Various demons and monsters.(魑魅魍魎)
China has a very long history. The Xia
Dynasty, for example, existed from around 2070 BC to around 1600 BC. Its
founder was named Yu.
After establishing the Xia Dynasty, he
governed it diligently. He did not drink alcohol, welcomed constructive
suggestions and adopted the opinions of the people.
He is remembered and praised by later
generations of Chinese people for his excellent character and conduct. He was a
revered leader to later Chinese kings.
When he unified China, many of the tribal
leaders in his territory presented him with special products to show their
respect and submission. They sent envoys to inform Yu of their ancient
traditions, customs and legends. He then instructed officials to illustrate and
document these stories.
He later divided the territory of the Xia
dynasty into nine provinces. Using precious and rare bronze artefacts collected
from various tribes, he created nine bronze tripods. He ordered craftsmen to
carve the unique local products, crops, deities, demons and monsters of each
province onto these bronze tripods.
Once completed, Yu used the nine bronze
tripods to worship his ancestors, Heaven and Earth. The bronze tripods were therefore
considered sacred objects that brought happiness to the people and protected
their lives and property.
The Xia dynasty collapsed 470 years after
Yu established it.
It was replaced by the Shang Dynasty, which
was founded by Tang. The Shang dynasty lasted 600 years before collapsing and
being replaced by the Zhou dynasty, which was founded by Ji Fa. The Zhou
dynasty lasted for nearly 800 years.
The Chinese believe that heaven blesses
those of high moral character and compassion. They liken a dynasty to a person:
if its leader consistently maintains high moral standards and cares for the
people, the dynasty will remain powerful.
If a dynasty's leader loses their moral
integrity and treats the people cruelly and maliciously, Heaven will destroy
the dynasty and allow a new one, established by a leader with high moral
standards and compassion, to replace it.
From the moment they were cast, these nine
bronze tripods represented Yu's virtue and care for the people. Consequently,
the people considered these nine bronze tripods to symbolise the legitimacy,
authority and absolute power of the regime ruling China.
The idiom literally translates to
"various demons and monsters."
It is used to describe all kinds of bad
people or evil forces.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Do you think your country's leaders care
about their people? How do you think a country can maintain its strength over
time?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
魑魅魍魎(Various demons and monsters.)
中國的歷史非常的悠久，大約公元前2070年到大约公元前1600年是中國的夏王朝，夏王朝的建立者的名字叫做(禹)。
(禹)建立夏王朝之後，他很用心的管理夏王朝，他不喝酒、他喜歡聽一些有建設性的建議與他會採納百姓的意見。
(禹)被後代的中國人所紀念與讚美，因為他有很好的品德與行為。他是一個被中國後代的國王所被推崇的領導者。
(禹)統一中國時，當時他所統治的範圍內的許多部落領袖為了表示對(禹)的尊敬與臣服，他們進貢了許多特殊的物產給(禹)，這些部落的領袖所派遣使者把各個部落中的那些古老的傳統習俗與傳說故事告訴(禹)，(禹)指派官員將這些故事畫成圖畫並且寫成文字記錄下來。
(禹)後來把夏王朝的領土分成九個州，他拿出當時從各個部落中蒐集到的許多非常珍貴與稀有的青銅做成九個鼎，他下令工匠們在鑄造這九個青銅鼎時，在這些青銅鼎上分別雕刻上每一州所特有的土產與作物還有各地特有的神靈與各種不同的妖魔與鬼怪。
(禹)將這九個鼎鑄造完成後，他用這九個青銅鼎來祭祀祖先與天與地，這九個青銅鼎也因此認為是具有帶給人民幸福與保護人民生命財產安全的神聖器物。
(禹)建立了夏王朝的470年後夏王朝滅亡。
取代夏王朝的是由(湯)所建立的商王朝，商王朝建國600年後滅亡，取代商王朝的是由(姬發)所建立的周王朝。周王朝維持了將近800年。
中國人認為，上天會保佑一個品德高尚與慈悲的人，一個王朝就如同一個人一樣，如果一個王朝的領導者如果可以持續地維持高尚的品德與愛護百姓的心，那麼這個王朝就能夠持續的強大。
如果一個王朝的領導者失去了高尚的品德，這個領導者用殘暴與惡意來對待所有的百姓，那麼上天就會讓這個王朝被消滅，上天就會讓另外一個品德高尚與慈悲的人所建立的新王朝來取代這個舊王朝。
這九個青銅鼎從鑄造之初就代表著(禹)的品德對人民的關懷，所以這九個青銅鼎也就被百姓們認為象徵著統治中國的政權的正統性與合法性和絕對的權力。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是各種不同的妖魔與鬼怪。
這句成語被引申用來形容各種各樣的壞人或邪惡勢力。
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。
你認為你的國家的領導者是否關心百姓呢?你認為一個國家如何才能維持持續的強盛呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為左傳-宣公3年
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E5%AE%A3%E5%85%AC
出處為墨子-耕柱
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%A2%A8%E5%AD%90/%E8%80%95%E6%9F%B1