Do not indulge in prolonged periods of
comfort and rest.(無恆安息)
The Book of Songs is China's earliest
collection of poems.
It contains 305 poems.
These span 500 years, from the 11th to the
6th century BC.
The poems are mainly divided into three
categories.
The first category consists of folk poems
from various parts of China at that time.
The second category comprises poems from
the Zhou dynasty, which ruled China during this period.
The third category comprises poems used by
the royal family and nobility of the Zhou dynasty in sacrificial rites.
One of these poems from the Zhou dynasty
depicts a person leaving their hometown to work in a foreign land and feeling
lonely and nostalgic for their old friends.
The general meaning of the final three
stanzas of this poem is as follows:
'When I left my hometown, winter was almost
over and the weather was beginning to warm.
I've been here for quite some time now, and
work is piling up. When will I be able to finish and return home?
The year is almost over, and it's time to
gather wormwood and harvest mugwort again.
I can't control my heart — it's filled with
sorrow.
I long to return, but I cannot leave now
due to the unstable political situation.
I remember some wise words I once heard:
'Be virtuous people; your hearts should not
crave comfort.
Respectfully perform your duties and
associate with upright people.
If you do this, the gods in heaven will see
and bless you.
Be virtuous people and do not indulge in
prolonged comfort and rest.
Respectfully perform your duties and love
upright people.
The gods in heaven will see this and bestow
great blessings upon you.
This idiom literally means 'Do not indulge
in prolonged comfort and rest.'
This idiom reminds us that we should
persevere in our work and not crave long-term ease.
Dear friend, what inspiration or insights have
you gained from this story?
Would you describe yourself as a
pleasure-seeker?
Are there any activities that you have
consistently engaged in over a long period?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
無恆安息(Do not indulge in prolonged periods
of comfort and rest.)
(詩經)是中國最早的詩歌合輯。
這本書中有305首詩。
這些詩寫的時間橫跨500年，從西元前11世紀到西元前6世紀。
這些詩的內容主要分為三類。
第一類是當時中國各地的民間詩歌
第二類是當時統治中國的周王朝的詩歌。
第三類是周王朝中的王室與貴族祭祀用的詩歌。
其中有一首當時統治中國的周王朝的詩歌，這首詩歌中描繪了一個人離開自己的家鄉到外地去服役，他一個人孤單的在一個陌生的地方懷念著自己那些好久不見的好朋友的心情。
這首詩後三段的大概意思如下。
當初我離開我的家鄉的時候，冬天已經快要過去，天氣已經開始轉暖。
我待在這個地方已經好長一段時間了，我手邊積累的工作已經愈來愈多，我什麼時候才能完成我的工作然後離開這裡回去我的家鄉呢?
今年已經快要結束了，又到了採集香蒿與收割艾草的季節了。
我無法控制我的心，我的心中積累了非常多的憂愁。
我好想快點回到我的故鄉，但是現在的政治情勢並不穩定，我現在無法離開這裡回到我的故鄉。
我想起我之前聽到的一些有智慧的話，這些話是這樣說的。
你們要做一個品德高尚的人，你們的心中不應該貪圖安逸。
你們要恭敬地做好你們的本職工作並且親近那些正直的人。
只要你們這樣做，那麼天上的神就會看見並且把福氣降給你們。
你們要做一個品德高尚的人，不要沉溺於長時間的安定與休息。
你們要恭敬地做好你們的本職工作並且喜愛那些正直的人。
只要你們這樣做，那麼天上的神就會看見並且降下大福氣給你們。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是不要沉溺於長時間的安定與休息。
這句成語通常被用來提醒我們應該要有恆心去持續地工作，我們不應該貪求長期的安逸。
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。
你認為自己是否是一個貪圖享樂的人呢? 你是否有長期且持續地做哪些事情呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為詩經-小雅-小明
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%A9%A9%E7%B6%93/%E5%B0%8F%E6%98%8E