Xie Zhen (謝貞)(534 AD -
585 AD)
His surname is (Xie), his parents gave him
the name (Zhen) and when he was growing up his friends called him (Yuanzheng).
He was born in Henan Province, China.
|
謝 |
It means thank you, it means thank you.
It is also one of the Chinese surnames. |
|
貞 |
It means steadfastness, it means loyalty. |
|
元 |
It means beginning. It means root. It is
also a Chinese surname. This word has many meanings, here are
some important ones. |
|
正 |
It means upright. It means pure. It is
also a Chinese family name. This word has many meanings, here are
just a few important ones. |
He was a famous official in the Northern
and Southern Dynasties of China.
There is a story about him in the history
books.
His father died when he was 14 and he lived
with his mother.
Two years after his father's death, a rebellion
broke out in the Nanliang Kingdom where he lived.
During the rebellion, he was separated from
his mother. His mother stayed in her hometown and he went into exile in the
Northern Zhou Kingdom.
After arriving in the Northern Zhou
Kingdom, he was forced to work for the royal family of the Northern Zhou
Kingdom.
He missed his mother every day. But he
couldn't leave.
It was 25 years later that he returned to
his hometown.
The regime that ruled his hometown at that
time was the Namchen Kingdom, and he joined the central government of the
Namchen Kingdom.
He was happy to be with his mother, who
died 12 years after he returned to the Namchen Kingdom.
He was so sad after his mother died that he
couldn't eat.
He became so thin and weak that he had to
lie in bed.
He knew he was going to die and wrote a
suicide note to his nephew.
In this suicide note he wrote his last
words.
The gist of the note is as follows.
My father died when I was 14 years old, and
when I was 16, I was far away from my hometown because of the war.
For the past 20 years since I left my
hometown, I have continued to pray every day that I would have the opportunity
to return to my hometown.
Thank God, I have been able to fulfil my
wish. I finally returned to my hometown in middle age to be reunited with my
mother.
I did not expect that my talents would be
appreciated by the king of the Nanchen Kingdom after I returned to my hometown,
so I was hired as a senior official of the Nanchen Kingdom. In the past few
years, my salary and social status have increased day by day. .
But what makes me happiest is being able to
stay with my mother. I got married and had a child. I am very happy with my
short life.
After my mother died, I was very sad. My
body was getting weaker every day. I could feel that I was going to die. But I
feel very calm, I am very happy with my life and I have no regrets about my
life.
When I die, I want a very simple funeral.
As far as death is concerned, I agree more
with the Buddhist view of life and death.
Originally, I was hoping you wouldn't even
buy a coffin and just dig a hole to bury me without any ceremony.
But I know that you will definitely not
agree to my wilful request, so I ask you to buy the cheapest coffin and use the
simplest etiquette.
My son is your cousin. He is only six years
old this year.
He is very young and cannot handle such a
trivial funeral ceremony by himself. Please help him as much as you can. Except
for the most important rituals, do not perform other superfluous and
complicated rituals.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
What view of life and death do you agree
with? Are you happy with your life so far?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
謝貞(Xie Zhen )(西元534年-西元585年)
他的姓是謝，他的父母給他取的名字是貞，長大後朋友稱呼他的名字是元正，他出生地位於在中國的河南省。
|
謝 |
意思是謝謝的意思，意思是感謝的意思。也是中國的人姓氏之一。 |
|
貞 |
意思是堅貞的意思，意思是忠貞的意思。 |
|
元 |
意思是開始的意思。意思是根源的意思。也是中國的人姓氏之一。 這個字的字義很豐富，這邊只列舉幾個重要的意思。 |
|
正 |
意思是端正的意思。意思是純正的意思。也是中國的人姓氏之一。 這個字的字義很豐富，這邊只列舉幾個重要的意思。 |
他是中國南北王朝時代一個著名的官員。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他的父親在他14歲的時候過世，他與他的母親兩個人一起生活。
他的父親過世兩年後，他所居住的南梁王國發生了一場叛變。
他在這次的動亂中他與他的母親分離，他的母親留在故鄉，他流亡到北周王國。
他到北周王國後，他被迫進入北周王國的王室工作。
他每天都很想念他的母親。但是他無法離開。
他再次回到他的故鄉已經是25年後了。
當時統治他的故鄉的政權是南陳王國，他進入了南陳王國的中央政府工作。
他很開心可以陪伴著他的母親，他的母親在他回到南陳王國12年後過世。
他的母親過世後他非常的悲傷，他吃不下任何東西。
他變得非常地瘦，他虛弱到必須躺在床上。
他知道自已快要死了，他寫了一封遺書給他的侄子。
他在這封遺書中交代他的遺言。
這封遺書的大意如下。
我的父親在我14歲的時候過世了，我在16歲的時候又因為戰亂所以遠離我的家鄉。
我離開家鄉的這20幾年來，我每天都持續祈禱希望我可以有機會回到我的故鄉。
感謝神，讓我可以實現我的願望，我在中年的時候終於又回到了我的故鄉與我的母親團聚。
我沒有想到我回到我的故鄉後，我的才能被南陳王國的國王所欣賞，所以我被聘任為南陳王國的高級官員，這幾年來，我的薪水與社會地位一天比一天更高。
但最更我高興的是我可以陪伴在母親的身邊，我結了婚並且生了一個小孩，我對我這短暫的一生感到非常的滿足。
我的母親過世之後，我非常的哀傷，我的身體一天比一天衰弱，我可以感覺到我已經快要死了。但我覺得很坦然，我很滿意我的一生，我對我的一生沒有任何的遺憾。
我死了之後，我想要一個非常簡單的葬禮。
關於死亡，我比較認同佛教的生死觀。
我原本希望你們連棺材都不要買，直接把我隨便挖一個洞掩埋，你不用為我安排任何的儀式。
但我知道你們一定不會答應我如此任性的要求，所以我請求你們我買一個最便宜的棺材，然後用最簡單的儀節就可以了。
我的兒子也就是你的堂弟，他今年只有六歲。
他的年紀很小，目前還無法自己處理那麼瑣碎的喪禮，請你盡量協助他，除了最重要的幾件儀式外，其他比較多餘與複雜的儀式全部都不要做。
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。
你認同那一種生死觀呢?你對你到現在為止的人生感到滿意嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為陳書-卷32列傳26-孝行