Turning this chaotic era around and guiding
it back onto the right path.(撥亂反正)
Following the end of the Jin dynasty in
China, the country descended into a prolonged period of chaos.
From 439 to 581 AD, five dynasties rose and
fell in the north of the country: the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei,
Northern Qi and Northern Zhou.
Meanwhile, from 420 to 589 AD, four
dynasties rose and fell in southern China: the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Southern
Liang and Southern Chen.
The Southern Liang Kingdom was founded by
Xiao Yan, who reigned for an impressive 48 years. This long and stable reign
was not only the longest of all the Northern and Southern dynasties, but also
quite rare in China's long history.
In 536 AD, Xiao Yan wrote an open letter to
his ministers and the people, outlining his achievements and areas for
improvement.
The first part of this letter can be
summarised as follows:
'I believe that a good king should govern
his kingdom with the same love that a parent has for their children, treating
all his people with benevolence and care.
If the people are like a grassland, then
the laws enacted by the government are like the wind.
Just as the grass sways with the wind, so
the people respond differently to changes in the laws.
I am an ordinary person in terms of
character and morality. Due to opportunity and luck, I founded the Southern
Liang Kingdom and became its king.
In an important ancient Chinese text called
the Gongyang Zhuan, there is a saying: 'Turning this chaotic era around and
guiding it back onto the right path.
.'
It was with this mindset that I founded the
Southern Liang Kingdom. Thirty-six years have passed since I founded it.
Reflecting on my achievements in governing
the kingdom, I am ashamed because I have not been able to rule it as securely
as the wise kings of ancient times, whose reigns were so stable that city gates
could remain open at night.
I have not yet made the Southern Liang
Kingdom a kingdom that is respected and revered by all the other kingdoms, nor
have I unified all of China.
Looking at the people now, I see that the
inhabitants of the Southern Liang Kingdom still have to work extremely hard to
cultivate the land and produce enough food, while the soldiers work tirelessly
on the borders to protect the kingdom.
Reflecting on the central government, I
realise that I am still not clever or wise enough. Consequently, I sometimes
fail to distinguish between treacherous and dishonest ministers and ignore the
sound advice offered by loyal and earnest ones.
The officials responsible for supervision
and evaluation in the local governments have not fulfilled their
responsibilities, and the grassroots administrators have not governed the
people fairly and justly.
Throughout the Southern Liang Kingdom, I
believe that the grievances of honest people go unredressed while the
treacherous manipulate the law and commit evil. I believe that our current
legal system urgently needs reform.
The idiom literally translates as 'Turning
this chaotic era around and guiding it back onto the right path.
'.
It is used to describe an individual's or
group's efforts to reverse a turbulent or erroneous situation and restore
normality.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did
you gain from this story?
Is your country's legal system fair and
impartial? What problems do you think your country needs to address?
I hope this story provides you with some
new insights.
撥亂反正(Turning this chaotic era around and
guiding it back onto the right path.)
中國的晉王朝結束之後，中國陷入一段長時間的混亂狀態。
西元439年到西元581年，這段期間內中國的北方更換了五個王朝。這五個王朝的名字依序是北魏王朝、東魏王朝、西魏王朝、北齊王朝和北周王朝。
西元420年到西元589年，這段期間內中國的南方更換了四個王朝，這四個王朝的名字依序是劉宋王朝、南齊王朝、南梁王朝與南陳王朝。
南梁王國的開國國王的名字叫做蕭衍，他擔任國王的時間高達48年，這麼長的穩定統治不僅在南北王朝的所有國王中名列第一，在漫長的中國歷史上也是相當少見。
西元536年，蕭衍寫了一封公開信給所有的大臣與百姓，他在這封信中闡述了自己治理的成果與自己覺得還可以再改進的部分。
這封信的前半段的大概意思如下。
我認為一個好的國王在治理一個王國的時候應該用一種父母親關愛自己的兒女的方式來對待所有的百姓，一個好的國王應該用仁慈與關懷來對待這個世界上的所有人事物。
如果百姓如同一片草原，那麼政府所頒定的法令就像風。
草原上的草就會順著風吹的方向擺動，就如同百姓會因應法令的變化採取不同的對應方式。
我是一個品德與道德都很普通的人，因為時機與運氣，所以我建立了南梁王國並且成為國王。
在中國的一本古代的書名叫做(公羊傳)的重要經典中有一句話，要扭轉這個混亂的世代然後讓這個混亂的世代回到正確的道路上。
我就是在這種心態下建立了南梁王國，時間過得真快，我建立南梁王國到現在已經過了36年了。
我反省我治理南梁王國的成績，我很慚愧，因為我沒有辦法把國家治理像是古代的那些賢能的國王一樣，他們那個時候治安好到城門在夜晚都不用關閉。
我還沒有讓南梁王國成為令所有王國都尊敬並且敬畏的王國，我還沒有統一整個中國。
看看現在的民間，我看到南梁王國的百姓仍然要非常的辛苦地耕作才能夠換取到足夠的糧食，士兵們也都每天辛勞地在邊境防衛保障王國的安全。
看看現在的中央政府，我先自我反省，我認為我自己仍然不夠的聰明與有智慧，所以我有些時候無法分辨出那些奸詐與不誠實的大臣，也漠視了那些懇切與忠誠的大臣們所提出的好的意見。
看看現在的地方政府，那些負責監督與考核的官員沒有盡到自己的責任，那些地方基層的管理人員沒有公平公正的管理百姓。
我認為現在整個南梁王國內，誠實的人們的冤屈無法得到正義，奸詐的人們玩弄法律並且作惡，我認為我們現在的法治系統迫切的需要改革。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是扭轉這個混亂的世代然後讓這個混亂的世代回到正確的道路上
這句成語被用來形容一個人或一個群體努力扭轉動盪或錯誤的局勢，使其回歸於正確的常軌。
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。
你的國家的法治系統是否公正中立呢?你認為你的國家中有那些需要改進的問題呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為梁書-卷3-武帝下-大同2年https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%A2%81%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B703