Your hesitation in doing things will lead
to your failure to succeed.(疑行無名疑事無功)
During the Warring States Period in China,
there was a famous politician in the Qin Kingdom, his name was (Gongsun Yang).
He helped the Qin Kingdom become the most
powerful kingdom in the Warring States Period.
The king of the Qin Kingdom was very
grateful for his contribution, so he gave him a piece of land called (Shang).
Therefore, later generations respectfully
called him (Shang Yang).
There is a story about him recorded in the
history books.
In order to persuade the 25th King of the
Qin Kingdom and other ministers of the Qin Kingdom to carry out political,
military, economic, social and other reforms in the Qin Kingdom.
He held a meeting with the King of Qin and
two other important ministers.
The king said.
I want reform, but I'm afraid it will fail.
he replied.
If a man does not act, there will be no
results. If a man hesitates to do things, he will not succeed.
A person who wants to change the world will
be told by many that it is impossible.
A person with special ideas will be
ridiculed by many people.
A foolish man will not know why he has
succeeded after he has succeeded, but a wise man can predict what will happen
in the future.
If we carry out these reforms now, the
people may not be used to them at first, but I believe that after a while the
people will enjoy the benefits of the reforms.
The goal of our reforms is to make our
kingdom stronger, and I believe we can do that if we want to.
The king nodded in agreement with Shang
Yang's opinion.
At that time, a minister expressed his
opinion.
I don't agree with Shang Yang. I believe
that a wise leader should not promote drastic reforms. A wise king should
improve the whole society by promoting moral education in the kingdom.
Our kingdom has a set of laws that have
been in use for a long time. Our officials and people have grown accustomed to
these laws, and we should not change them so easily.
Shang Yang replied after listening to the
Minister's words.
I disagree with the Minister's view.
I think most people are unwilling to accept
change, and most scholars just read books without thinking about how to apply
their knowledge in real life.
If we are like most ordinary people, we
will hinder our own progress and we will hinder the progress of society as a
whole.
We should carry out necessary social
reforms in response to the current social situation, and not be constrained by
old ideas and habits.
At that time, another minister expressed
his opinion.
I don't think we can be sure that our
reforms will be successful.
If we can confirm that our reform will be
successful and have good results, then I support the reform, but if we have no
way of confirming that our reform will be successful and have good results,
then we should first maintain the status quo.
I think our current social status quo is
good enough. As long as we follow the existing laws, our society can develop
slowly and stably.
Shang Yang replied after listening to the
minister.
I believe that if we want to improve our
kingdom, we must improve our existing system of governance. Society has
changed, and we must adapt our laws accordingly.
If we continue to use the old laws, we will
not be able to govern the Qin Kingdom well, but it may lead to the destruction
of the Qin Kingdom.
The King of Qin pondered for a few minutes
after listening to their conversation.
The King of Qin concluded.
I think we should encourage reforms. I
believe that only bold reforms can turn the Qin Kingdom from weak to strong.
This idiom means that if you hesitate to do
something, you will not succeed.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Do you think there is anything in your life
that needs to change? Do you have the courage to reform yourself?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
疑行無名疑事無功(Your hesitation in doing things
will lead to your failure to succeed.)
中國的戰國時代，秦王國有一個著名的政治家，他的名字叫做(公孫鞅)。
他協助秦王國成為戰國時代最強大的王國。
秦王國的國王非常感謝他的貢獻，所以把一塊名字叫做(商)的土地賜給他。
因為這個原因，後代的人尊稱他為(商鞅)。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他為了說服秦王國的第25任國王與其他的秦王國的大臣們實行秦王國中的政治、軍事、經濟、社會等方面的改革。
他與秦王國的國王和另外兩個重要的大臣進行一場會議。
國王說。
我想要進行改革，但是我擔心改革結果會失敗。
他回答。
一個人如果不行動就不會有結果。一個人如果做事情猶豫不決，那這個人就不會成功。
一個想要改變世界的人，會被很多人說你不可能辦到。
一個有著特別的想法的人，會遭遇到很多人的嘲笑。
一個愚昧的人成功之後也不知道自己為何會成功，一個聰明的人可以事先就預測到未來將要發生的事。
我們現在推行這些改革，一開始人民可能會不習慣，但是經過一段時間後，我相信人民會享受到改革帶來的好處。
我們改革的目標是要讓我們的王國變得更強大，我相信只要我們願意我們就一定可以做得到。
國王點頭贊同商鞅的意見。
這個時候有一個大臣提出他的看法。
我不認同商鞅的看法，我認為一個聰明的領導者不應該推動激烈的改革，一個有智慧的國王應該藉由在王國中推動品德教育讓整個社會變得更好。
我們王國中已經有一套沿用很久的法律，我們的官員與百姓都已經習慣了這套法律，我們不應該輕易的改變。
商鞅聽完這個大臣的話後回答。
我不同意這個大臣的觀點。
我認為大部分的人都不願意接受改變，大部分的學者都只會讀書而沒有去思考如何把自己的知識運用在實際的生活上。
如果我們跟大部分的平凡人一樣，我們就會阻礙自己的進步，我們也會阻礙整個社會的進步。
我們應該針對現在的社會現況進行必要的社會改革，我們不應該被舊有的想法與習慣所約束。
這個時候有另外一個大臣提出他的看法。
我認為我們無法確定我們的改革一定會成功。
如果我們可以確認我們的改革會成功並且有很好的成效，那麼我支持改革，但是如果我們沒有辦法確認我們的改革會成功而且有很好的效果，那麼我們就應該要先維持現狀。
我認為我們現在的社會現狀已經夠好了，我們只要按照現有的法律管理，我們的社會就可以穩定的慢慢發展。
商鞅聽完這個大臣的話後回答。
我認為我們要讓我們的王國變得更好，我們就要改善我們現有的管理制度。社會已經改變，我們也要跟著調整我們的法律。
如果一直沿用舊的這套法律我們沒有辦法治理好秦王國，反而有可能會讓秦王國走向滅亡。
秦王國的國王聽完他們的對話後沉思了幾分鐘。
秦王國的國王做了總結。
我認為我們應該推動改革，我認為只有大膽的改革才有可能讓秦王國從現在的弱小變成強大。
這句成語的意思是你做事猶豫不決將會導致自己無法成功
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。
你認為你的生活有需要改變的地方嗎?你有勇氣對自已的內心進行改革嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記-商君列傳