Only my shadow accompanies me(形影相弔)
In the Jin Dynasty of China, there was a
famous official whose name was Li Mi.
He is a very honest official, and he is
also a very filial person.
When he was 44 years old, the then king
wanted to hire him as an important official in the central government.
He wrote a letter to decline the king's
offer of invitation.
The letter he wrote is considered one of
the most moving lyric essays in Chinese history.
Why did he refuse such a high position and
salary?
The second paragraph of the letter reads as
follows.
When I became an adult my grandma got sick
because of her old age.
She can only lie in bed almost every day,
and she relies on my assistance for her daily life.
I am very grateful to my grandma for
raising me up, so I do my best to take care of her.
I don't have close relatives who can help
each other, and I don't have the money to hire helpers. These things fell on my
shoulders.
I face and solve all kinds of difficulties
by myself. I'm lonely, and I feel like only my shadow accompanies me every day.
My neighbors and friends know that I am a
very filial person because of my long-term and careful care for my grandmother.
The mayor of the city where I live and the
governor of the province where I live both heard about me, and after the two of
them verified it, they each nominated me to be a junior official in the central
government.
But I have considered that if I accept this
offer, then I will have to go to the capital to work. My grandma is very old
and her health is so poor that there is no way to move to the capital with me.
So I declined their recommendation at the
time.
Notes.
China has had a very special mechanism for
selecting civil servants since the Han Dynasty.
The king at that time believed that if a
person does not care about his relatives at all but does a lot of public
welfare undertakings, his kindness is false.
Filial piety is the most basic and most
important item to measure a person's moral level.
The king at that time believed that a
person may have a very ordinary background, but if the person's work ability
and moral level are high, then this person is worthy of trust and hold important positions.
It is the responsibility of local officials
to discover these two types of talents, because all local officials must
recommend candidates who meet these two conditions every year, so that these
people have the opportunity to break away from their own class and current
situation and enter the central government as officials.
(Li Mi) is a very upright person, and he is
also a very filial person.
So he became the person recommended by the
mayor and the governor.
The literal meaning of this idiom is that I
have only my shadow to accompany me. Used to describe a person who is lonely.
Dear friends, what are your feelings or
thoughts after listening to this story?
Have you ever met such a person who
volunteers to help some poor people, but his family lives in hardship? Which
one do you think is more important, a person's moral level or work ability?
I hope this story will give you something
new to gain.
形影相弔(Only my shadow accompanies me)
中國的晉王朝，有一個著名的官員，他的名字叫做(李密)。
他是一個很正直的官員，他也是一個很孝順的人。
他44歲的時候，當時的國王想聘請他當任中央政府的重要官員。
他寫了一封信婉拒國王的禮聘。
他寫的這封信被認為是中國歷史上最感人的抒情文之一。
他為何要拒絕這麼高的職位與薪水呢?
這封信的第二段內容如下。
我成年後我的奶奶因為年紀老邁所以生病了。
她幾乎每天都只能躺在床上，她每天的生活起居都要依靠我的協助。
我很感謝我的奶奶扶養我長大，所以我也盡心盡力的照顧她。
我沒有親近的親戚可以互相幫忙，又沒有錢請幫傭。這些事情都落到我的肩膀上。
我自已一個人獨自面對與解決各種困難。我很孤單，我感覺每天都只有我的影子陪伴著我。
由於我長期必且細心地持續照顧我的奶奶，所以我的鄰居與朋友們都知道我是一個很孝順的人。
我住的這座城市的市長與我住的這一省的省長都聽到了關於我的事，他門兩個人經過核實後便各自推舉我進入中央政府擔任初級官員。
但是我都考量到我如果接受這個聘請，那麼我就必須到首都去工作，我的奶奶年紀很大了，她的身體狀況如此的差，因此也沒有辦法跟著我一起搬到首都。
因此我當時就婉拒了他們兩人的推薦。
附註說明。
中國從漢王朝開始有一種很特殊的遴選公務人員的機制。
當時的國王認為，一個人如果絲毫不關心自已的親人但是這個人做很多公益事業，這個人的善良是虛假的。
孝順是衡量一個人道德水平最基本也是最重要的一個項目。
當時的國王認為，一個人可能家世背景很平凡，但是這個人的工作能力與道德水平很高，那麼這個人就值得信任並且擔任重要的職務。
發現這兩種人才是地方官員的責任，因為所有的地方官員都要每年提出符合這兩種條件的推薦人選，讓這些人有機會可以脫離自已的階層與現況並進入中央政府擔任官員。
(李密)是一個很正直的人，他也是一個很孝順的人。
所以他成為市長與省長所推薦的人。
這句成語的字面意思是我只有我的影子陪著我。被用來形容一個人很孤單。
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。
你是否有遇過這一種人，他會去做義工幫助一些窮困的人，但是他的家人卻生活在困苦中呢?你認為一個人的道德水平與工作能力哪一項比較重要呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晉-李密-陳情表