"Lü Shi Chunqiu" is a miscellaneous masterpiece compiled by Lü Buwei, the chancellor of the Qin Dynasty, in the last year of the Warring States. Divided into twelve ages, eight books, and six treatises, with Taoist thought as the main body, it also adopts the teachings of yin and yang, Confucianism, fame and law, and soldiers and peasants.
01
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"The Fourth Day: The stone may be broken, but it shall not be taken, and the Dan shall be sharpened, but shall not be taken of the red." Firm and red, sex is also there. Sex is also subject to heaven, and it is not chosen for it. The self-righteous of the Howeth, who shall not be able to defile (1) (2), nor shall it be.
The general Xingye of the Former Zhou Dynasty, there are two scholars, in the lone bamboo (3), known as Boyi and Shuqi. The two of them said to each other: "I have heard that there are partial bo yan in the West, and it seems that there will be a Taoist, and now I am in this situation?" The second son traveled westward like Zhou, and as for Qiyang, King Wen had already died. When king Wu ascended the throne, Guan Zhou De, the king made Shu Dan glued to the second four inners, and allied with him: "If you add the third rank of wealth, you will be in a column of officials." For the same words as the three books, the blood is an animal, buried in four, all return to one. He also made Bao Zhao Gong open his son under the common head, and allied with him: "The world is the eldest marquis, keeping Yin Changqi, serving Sanglin, and it is advisable to privately mengzhu." For the three books are the same, the blood is an animal, buried under the common head, all return to one.
Bo Yi and Shu Qi looked at each other and smiled, "Mo, it's different!" This is not what I call the Tao. In the past, the Shennong clan had the whole world, and when they were full of respect and did not pray for blessings. It is also faithful to others and does not seek anything. Happiness is right and righteousness, happiness is ruled by rule, and it is not self-made by people's evil, nor is it self-exalted by people's evil (4). This week, I saw Yin Zhi's secluded chaos (5), and He was right and ruled, plotted and licensed, and obstructed the hill and Bao Wei also. Cutting off the animals and believing in the alliance, because the four inner and common heads are clearly acting, the dreams are said to the people, the killing is for profit, and the shaoyin is to change chaos and violence. I have heard of the ancients, who have been ruled by the world, who do not avoid their duties, who are in turmoil, and who are not in the midst of it. Today, Zhou De is in decline. Instead of being in the same way as Zhou Yiman, it is better to avoid it and clean my deeds."
The second son traveled north, to the first sun and hungry. Human feelings are heavy and light. If there is something heavy, it wants to be complete, and if it is light, it is important to nourish it. Bo Yi and Shu Qi, these two scholars, were both born to abandon their lives to establish their intentions, and the weight was determined first. ”
(1) Rambling: dirty; defile.
(2) 汙: Receiving the same "defilement".
(3) Lone Bamboo: The name of the country during the Shang Zhou Dynasty. In present-day Lulong County, Hebei Province.
(4) 庳 [bì]: 1. Short. 2. Low-lying.
(5) Seclusion: Evil and abnormal, not in line with the right path.
02
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Stone can be broken, but it cannot change its hard texture; cinnabar, even if it is ground into a powder, cannot remove its vermilion color. Hard and vermilion are the nature of stone and cinnabar, respectively. Nature is derived from heaven and is not something that can be obtained by choice. In the same way, the discipline of a self-righteous man cannot be defiled.
When the Zhou Dynasty was about to rise, that is, at the end of the Shang Dynasty. In the lone bamboo country lived two wise men: Bo Yi and Shu Qi. The two of them were originally princes of the Lonely Bamboo Kingdom, and because they had conceded the throne, they fled the Lonely Bamboo Kingdom one after another, and when they met on the way, they said: "I heard that Xi Bo Hou Ji Chang, respecting the old and the young, and Corporal Li Xian, seems to be a benevolent prince who is in accordance with the heavens, so we are still here to hesitate, it is better to go to him", so the two of them went all the way to the west and defected to Zhou.
By the time they reached the south of Qishan, King Wen of Zhou had already died. King Wu succeeded to the throne, preached Zhou De, ordered Shu Dan to go to Si Nei to find the rubber mane, and swore an oath to him: "If the cutting is successful, let your Feng Lu increase by three levels, and the official residence is the first class", and at the same time wrote down three copies of the same content, painted with sacrificial blood, one of which was buried in the four, and then each of them held one.
He also sent Bao Zhao Gong to Gongtou Mountain to find Wei Ziqi and swore an oath with him: "After becoming a great cause in the future, I promise you to be the chief marquis for generations, to serve all kinds of normal sacrifices of Yin, to allow you to worship the joy of Sanglin, and to make Mengzhu your private fiefdom." In the same way, three copies of the same content were written, painted with sacrificial blood, one of which was buried in four, and then each held one.
When Bo Yi and Shu Qi heard about it, they looked at each other and smiled, "Oh, this is different from what we heard before, the King of Wu doing this is not what we call the Tao." In the past, when the Shennong clan ruled the world, the four-hour sacrifice was only respectful, but it would not be greedy, and it would not pray for blessings. He is also faithful to the people, and he asks for nothing. If the people want justice, then they will achieve justice and honesty; if the people want peace, then they will bring peace and tranquility to the governance of the world. Instead of showing your own success by defeating others, you are not using the humility of others to set off your own nobility. Now that King Wu of Zhou saw that Yin Shang was evil and abnormal, and did not conform to the right way, he flaunted justice himself and strove for great rule in the world, but he was advocating scheming, communicating people's hearts through goods, and boasting that his soldiers were wide and mighty. Cutting sacrifices, swearing a blood covenant oath, to win good faith, using the two things of the Four Inner Areas and the Gongtou Mountain to sing praises for themselves, to persuade the people by preaching Ji Meng, to seize benefits by killing and conquering, and to replace Yin Shang with this means, but to replace violence with rebellion. I have heard that the wise men of ancient times, when they encountered enlightened and prosperous worlds, did not shirk their responsibilities, but if they encountered a chaotic world of strife, they would not live secretly. If it is dark today and Zhou De is weakening, instead of clinging to the Zhou Dynasty and tarnishing our honor, it is better to avoid it early and preserve our innocent virtues. ”
So the two of them went north to Shouyang Mountain and starved to death at the bottom of the mountain. People value things lightly and heavily. If you think something important, you want to preserve it, and you want to preserve these important things with things that are relatively less important. The two sages of Bo Yi ShuQi did not hesitate to abandon their own lives to maintain their own discipline, because the stakes had long been determined in their hearts.
03
appraise
In the same way, the virtuous do not profess to be virtuous, and in the same way, the honest do not have to be allied in blood. Judging from the rich conditions that King Wu of Zhou prescribed to Jiao Mane and Wei Zi Qi, it is difficult to say that Zhou's origins were simply because of his good virtue. Regarding the succession of dynasties and the fainting or not, Zigong in the Analects has a comment:
Zi Gong Yue: "It is not as good as it is even worse." It is the evil of a gentleman who is inferior, and the evil of the world is returned. ”
Since ancient times, kings have failed, and history is mostly written by successful people, so "what you see is often what others intend to let you see."
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