Xu Mian(徐勉)(466 AD - 535 AD)
His surname is (Xu), his parents gave him
the name (Mian) and when he grew up his friends called him (Xiuren). He was
born in Shandong Province, China.
|
徐 |
It means to walk slowly. It is also one
of the Chinese surnames. |
|
勉 |
It means reluctant. It means to
encourage. |
|
修 |
It means to repair. It means to practise.
It is also a Chinese surname. This word has many meanings. Here are
just two meanings. |
|
仁 |
It means benevolence. It is also a
Chinese surname. |
He was a famous minister of the Nanliang
Kingdom during the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China.
There is a story about him in the history
books.
He is very honest and upright. His son was
also an official of the central government at that time.
He wrote a letter to his son.
Part of the letter is given below.
About 20 years ago, I bought a villa on the
outskirts of the capital.
When I bought the villa, the area was very
deserted.
For the past 20 years, I have stayed in
this villa for several days every time I have been on holiday.
While I was on holiday here, I didn't take
a break.
I have planted many different plants around
the villa.
My work is very busy and I often feel
anxious and tired, but as long as I come back to the villa, planting these
plants in the villa makes me feel relaxed.
Every time I see these plants growing
lushly, I feel very good.
Originally, I wanted to spend my retirement
in this house if I had the chance.
But since our house in the capital recently
needed renovation, I sold my house in the suburbs.
I sold a total of 100 taels of gold.
Why can I sell this villa in the country for
such a good price?
I think the reason is that I have owned
this suburban house for 20 years.
Over the past 20 years, I have continued to
improve the environment around this villa.
The environment around this villa is quiet,
clean and has a wide view.
Why do I mention this? It's not because I
can't bear to part with this house.
I'm just taking the opportunity to share my
opinion.
I believe that each of us is like a
traveller. The time we live in this world is short. In this short life, the
house we live in is like a hotel.
We don't have to spend a lot of money to
decorate our own houses, but we can't let our living environment be sloppy.
Our body is our most important possession.
I think money is much less important than
our bodies, but I don't think it's wrong to work hard to make money.
I think each of us should make money in a
reasonable and legal way.
Each of us must spend time thinking about
how to run our own business, and we should all be responsible for our own
business.
But if we are successful, we should not
forget that we should share the fruits of our success with others.
I want to remind you.
You must take the time to study. You must
remind yourself every day to make more progress in morality and knowledge. You
should encourage yourself.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
What kind of house do you live in? If you
make a lot of money, will you give some of it to the needy?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
徐勉(Xu Mian )(西元466年-西元535年)
他的姓是(徐)，他的父母給他取的名字是(勉)，長大後朋友稱呼他的名字是(修仁)，他出生地位於在中國的山東省。
|
徐 |
意思是慢走的意思。也是中國人的姓氏之一。 |
|
勉 |
意思是勉強的意思。意思是勉勵的意思。 |
|
修 |
意思是修理的意思。意思是修行的意思。也是中國人的姓氏之一。 這個字的字義很豐富，這邊只列舉兩個意思。 |
|
仁 |
意思是仁愛的意思。也是中國人的姓氏之一。 |
他是中國的南北王朝時代，南梁王國的一位著名的大臣。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他非常的清廉也非常地正直。他的兒子也是當時的中央政府的官員。
他寫過一封信給他的兒子。
這封信的一部分內容如下。
我在大約20年前，在首都的郊外買了一間別墅。
我當初買下這間別墅的時候，這間別墅的周圍還非常的荒蕪。
這20年來，我在每次休假的時候就會到這間別墅住好幾天。
我在這裡度假的時候，我並沒有休息。
我在這間別墅的周圍種了許多各式各樣不同的植物。
我的工作很忙，我常常覺得很焦慮很累，但是我只要回到別墅，我在別墅種植這些植物的時候就會讓我心情覺得放鬆。
我每次看到這些植物長得很茂盛的時候我的心情就會特別好。
有機會的話原本我想要在這房子享受我的退休生活。
但是因為最近我們首都內的房子要整修，所以我把我那間郊外的房子賣掉了。
我總共賣了100兩的黃金。
為何這間郊外的別墅我可以賣那麼好的價錢呢?
原因我想是因為我這間郊外的房子我已經擁有了20年。
在這20年間我持續地優化這個別墅周圍的環境。
這間別墅周圍的環境安靜整潔而且視野開闊。
我為何提到這件事呢?並不是因為我捨不得這間房子。
我只是要藉這個機會分享我的看法。
我認為我們每個人都像是一個旅客，我們活在這個世界的時間都是短暫的，在這短暫的生命中，我們住房子像是一間旅館。
我們沒有必要花費很多錢去裝潢自已的房子，但是我們不可以讓自己的生活環境很邋遢。
我們的身體是我們最重要的資產。
我認為金錢遠不及我們的身體重要，但是我並不認為努力賺錢是一件不對的事。
我的看法是我們每個人都應該要用合理合法的方式去賺錢。
我們每個人都要花費心力去思考如何經營自己的事業，我們也都應該為自已的事業負責。
但是當我們成功之後，我們不要忘記我們應該把我們成功的果實分享給別人。
我想要提醒你。
你還要把握時間學習，你要每天自我提醒要在道德與學問上更進步，你應該自我勉勵。
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。
你住在怎樣的房子呢?你如果賺很多錢，你會捐助一部分的錢給那些有需要的人嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為南史-列傳•卷60-許勉傳