After nine years of cultivation, a grain reserve equivalent to at least three years' worth must be maintained.(耕九餘三)
After nine years of cultivation, a grain
reserve equivalent to at least three years' worth must be maintained.(耕九餘三)
Dai Sheng was an important Confucian
scholar during the Han dynasty.
He collected many Confucian texts and
compiled them into a book called the 'Book of Rites'.
This book provides a detailed account of
the institutions and systems of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China, outlining
the etiquette and norms that people of every social class should follow.
The Zhou dynasty was the last feudal
hereditary dynasty in Chinese history and the longest-lasting. The Zhou king
distributed land within the dynasty to nobles, each of whom ruled their own
territory. These nobles were required to pay an annual tribute of money and
goods to the Zhou king.
Decades after the Zhou Dynasty was
established, the number of nobles within it increased significantly, with over
140 kingdoms being established by these nobles. The Book of Rites formulated a
detailed set of rules to help the leaders of these kingdoms govern effectively.
A passage from this book is summarised
below.
Every kingdom must maintain grain reserves
at the following levels:
Each kingdom must maintain grain reserves
for at least nine years. If a kingdom does not have enough reserves to last
nine years, its grain reserve level is insufficient.
If a kingdom's reserves are enough to last
only six years, its level is considered critical.
If a kingdom's grain reserves are below
three years' worth, the kingdom is essentially in a state of imminent collapse.
A basic set of principles can be followed
to maintain grain reserves effectively. Let's illustrate this with an example
of an individual:
After cultivating the land for three years,
they should store at least one year's worth of grain. In other words, after
nine years of cultivation, they must store enough grain to last three years.
Through statistical analysis, the ancient
Chinese people discovered that, at that time, people typically had children
around the age of 30. They therefore used 30 years as a specific unit of time,
considering it to represent the life cycle of a generation.
Looking at a 30-year period, I believe that
if a person follows the simple principle of storing food, they will be able to
overcome life's difficulties, such as floods or droughts, due to their
preparation.
The same applies to a kingdom. If a kingdom
follows this principle, its leader will be able to maintain stable and
continuous rule.
The idiom translates as follows: after nine
years of cultivation, one should store at least three years' worth of food
reserves.
It is used to describe someone who
cultivates the habit of saving in ordinary times.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts have
you gained from this story?
Do you have a habit of saving? If you lost
your job today, how long would your money last?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
(耕九餘三(After nine years
of cultivation, a grain reserve equivalent to at least three years' worth must
be maintained.)
(戴聖)是漢王朝時代的一個重要的儒家學者。
他蒐集了許多儒家的文章，編著成為一本書。這本書就是(禮記)。
這本書中詳細地記載了中國古代的周王朝的典章制度，在這本書中紀錄了生活在這個社會的每個階層的人應該遵守的禮儀與規範。
周王朝是中國歷史上最後一個封建世襲的王朝，周王朝也是中國歷史上延續時間最久的王朝。周王朝的國王把王朝內的土地分給王朝中的貴族們，這些貴族在自己的領地各自稱王。這些貴族們必須每年進貢一定的金錢與貨品給周王朝的國王。
周王朝建立幾十年後，王朝內的貴族愈來愈多，周王朝中這些貴族們所建立的王國超過140個，禮記這本書中針對了這些王國的領導者制定了一套很詳細的規則，這些規則可以協助這些王國的領導者治理好自己的王國。
這本書中有一段的大意如下。
每個王國都要進行糧食儲備，糧食儲備的等級如下。
每個王國至少都要保持九年以上糧食儲備，如果一個王國如果沒有足夠維持九年的糧食儲備，就麼這個王國的糧食儲備等級為不足。
如果一個王國如果沒有足夠維持六年的糧食儲備，那麼這個王國的糧食儲備等級為緊急。
如果一個王國的糧食儲備已經低於三年，那麼這個王國可以說是處於一種隨時會滅亡的狀態。
進行糧食儲備時可以遵循一套基本且簡單的原則，我們以一個個人為例子來說明。
當一個人耕作三年之後，這個人要存下至少一年份的糧食，也就是說，這個人如果耕作九年之後，那麼這個人一定要存下至少三年份的糧食。
古代的中國人經過統計之後，發現當時的人們大概平均在30歲的時候會生出下一代的子女，因此以30年為一個特殊的計算時間的單位，古代的中國人認為30年為代表一個世代的時間週期。
以30年這個時間週期來看，我認為如果一個人可以遵循這套簡單的原則去儲存糧食，那麼這個人的生命歷程中若是遇到水災或旱災，這個人也會因為準備充足而能度過難關。
一個王國也一樣，如果一個王國可以遵循這套簡單的原則去儲備糧食，那麼這個王國的領導者就能夠安穩的持續統治這個王國，
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是耕種九年後至少要保存三年的糧食儲備。
這句成語被用來形容一個人在平常的時候就養成儲蓄的習慣。。
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。
你有儲蓄的習慣嗎?你如果今天失業，你的錢夠你活多久呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為禮記-王制
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