He was addicted to beautiful music and
delicious Chinese rice wine.(甘酒嗜音)
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 his story is recorded in history books.
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 dynasty 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 due to his privileged
upbringing, Tai Kang developed a pleasure-seeking personality.
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 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 Xia Dynasty's discontent with Tai Kang
reached breaking point and erupted. 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 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.
The second and third poems roughly translate as follows:
'Yu is my great ancestor who spoke many
wise words.
He said that if a king exhibits any of
these four behaviours, the kingdom will perish.
The first of these four behaviours is the
pursuit of sensual pleasures. The second is an obsession with hunting. The
third is an addiction to beautiful music and fine Chinese rice wine. The fourth
is the construction of magnificent, ornate buildings.
Yao, the great leader of ancient China, was
the first king to establish a kingdom on this land. He governed the people with
law and morality, setting a fine example.
However, Tai Kang did not follow Yao's
methods of governing the country. He did not rule his kingdom according to
these principles. Under his leadership, the kingdom's laws and institutions
became chaotic, and he was hated by the people. His failure was of his own
making.
This idiom translates as "he was
addicted to listening to beautiful music and drinking fine Chinese rice
wine".
It is used to caution those who are greedy
for pleasure and neglect their responsibilities.
Dear friend, what are your thoughts or feelings after hearing this story?
Do you have any uncontrollable addictions? Do you prioritise work or pleasure?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
甘酒嗜音(He was addicted to beautiful music and
delicious Chinese rice wine.)
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的故事。
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，這些詩的第二首與第三首大概意思如下。
(禹)是我的偉大的祖先，他曾經說過許多智慧的言語。
他說如果一個國王有這四種行為中的其中之一，那麼這個王國就會滅亡。
這四種行為中的第一種是沉溺女色，第二種是沉迷與打獵，第三種是沉迷於聽好聽的音樂與喝好喝的中國米酒，第四種是建造雄偉並且雕飾精美的建築。
中國的上古時代的偉大那個名字叫做(堯)的領袖，他是在這片土地上建立王國的第一個國王，他用法治與道德治理百姓，他留下了美好的典範。
(太康)沒有遵循(堯)治理國家的方法，他沒有依循這套道理來治理他所領導的王國，在他的領導下，王國內的法律與制度變的混亂，他被人民所厭惡，他的失敗是他自己所導致。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是沉迷於聽好聽的音樂與喝好喝的中國米酒。
這句成語被用來提醒一個人貪圖享樂，這個人沒有把他的心力放在他應該作的工作上。
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。
你有沒有那些讓你無法克制的癮嗎?你習慣會先工作還是先享樂呢?
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