He is a man of noble moral character and
does not want to be a government official.(干木富義)
During the Warring States period in China,
there was a very famous Confucian scholar in the Kingdom of Wei. His name was
Duan Qianmu.
There is a story about him recorded in the
history books.
The king of the Wei Kingdom wanted to
appoint him as an official in the central government, but he refused the king's
appointment.
One day, the king of the Wei Kingdom
personally visited him at his home. He didn't want to see the king, so he
climbed over the wall and escaped from his home.
Although he refused to see the king, the
king was not angry. On the contrary, the king respected him even more because
of his behaviour.
When the carriage carrying the king passed
Duan Ganmu's house, the king asked the driver to stop at the door of his house.
The king would look at the door of the
house quietly for a few minutes with a respectful attitude before leaving.
One day the coachman, who drove the king's
carriage, said to the king
I would like to ask you a question.
Replied the king.
I give you permission to ask me questions.
said the coachman.
You are the king of our kingdom, and your
power and money exceed all of us.
(Duan Qianmu) is just a commoner. He has no
money and no power. Why do you respect him so much?
replied the king.
(Duan Qianmu) His knowledge is very good
and his moral level is very high. He does not change his values for money and
power.
Even though he lives in this ordinary
house, kings from various kingdoms have heard of him.
Compared to him, I am nothing.
Although I have a lot of power, I don't
have the noble character he has.
Although I have a lot of money, I don't
behave as justly and ethically as he does.
His model of character is worth learning
from, and I feel ashamed every time I think about the differences between me
and him.
This idiom means that he is a person of
noble moral character and does not want to be a government official.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Who are you learning from? How do you judge
this king?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
干木富義(He is a man of noble moral character
and does not want to be a government official.)
中國的戰國時代，魏王國有一個很著名的儒家學者，他的名字叫做(段干木)。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
魏王國的國王很想聘請他到中央政府內擔任官員，但他拒絕國王的聘任。
有一天，魏王國的國王親自到他的家中拜訪他，他不想見到國王，所以他竟然爬牆逃出自己的家。
雖然他一直不肯見國王，但是國王沒有因此生氣，相反的國王因為他的行為所以更加地尊敬他。
當載著國王的馬車經過段干木的家的時候，國王就會請駕駛馬車的馬車夫停在他家的門口
國王用著恭敬的態度靜靜的看著他的家門幾分鐘後才離開。
有一天，替國王駕駛馬車的馬車夫對國王說。
我想問你一個問題。
國王回答。
我允許你問我問題。
馬車夫說。
你是我們王國的國王，你的權力與金錢超過我們所有人。
(段干木)只是一個平民，他又沒有錢又沒有權力，你為何如此尊敬他呢?
國王回答。
(段干木)他的學識很好，而且他的道德水平很高。他不為因為金錢與權力而改變自己的價值觀。
他雖然住在這間普通的房子裡，但是各個王國的國王都聽聞過他的名字。
與他相比，我太差勁了。
我雖然有很大的權力但我不像他一樣有著高貴的品德。
我雖然有很多的金錢但我不像他一樣有著公正又合乎道德的行為。
他的人格典範值得我學習，我每次想到我跟他的差別我就覺得羞愧。
這句成語的意思是他是一個有著高貴的品德而且不想擔任政府官員的人。
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。
誰是你學習的對象呢?你如何評價這個國王呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記三家注-魏世家