He used a rotten rope to drive a six-horse
chariot(朽索馭馬)
The Xia dynasty was the first in Chinese
history, existing from around 2070 to 1600 BC. The third king of the Xia
dynasty was named Tai Kang, and history books tell a story about him.
The Xia Dynasty was founded by a leader
named Yu 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. However,
having never experienced hardship or suffering himself, Tai Kang developed a
pleasure-seeking personality due to his privileged upbringing.
He loved hunting and continued to pursue
this hobby even after becoming king. He neglected his people and failed to
govern the Xia dynasty effectively. During his reign, the political, economic
and military situations 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 finally
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. They refused to
allow him to 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 the incident and express their
views. A short passage from one of these poems reads as follows:
'Though the people are ordinary, if they
unite as one, they can surpass the king of a kingdom.'
If a king repeatedly makes mistakes, the
people of his kingdom will grow to distrust him. If he does not correct these
mistakes, resentment will arise and disaster will befall him.
A king should govern his people with great
care. He should imagine himself driving a six-horse chariot with a rotten rope.
If he is not careful, he knows that the chariot will go out of control and
overturn.
A king who rules over a large kingdom
should adopt a respectful and cautious approach.
This idiom literally translates as 'driving
a six-horse chariot with a rotten rope'.
It is used to describe a very dangerous
situation.
Dear friend, what are your thoughts or
feelings after hearing this story?
Do you reflect on your mistakes and remind yourself not to repeat them? Do you maintain a respectful and cautious attitude towards everyone around you?
I hope this story gives you some new insights.
朽索馭馬(He used a rotten rope to drive a
six-horse chariot)
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。
百姓們雖然平凡，但是如果百姓們團結一心，百姓們就可以勝過一個王國的國王。
一個國王如果連續不斷地犯錯，那麼王國中的百姓們就會在心中積累對這個國王的不信任，一個國王如果不改進自己的錯誤，那百姓們的心中就會產生怨恨，這個國王的災禍就會來到。
一個國王應該要用一種非常小心的態度去治理他的王國中的百姓，這個國王應該這樣想像，自己正拿著一條朽壞的繩子在駕馭一輛六匹馬拉著的馬車，這個國王應該要知道，如果自己稍不留意，這輛馬車就會失控甚至傾覆。
一個統治著擁有許多百姓的王國的國王，應該要保持著一種恭敬且謹慎的心態啊。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是拿著一條朽壞的繩子在駕馭一輛六匹馬拉著的馬車。
這句成語被用來形容一種非常危險的形勢。
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。
你會反省自己所犯的錯並提醒自己不要再犯嗎?你是否有保持著一種謹慎恭敬的心態對待你身邊的所有人呢?
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