You must identify any oversights or omissions, and then correct them.(拾遺捕闕)
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
northern China. These five dynasties were: Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western
Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou.
From 420 to 589 AD, four dynasties rose and fell in
southern China. These four dynasties were: Liu Song, Southern Qi, Southern
Liang and Southern Chen.
The founding king of the Southern Liang Kingdom was Xiao
Yan. Remarkably, he reigned for 48 years — the longest reign of any king of the
Northern and Southern Dynasties, and a rare occurrence in China's long history.
In 536 AD, Xiao Yan wrote an open letter to his ministers
and the people in which he detailed his achievements and areas for improvement.
The gist of the second half of this letter is as follows:
In the ancient Chinese classic Shangshu (Book of
Documents), a book that served as a political textbook and theoretical basis
for governance throughout history, there is a saying: Just as a complete person
needs healthy limbs, a virtuous and wise king needs wise ministers.
I truly feel the importance of this statement. I
recognise my own inadequacies and urgently require more capable and loyal
ministers to assist me in governing the Southern Liang Kingdom effectively.
I now issue the following carefully considered decree:
All ministers serving in the central government must report to me any political
measures that benefit the people.
All officials serving in the local government must not
only propose political measures that benefit the people, but also help them to
express their opinions. You must collect these opinions and submit them to me.
I will personally read these opinions because I want to understand the people's
true needs.
I require all officials, whether civil or military, to
identify any outstanding talent they know of and submit it to me. Following an
assessment, I will assign them to appropriate positions according to their
abilities.
I demanded that all officials focus on their individual
tasks.
Each official must identify and address any oversights
and omissions.
This idiom translates directly as: You must identify and
address any oversights or omissions.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did you gain from
this story?
Do you think that Xiao Yan's orders will have the desired
effect? Besides orders, what other conditions are needed for a policy to be
successfully implemented? I hope this story gives you some new insights.
拾遺捕闕(You must identify any oversights or
omissions, and then correct them.)
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。
這封信的下半段的大概意思如下。
在中國最古老的、歷代統治者治理國家的政治課本和理論依據的書名叫做(尚書)的這本書中有過一句話，一個完整的人要有健全的四肢就如同一個品德與智慧完備的國王要有賢明的大臣。
我確實的感受到這句話的重要性，我感受到自己的不足，我迫切的需要更多有能力而且忠誠可靠的大臣來幫助我治理好南梁王國。
我現在下達一道我經過思考後做出的命令，這條命令就是我要求所有在中央政府任職的大臣們，只要你們有任何對百姓有好處的政治措施，你們都要跟我報告。
我要求所有在地方任職的官員們，你們不但要提出對百姓有好處的政治措施，你們還要幫助百姓們發表他們的意見，你們要把蒐集所有的百姓的意見並且交給我，我會親自閱讀這些意見因為我要知道百姓們的真實需要。
我要求所有的官員們，不論你們擔任文官還是武將，你們要發掘你們所知道的那些優秀的人才給我，在經過考核後，我會依照這些人的才能給予他們合適的職務。
我要求所有的官員們要專注在自己個工作上，每個人都要蒐集整理有所缺失的地方並且加以補強這些缺失。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是蒐集整理有所缺失的地方並且加以補強這些缺失。
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。
你認為蕭衍的這些命令會到達他想要的效果嗎?你認為一項政策要順利推動除了命令之外還需要那些條件呢?
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