設置代理人，中央政府陷入一片混亂。
夏王朝人民對太康的不滿累積到臨界點而爆發，所有的人民組織起來，在一個名字叫做后羿的領袖的帶領下，百姓們決定拒絕讓太康繼續成為夏王朝的國王，百姓們不讓太康回到夏王朝所統治的土地上，太康至死都沒有再次回到他的家鄉。
這件事情發生後，太康的五個弟弟寫了幾首詩，他們用這些詩來記錄這個事件與藉由這些詩表達他們的看法，這些詩中有一小段的內容如下。
(禹)是我的偉大的祖先，在他死前，他曾經對他的兒子們留下他的遺訓，他對他的兒子們說，我們要親近與尊重所有的百姓，我們不可以輕視與輕慢所有的百姓。
人民是一個國家的根本，一個國家的根本如果牢固，那麼這個國家自然就能夠安寧。
(禹)的這些遺訓多麼重要，但是(太康)卻忽視了(禹)的這些遺訓。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是人民是一個國家的根本，一個國家的根本如果牢固，那麼這個國家自然就能夠安寧。。
這句成語被用來提醒一個國家的領導者百姓的重要性。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你的國家的領導者在乎百姓們的生活嗎?你是否認同你的國家的現在的領導者的領導呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為尚書-五子之歌
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9B%B8/%E4%BA%94%E5%AD%90%E4%B9%8B%E6%AD%8C