恭敬不如從命(It's better to obey someone's
orders than to show them respect )
本部落格寫作緣起，原是為了向國際友人介紹中華文化。因此行文中，為求簡明易懂，例如將官員職稱，統一簡化轉譯為現今通用的名稱。此為譯介之便，非為考據之疏。若您欲查閱嚴謹史料，請以文末所附典籍出處為準。
中國的明王朝有一個著名的小說家與劇作家，他的名字叫做馮夢龍(西元1574-西元1646)，他寫過許多本短篇故事集。
他曾經以北宋王朝一個非常著名的名人為主角創造了一個虛構的故事，這個名人的名字叫做蘇軾(西元1037-西元1101)。
蘇軾是宋王朝的一個著名的大臣，他也是一個著名文學家與詩人。在馮夢龍的這篇小說中，他因為連續兩次得罪了當時的一個名字叫做王安石的宰相，所以他被調任到中國的浙江省的湖州市與中國的湖北省的黃州市，他遠離了當時的政治權力中心。
蘇軾到黃州市的一年多之後，他有一個機會可以在冬至前因為公事再次回到首都，他回首都之後，他再度去拜訪王安石，但是他這次又得罪了王安石，其原因是因為他沒有確實的遵守與王安石的承諾，他拿了一壺長江那條長達300多公里的峽谷中，最後一段名叫歸峽中的水交給王安石。
王安石發現蘇軾欺騙他後，王安石沒有生氣，反倒是蘇軾感到極度的羞愧與不好意思，他很後悔自己沒有確實的遵守約定還說謊。
王安石看到蘇軾很窘迫的樣子後，他對蘇軾說。
你是一個非常聰明的人，但是你因為太聰明了，所以變得驕傲自大。
為了懲罰你，你要陪我玩一個遊戲，我們兩個人都可以藉由這個遊戲來測試自己的學問與知識量是否充足。
蘇軾聽到王安石的提議後，他立刻回答，
我直接認輸，我不敢跟你玩這個遊戲。
王安石裝作生氣的對蘇軾說。
有一句古話，與其對一個人表現出恭敬的態度不如直接聽從這個人的命令。
我認為你如果尊重我就應該接受這個挑戰。
蘇軾聽到王安石的話後只好點頭表示同意。
王安石就跟蘇軾玩了兩個遊戲，第一個遊戲是比誰的記憶力比較好，第二個遊戲是比誰的臨場反應與對於中文的掌握能力更佳。
這兩場遊戲王安石都贏了，蘇軾對遊戲結果很服氣。
蘇軾終於明白這個世界上有太多人，自己絕對不會是最聰明的那一個，他終於明白自己應該用謙虛的態度對待身邊的人，他不應該倚仗自己的聰明就瞧不起別人。
蘇軾再度非常誠懇地跟王安石道歉，王安石看到蘇軾誠心的悔悟後也就完全原諒了蘇軾。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是與其對一個人表現出恭敬的態度不如直接聽從這個人的命令。
這句成語可以用來提醒我們，在人際交往中，遵從他人意願比表面恭敬更具實際意義。
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。
你是否曾經因為覺得自己聰明而瞧不起別人呢? 你是否曾經遇過這種自己覺得自己很聰明的人呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為明-馮夢龍-警世通言-卷3王安石三難蘇學士
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%AD%A6%E4%B8%96%E9%80%9A%E8%A8%80/%E7%AC%AC03%E5%8D%B7
It's better to obey someone's orders than
to show them respect(恭敬不如從命)
This blog was created to introduce Chinese
culture to international readers. For the sake of simplicity and ease of
understanding, official titles have been translated into their commonly used
names. This is for the sake of translation convenience, not historical
accuracy. If you wish to consult more rigorous historical materials, please
refer to the sources listed at the end of the article.
Feng Menglong (1574–1646 AD) was a famous
novelist and playwright in the Ming dynasty of China who wrote many collections
of short stories.
He once wrote a fictional story featuring
Su Shi (1037–1101 AD), a very famous figure from the Northern Song dynasty.
Su Shi was a renowned minister, writer and
poet of the Song Dynasty. In Feng Menglong's novel, Su Shi offends the Prime
Minister, Wang Anshi, twice. This results in Su Shi being reassigned to Huzhou
in Zhejiang Province and Huangzhou in Hubei Province, both of which are far
removed from the political centre.
More than a year after arriving in
Huangzhou, Su Shi had the chance to return to the capital on official business
before the winter solstice. Upon his return, he visited Wang Anshi again, but
offended him once more.
Su Shi had promised to bring Wang Anshi a
pot of water from the Wuxia Gorge, a section of the Yangtze River stretching
over 300 kilometres, but failed to do so.
When Wang Anshi discovered Su Shi's
deception, he did not become angry; Su Shi, however, felt extremely ashamed and
embarrassed, regretting his broken promise and lie.
Seeing Su Shi's state of embarrassment,
Wang Anshi said to him:
'You are a very intelligent person, but
because you are too intelligent, you have become arrogant and conceited.
'As a punishment, you have to play two
games with me. We can use these games to test our knowledge and understanding.'
Upon hearing Wang Anshi's suggestion, Su
Shi immediately replied, "I concede; I dare not play these two games with
you."
Pretending to be angry, Wang Anshi said to
Su Shi, 'There's an old saying: it's better to obey someone's orders than to
show them respect.
If you respect me, you should accept this
challenge.'
Su Shi had no choice but to nod in
agreement.
Wang Anshi then played two games with Su
Shi. The first tested memory, and the second tested quick thinking and mastery
of Chinese.
Wang Anshi won both games, and Su Shi was
convinced by the outcome.
Su Shi finally realised that there were
many intelligent people in the world and that he was definitely not the
smartest. He realised that he should treat those around him with humility and
not look down on others because of his intelligence.
Su Shi apologised to Wang Anshi again, and
seeing Su Shi's genuine remorse, Wang Anshi completely forgave him.
This idiom literally means that it is
better to obey someone's orders than to show them respect.
It can be used to remind us that, in
interpersonal relationships, it is more practical to respect others' wishes
than to show them superficial respect.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Have you ever looked down on others because
you thought you were cleverer than them? Have you ever encountered someone who
thought they were very clever?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.