When he issues commands of action or
prohibition, these commands are executed immediately.(令行禁止)
The Zhou dynasty in China lasted for 791
years. The Zhou king established more than 100 vassal states, each of which
became a kingdom in its own right. These kingdoms waged numerous fierce wars
for land and resources, creating an era of extreme chaos.
This period is known as the Spring and
Autumn Period (770–476 BC), followed by the Warring States Period (476–221 BC).
A famous philosopher and thinker from the
Warring States period was Han Fei, who lived during this chaotic time. He
offered solutions to the social and existential problems of his time.
In his book, he wrote:
'A king who wishes to govern a kingdom must
use methods that are in accordance with human nature.'
'We all have things we like and things we
dislike, things we pursue and things we avoid.'
Based on this simplest of classifications,
a king can design a system of rewards and punishments with which to govern his
kingdom.
A king who has the power to decide the fate
of his subordinates has enough authority to command their respect.
When he issues commands of action or
prohibition, these commands are executed immediately.
However, if a king fails to establish this
system and governs according to his own mood and preferences, his power will
lack a stable foundation.
Likewise, if a king establishes this system
but delegates too much power of reward and punishment to his subordinates, his
authority will be diluted.
A wise king does not base his decisions on
personal bias, nor does he pay too much attention to flattery when making
plans.
This idiom literally means "When he
issues commands of action or prohibition, these commands are executed
immediately.".
This idiom is used to describe a country or
organisation that enforces its laws extremely thoroughly and has strict
discipline.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Does your country's judicial system have
the power to enforce its own decisions independently? Do you think that a
leader's power comes from their position or their actions?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
令行禁止(When he issues commands of action or
prohibition, these commands are executed immediately.)
中國的周王朝持續長達791年，周王朝的國王把土地分封給100多個諸侯，這些諸侯各自成立的自己的王國，這些王國之間為了爭奪土地與資源而發生許多慘烈的戰爭，那是一個極度混亂的年代。
西元前770年到西元前476年這段時間是中國的春秋時代，西元前476年到西元前221年這段時間是中國的戰國時代。
中國的戰國時代有一個著名的哲學家與思想家的名字叫做(韓非)，他就生活在這個混亂的時代，他針對當時的社會問題與人生問題提出了他解決問題的辦法和觀點。
他寫過一本書，在他的書中有這樣一段話。
一個國王要治理一個王國，他所使用的手段必須要合乎人性。
我們每個人都有喜歡的東西也會有討厭的東西，都會有追求的東西也會有逃避的東西。
根據這個最簡單的分類，一個國王就可以設計一套獎賞與懲罰的機制來進行管理他的王國。
一個國王如果能夠掌握著讓下屬生或死的權力，他就能夠有著足以讓下屬信服的威信。
當他發出行動命令與禁止命令時，這執行命令與禁制命令都會被立刻執行。
如果一個國王沒有建立這套獎勵與懲罰的機制來管理他的王國，這個國王隨著自己的心情與好惡來管理這個王國，那麼這個國王的權力就不會有穩固的基礎。
如果一個國王建立了這套獎勵與懲罰的機制後，把獎勵與懲罰的權力過多地下放給他的部屬，那麼這個國王的權威就會被分散。
一個明智的國王不會帶著個人偏愛去聽取意見，這個國王也不會留戀於悅耳的話去謀劃事情。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是這個人下達了命令後，這命令就能立刻被執行推動，這個人下達了禁令後，這禁令就能夠立刻中止行動。
這句成語被用來形容一個國家或單位的紀律嚴明且法令執行極其徹底。
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。
你的國家中的司法系統有獨立的執行力嗎?你認為一個領導者的權力來自他的身分還是他的行為呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為韓非子-八經
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E9%9F%93%E9%9D%9E%E5%AD%90/%E5%85%AB%E7%B6%93