Mencius - The Man & The
Book
Mencius (372 - 289) was a wise and kind-hearted man who
never compromised with evil.
When he was a child, his family lived near a
cemetary, and for amusement Mencius often staged the
rites which he saw in funeral processions or in burial
services. His mother said, "This is not the place
where I want to raise a child."
Later on they moved to a marketplace, and Mencius
began to imitate merchants doing business. "This
is not the place where I want to raise my child,
either." his mother said.
Again they moved, but next to a school. All
eyes and ears, Mencius naturally began to imitate the
courtesies and study habits of the students.
Overserving this, his mother happily said, "This is
where we live from now on."
The Lost Horse A
man who lived on the northern frontier of China
was skilled in interpreting events. One day for no
reason, his horse ran away to the nomads across
the border. Everyone tried to console him, but his
father said, "What makes you so sure this isn't a
blessing?" Some months later his horse
returned bringing a splendid nomad stallion.
Everyone congratulated him, but his father said,
"What makes you so sure this isn't a
disaster?" Their household was richer by a
fine horse, which the son loved to ride.
One day he fell and broke his hip.
Everyone tried to console him, but his father
said, "What makes you so sure this isn't a
blessing?"
A year later the nomads came in
force across the border, and every able-bodied man
took his bow and went into battle. The
Chinese frontiersmen lost nine of every ten
men. Only because the son was lame did
father and son survive to take care of each
other. Truly, blessing turns to disaster,
and disaster to blessing: the changes have
no end, nor can the mystery be fathomed.
The title of this story, is actually a
commonly used Chinese idiom or
chengyu. It literally
translates as "Old Sai loses a horse". Old
Sai is the wise man in the fable. The
expression is used to remind others to take life
in stride because things aren't really as good
(or bad) as they seem. Certainly seems
like a wise advice for a society that lives
only for the present
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