Only when we work hard to improve ourselves
can we get more and more blessings.(自求多福)
(The Book of Songs) is China's earliest
collection of poetry.
There are 305 poems in the book.
The poems were written over a period of 500
years, from the 11th century BC to the 6th century BC.
The content of these poems is mainly
divided into three categories.
The first category is folk poetry from
different parts of China at that time.
The second category is the poetry of the
Zhou Dynasty, which ruled China at that time.
The third category is the sacrificial poems
used by the royal family and nobles of the Zhou Dynasty.
The founder of the Zhou Dynasty was called
Ji Chang. There is a poem in (The Book of Songs) that praises his great
achievements in founding the Zhou Dynasty.
The general meaning of this poem is as
follows
Ji Chang received God's will to found the
Zhou Dynasty.
He united all the people in his family, and
his descendants were very wealthy.
There were many talented people in the Zhou
Dynasty, and these people helped Ji Chang to strengthen the Zhou Dynasty.
Ji Chang had a very high moral level and
was respected by everyone, so with God's permission he overthrew the Yin
Dynasty.
We must learn from history and investigate
why the Yin Dynasty, which ruled all of China, eventually lost power.
We should learn from the failure of the Yin
Dynasty. We should cultivate noble moral character and treat God and all people
with respect.
Only by working hard to improve ourselves
can we receive more and more blessings.
We must imitate Ji Chang's good behaviour
and good character. Only in this way can we maintain the Zhou dynasty's regime
for a long time and allow all people to live a safe and happy life.
The literal translation of this idiom is
that only by working hard to improve ourselves can we receive more and more
blessings.
The idiom is also used to describe a person
who does not expect help from others, but relies on his own efforts to obtain
blessings.
Dear friend, what inspirations or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Is your happiness based on others or on
yourself? Have you taken any specific actions to improve yourself?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
自求多福(Only when we work hard to improve
ourselves can we get more and more blessings.)
(詩經)是中國最早的詩歌合輯。
這本書中有305首詩。
這些詩寫的時間橫跨500年，從西元前11世紀到西元前6世紀。
這些詩的內容主要分為三類。
第一類是當時中國各地的民間詩歌
第二類是當時統治中國的周王朝的詩歌。
第三類是周王朝中的王室與貴族祭祀用的詩歌。
周王朝的建立者的名字叫做姬昌。(詩經)中有一首讚美他建立周王朝的偉大的功勞的詩。
這首詩的大概意思如下。
姬昌得到上天的旨意，讓他建立了周王朝。
他凝聚了他的家族中的所有人，他的後裔非常的興旺。
周王朝中有許多有才能的人，這些人協助姬昌壯大了周王朝。
姬昌有非常高的道德水平，他因此受到眾人的尊敬，所以在上天的許可下，他推翻了殷王朝。
我們必須從歷史中學到教訓，我們必須探討為何統治整個中國的殷王朝最後失去政權。
我們應該從殷王朝的失敗中學到教訓，我們要培養高尚的品德並且用尊敬的心對待上天與所有的百姓。
我們只有自己努力的讓自己變得更好，我們才能夠因此得到愈來愈多的福氣。
我們要效法姬昌的好行為與好品德，只有這樣做，我們才可以長久地維持周王朝的政權並且讓所有的百姓都安全與快樂的生活。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是我們只有自己努力的讓自己變得更好，我們才能夠得到愈來愈多的福氣。
這句成語也被用來形容一個人不去指望他人的幫助，這個人依靠自己的努力去得到福氣。
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。
你的幸福感是建立在別人身上還是自己身上呢?你為了讓自己變得更好，你有做出那些具體的行動嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為詩經-大雅-文王
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