Exercising authority and bestowing favours.(作威作福)
During the Eastern Han dynasty in China,
there was a famous minister named Fifth Lun. His story is recorded in
historical books.
A phenomenon frequently and repeatedly
occurred during the Eastern Han Dynasty, causing chaos and crisis for the
dynasty.
This phenomenon occurred during Fifth Lun's
lifetime. Concerned for the future of the country, he wrote a letter to the
king. Part of this letter is as follows:
'There is a very important classic in China
called the Shangshu (Book of Documents). The Shangshu is China's earliest
compilation of historical documents, serving as a political textbook and
theoretical basis for governance for rulers throughout history.
One passage states that the exercise of
authority and the bestowal of favours are the exclusive domain of the king, and
that no minister should possess such power. If a minister wields this power, he
will harm his own family and bring disaster to the country.'
Another classic historical book from
ancient China tells the story of the Spring and Autumn Period and is called the
Zuo Zhuan. This book also records the saying that a minister of a kingdom
should not privately associate with ministers of other kingdoms or accept gifts
from private individuals.
During the Eastern Han dynasty, the
empress's family members frequently entered the highest levels of the central
government administration and wielded enormous power. This monopoly on power
repeatedly caused chaos and crises in the Eastern Han dynasty.
Fortunately, previous kings handled these
situations well, preventing them from escalating to the point of ultimately
leading to the downfall of the dynasty. Based on my observations, this
phenomenon is recurring again today.
I have heard that a loyal person does not
hide things that need correcting, and an honourable person does not fear that
their honesty will cause them harm. I am foolish and stubborn, so even though
it may displease you, I am writing this letter to you anyway.
The direct translation of this idiom is
'Exercising authority and bestowing favours'.
It is used to describe someone who abuses
their power to oppress others.
Dear friend, what are your thoughts or
feelings after hearing this story?
Has anything similar happened in your workplace? What lessons have you learned from history books?
I hope this story
gives you some new insights.
作威作福(Exercising authority and bestowing
favours.)
中國的東漢王朝有一個著名的大臣，他的名字叫做(第五倫)。歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
中國的東漢王朝時期，有一種現象頻繁且往復地出現，這個現象多次造成了東漢王朝的混亂與危機。
第五倫生活的年代就發生了這個現象，因為擔心國家的未來，所以第五倫寫了一封信給國王，這封信中有一部分的內容如下。
中國有一本最重要的經典，這本書的名字叫做(尚書)。(尚書)是中國最早的一部歷史文獻彙編更是中國歷代統治者治理國家的政治課本和理論依據。
這本書中有一句話，施行權威與施行恩澤是國王專有的權力，除了國王之外的所有大臣都不能有這樣的權力。如果一個大臣掌握了這個權力，那麼這個大臣會危害自己的家庭，也會為國家帶來災禍。
中國古代有一本講述春秋時代的經典的歷史書，這本書的名字叫做(左傳)。這本書中也記載了一句話，一個王國的大臣不應該私自與那些其他王國中的大臣結交也不可以接受那些私人所餽贈的禮物。
東漢王朝內曾經發生過許多次的就是皇后的家人們進入中央政府的最高行政階層並且掌握了巨大的權力。這些皇后的家人們的壟斷權力多次造成了東漢王朝的混亂與危機。
還好之前的幾任國王處理得當，所以這個現象沒有擴大下去並且造成東漢王朝的覆滅，根據我的觀察，我們現在又出現了這種現象。
我聽說一個忠誠的人不會隱瞞那些應該要矯正的事，一個正直的人不會害怕自己的誠實為自己招來禍害。我是一個愚昧且固執的人，我現在抱著會惹你不高興的心情寫這封信給你。
這句成語的直接翻譯的意思是施行權威與施行恩澤。
這句成語被引申用來形容一個人仗著權勢欺壓別人。
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。
你的工作地方有過這種類似的情況嗎?你曾經從歷史書上得到怎樣的啟示呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為後漢書-卷41
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B741