Someone whose body has been subjected to
the punishment of sawing, and who can only survive with what remains.(刀劍之餘)
Sima Qian was China's most eminent
historian. Both he and his father served as officials in the central
government, responsible for recording history — a position that, although not
high-ranking or well-paid, was highly respected.
Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian
is China's most classic historical work. In his youth, he travelled throughout
China conducting detailed fieldwork. In middle age, based on the materials he
had collected, he began to compile Chinese history from 2700 BC to 100 BC.
In 99 BC, an event occurred that profoundly
impacted Sima Qian's life. He angered the king and was sentenced to castration,
a punishment that severely damaged his male dignity.
In a letter to a close friend named Ren An,
he expressed his feelings.
He wrote that he believed a wise person
cultivated their inner self, a benevolent person knew how to perform good
deeds, a righteous person knew how to make choices, a courageous person knew
how to examine themselves and correct their shortcomings, and a person of noble
character could build a good reputation.
A man should strive to possess these five
qualities. Only through self-cultivation and refinement can a man become a
respected role model of high morality and character.'
There are several extremely unpleasant
things in this world:
The most tragic disaster is caused by greed
for profit, the most painful sorrow is grief due to psychological trauma, the
most despicable thing is bringing shame upon one's ancestors through one's
actions, and the most severe shame is being looked down upon by others because
of castration.
Historically, many criminals have been
punished with castration. From the past to the present, those who have been
castrated have faced relentless discrimination and ridicule in society. History
books contain many examples of this.
People tend to look down on those who have
been castrated and therefore try to keep their distance from them in daily life
and in their personal relationships. You reminded me of this in your previous
letter. I know that a key part of my role is recommending knowledgeable and
capable individuals for positions in central government. However, I am someone
whose body has been subjected to sawing as a punishment, and I can only survive
with what remains. If you were a talented and knowledgeable person, would you
be happy to accept my recommendation?
This idiom literally means 'someone whose
body has been subjected to the punishment of sawing, and who can only survive
with what remains'.
It is mostly used to describe someone who
has been castrated.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Would you look down on someone because of
their physical disability? Have you ever experienced being despised or
discriminated against?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
刀劍之餘(Someone whose body has been subjected
to the punishment of sawing, and who can only survive with what remains.)
司馬遷是中國最傑出的歷史學家。他的父親與他都在中央政府內擔任負責記錄歷史的官員，這個工作沒有非常高的地位與非常好的薪水，但是這是一個非常令人尊敬的職位。
司馬遷寫的史記是中國最經典的歷史書。他在青年時代走遍了全中國，進行詳細的田野調查。他在中年之後根據所蒐集的材料，開始整理中國從公元前2700年到公元前100年間的中國歷史。
西元前99年，發生了一件對司馬遷的生命影響巨大的事情。他因為惹怒了國王所以被判處一個極度損害男性尊嚴的刑罰，他被判處宮刑。
在他寫給他的一個叫做(任安)的好朋友的信中寫下了他的感慨。
我認為一個有智慧的人懂得修養自己的內心，一個仁愛的人懂得樂善好施，一個正義的人懂得有所取捨，一個有勇氣的人懂得檢討自己並且改正缺點，一個有著高尚品格的人能夠建立好的名聲。
一個男人應該追求自己具備我上述所說的五種特質，這個男人只有經過自我修養與修練後，才能夠成為一個具備崇高的道德與人格的被其他人所尊敬的典範。
這世界上有幾樣極度不好的事情，這幾件事情如下。
因為貪圖利益而導致的災禍是最悲慘的，因為心理創傷而感受的悲哀是最痛苦的，因為自己的行為使祖先感到羞辱是最醜惡的，因為遭受到宮刑而被別人看不起的恥辱是最嚴重的。
歷史上曾經有許多犯罪的人被處罰宮刑，從以前到現在，一個受到宮刑的人都會在社會上被無情的歧視與嘲笑。歷史書上有過好多著名的例子，這些都可以驗證我所說的話。
人們瞧不起受到宮刑的人因此在日常生活與人際交往上都會盡量與這些人保持距離，你在之前寫給我的信中提醒過我，我知道我的職位中有一個重要的任務是要推薦一些有學識有能力的人到中央政府內工作，但是我是一個在身體遭受刀鋸的刑罰之後只能靠著剩下來的身體繼續活著的人，你可以想像一下，如果你是一個有才能的且有學識的人，你會樂於接受我的推薦嗎?
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是一個在身體遭受刀鋸的刑罰之後只能靠著剩下來的身體繼續活著的人。
這句成語大多被用來形容一個受到宮刑的人。
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。
你會因為一個人的身體缺陷而瞧不起這個人嗎?你是否有過被他人藐視或歧視的經驗呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為司馬遷-報任少卿書
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%A0%B1%E4%BB%BB%E5%B0%91%E5%8D%BF%E6%9B%B8