You should assess whether your virtue is sufficient to convince others, and whether your abilities are adequate for the task at hand.(度德量力)
You should assess whether your virtue is
sufficient to convince others, and whether your abilities are adequate for the
task at hand.(度德量力)
Wang Xizhi, a renowned minister of the Jin
dynasty in China who is widely recognised as one of the greatest calligraphers
in Chinese history, is the subject of a story recorded in historical texts.
In 316 AD, the Former Han Kingdom, which
was established by nomadic people in northern China, captured the capital of
the Western Jin Dynasty. The Western Jin king was killed, the dynasty
collapsed, and much of northern China fell to the Former Han Kingdom. Many
Western Jin ministers and officials fled south of the Yangtze River.
In 317 AD, a member of the Western Jin
royal family, with the support of several key ministers, proclaimed himself
king and founded the Eastern Jin dynasty. He then established Jiankang as its
capital.
Wang Xizhi lived during this chaotic era
and was only 14 years old when the Eastern Jin dynasty was established.
The Jin dynasty comprised several prominent
families, the most powerful of which was the Wang family, who produced many
notable figures. Many officials in the central government of the Eastern Jin
Dynasty were members of the Wang family, including Wang Xizhi himself.
Following the establishment of the Eastern
Jin dynasty, several brave generals emerged within the central government who
were eager to lead troops and reclaim the vast territories north of the Yangtze
River that had originally belonged to the Western Jin dynasty. Yin Hao was one
such general. He believed that the Eastern Jin army was ready to attack the kingdoms
that had occupied Western Jin territory north of the Yangtze River.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xizhi, who believed
that the Eastern Jin dynasty was not yet strong enough to take on its rivals,
wrote a letter to a powerful member of the royal family named Sima Yu, hoping
to dissuade him from this action.
The second paragraph of this letter can be
summarised as follows:
'Before planning any military action, I
believe that we must carefully assess our own and the enemy's overall national
strength. We should only act when we are absolutely certain of success, because
only then can we gain the support of the people and achieve victory.'
Based on my analysis, we lost the land
north of the Yangtze River several years ago, and the original inhabitants
belonging to the Western Jin Dynasty are now few in number.
As very few people in the area still yearn
for Jin Dynasty rule, launching an attack now would result in us losing the
support we would have received from the original Western Jin Dynasty
population. In war, transporting and supplying food and materials is paramount.
If we attack now, our supply routes will be extremely long. This is the first
reason why I believe we should not attack the kingdoms that rule north of the
Yangtze River at this time.
Furthermore, grain production in the land
south of the Yangtze River under our control has recently been insufficient.
Currently, approximately nine-tenths of the population is facing a food crisis.
This is an undeniable fact, and we must accept this reality.
Another issue is that many of our people
have been conscripted and deployed to the front lines for defence purposes, and
many of them have not been home for years. This has generated immense
resentment among the population. Furthermore, the Eastern Jin dynasty has
increased taxes in recent years, which has further fuelled public discontent.
We currently control an area of land about
one-tenth the size of the land south of the Yangtze River. Attempting to use
the resources and manpower of such a small region to attack and expect to
easily rule the vast land north of the Yangtze is, in my opinion, extremely
infeasible. If we were to launch this war, we would not only fail to win, we
might also exhaust our national strength, which could lead to the downfall of the
Eastern Jin dynasty.
I believe a good leader should assess whether their virtue is sufficient to convince others, and whether their abilities are adequate for the task at hand.
If a leader lacks this ability, I believe
they will fail very quickly. I strongly urge you to reconsider this decision
and make a more rational judgement.
What I am about to say may not be pleasant
to hear, but I believe it is sincere and objective advice.
The idiom literally translates as "You
should assess whether your virtue is sufficient to convince others, and whether
your abilities are adequate for the task at hand".
It describes someone who thoroughly
assesses their own situation and plans carefully before taking action.
Dear friend, what are your thoughts or feelings after hearing this story?
What decision-making process do you follow before making important decisions? Have you ever experienced a major failure due to a lack of proper planning?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
度德量力(You should assess whether your virtue
is sufficient to convince others, and whether your abilities are adequate for
the task at hand.)
中國晉王朝的一個著名的大臣，他也是中國歷史上公認最優秀的書法家，他的名字叫做王羲之，歷史書上記載過一個關於他的故事。
西元316年，中國北方一個由遊牧民族建立的前漢王國攻佔了西晉王朝的首都後，西晉王朝的國王被殺，西晉王朝滅亡，中國北方的許多土地都被前漢王國所佔領。西晉王朝中的許多大臣與官員們逃亡到中國的長江的南邊。
西元317年，一個西晉王朝的王室成員在幾個重要的大臣的協助下，自行宣布自己成為國王並且建立了東晉王朝，然後這個國王設立建康市為首都。
王羲之就生活在這個混亂的年代，東晉王朝成立的時候，他才只有14歲。
晉王朝有幾個著名的家族，這幾個家族中勢力最大而且名人最多的就是王氏家族，東晉王朝的中央政府內有很多的官員都是王氏家族的成員，王羲之就是其中一員。
東晉王朝自從成立之後，中央政府內陸陸續續地出現好幾位勇敢的將軍想要帶領軍隊收回那些長江以北的那片廣大的原本屬於西晉王朝的土地，殷浩就是其中一位勇敢的將軍，他認為東晉王朝的軍隊已經準備好了，他想要發動軍隊前往長江的北邊攻打那些佔領了西晉王朝的土地的王國。
王羲之聽到這個消息後，他認為東晉王朝當時國力不足所以他寫了一封信給當時掌握著極大權力的一個名字叫做司馬昱的皇室成員，他希望可以阻止這件事情。
這封信的第二段的大概意思如下。
我認為我們在計畫任何的軍事行動前，一定要先仔細衡量我們與敵人各自的綜合國力，我們只有在有著絕對成功的把握的時候才可以採取行動，因為只有這樣，我們才可以收穫到民眾的支持與勝利的成果。
根據我的分析，我們失去長江以北的土地已經好幾年了，在那塊土地上面生活的原本屬於西晉王朝的百姓已經非常非常少了。
由於現在那塊土地上的期待回歸晉王朝的統治的百姓已經非常少，我們如果現在發動軍隊進攻，那麼我們將無法得到當地的原本那些西晉王朝的百姓對我們的各種支援，一場戰爭中，糧食與物資的運送與補給是最重要的，我們現在如果發動進攻，那麼我們的食物和物資的補給路線非常的長，這是我認為我們不應該現在對那幾個統治長江以北的王國發動進攻的第一個原因
。
另外，這幾年中，我們所統治的這塊長江以南的土地上，糧食的產量並不豐富，大約有十分之九的百姓目前都陷入糧食危機當中，這是一個無法改變的客觀事實，我們必須要正視這個現狀。
還有一個問題，我們的百姓中有許多人都被徵兵與被調動到前線去進行防守，些百姓中很多已經好幾年沒有回家了，針對這個現象，民間庭已經發出了極大的怨言，加上東晉王朝這幾年提高了人民要繳納的稅金，民間對於政府的不滿又因此更加地提高許多。
我們現在掌握著長江以南的這塊土地的大小大概只有整個中國的十分之一，要用我們這麼小的一塊地方的資源與人力去攻打並且期待勝利後可以順利統治那塊廣大的長江以北的土地，我認為這場戰爭極度不可行，若真的發動這場戰爭，我們不但無法勝利，甚至有可能會因此而耗盡我們的國力且導致東晉王朝的滅亡。
我認為一個好的領導者在做出一個重要的決定之前應該衡量自己的德行是否足以服人同時評估自身的能力是否足以勝任。
。
如果領導者沒有這個習慣，那麼我認為失敗就會很快速地來到，我強烈的希望你可以重新考慮這個決定並且做出更加理性的判斷。
我所說的這些話並不好聽，但是我認為我說的這些話是非常真誠且客觀的建議。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是你應該量自己的德行是否足以服人同時評估自身的能力是否足以勝任。
這句成語被用來形容一個人在做事前會先充分評估自身條件並且妥善計畫。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你做出重要的決定前會有怎樣的決策過程呢?你是否因為沒有妥善的計畫而造成自己巨大的失敗的經驗呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晉-王羲之-與會稽王箋
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