學謙讓 . . 行不去處，須知退一步之法…

學謙讓
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行不去處，須知退一步之法；
行得去處，務加讓三分之功。—《菜根譚》
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安徽桐城有一條街，叫做六尺巷。怎麼叫六尺巷呢？
聽說清朝初年，桐城有個張家，三代都是宰相，卻為了蓋房子爭土地。隔壁鄰居說這個地是我的，這個宰相也說這個地是我的，為了這塊三尺地爭得面紅耳赤，最後打上官司。

因為張家是宰相之家，不怕打官司，宰相讓管家趕快寫封信到京城裡頭，給縣長講一定要判我們贏。
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當縣長接到這封信，看完。在信上批了幾個字寄回：「千里求書為道牆，讓他三尺又何妨？長城萬里今猶在，誰見當年秦始皇？」
宰相看完這封信，決定不打官司了，趕快讓出來三尺，表示自己的氣度，對方也不好意思的退三尺，這件事圓滿了。所以才傳留下來了「六尺巷」的美談。
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因此，待人寬一分是福，利人其實是利己，天底下的智慧，謙讓的方便之門其實是靠你的智慧來完成。
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#學謙讓 、#菜根譚 、#六尺巷
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Cultivating humility

When one’s path is obstacle-laden, one needs to put humility at the fore;
When one’s path is smooth, one needs to work three times harder at humility.
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The above is one of the aphorisms from the book Caigentan that urged for cultivation of humility toward all, in times of adversity and even more so in times of fortune.
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Ever heard of the Six Feet Lane in Tongcheng, Anhui, and wondered about its beginnings?
During the Qing dynasty, there was an illustrious Zhang family, whose patriarchs served as Prime Ministers for three generations. This family disputed with his neighbor over the surrounding land in order to build his villa. Neither side was prepared to give way over the three feet border of land. The situation escalated to the Judicial Court.
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The Zhang family, being senior officials, was not afraid of the lawsuit. Prime Minister Zhang had his aide reach out in a letter to the county head in the Capital to pass the judgement in favor of the Zhang family.
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Having received and read the letter, the county head responded cryptically, “… if you can reach out over thousands of miles to seek a favor, is it too much to give up a three feet wide space? The thousand-mile glorious Great Wall is clear for all to see, yet how many have any idea how its originator Emperor Qin look like?”
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Upon reading the response, Prime Minister Zhang immediately stopped pursuing the case, and offered the three feet wide space to his neighbor as a gesture of magnanimity. The neighbor, surprised by the change of heart, reciprocated by giving up another three feet of space, bringing the matter to rest. This story thereafter came to be known as the “Six Feet Lane” legend.
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Another tale involved a Prince Guo Ziyi《郭子仪》during the Tang dynasty. Emerging victorious from a battle and in celebratory spirits, the Prince wanted to build a villa and decided to supervise its construction. He would constantly remind the workers to perform and not fail in their mission. The workers, tired of the incessant badgering, took to reassure the Prince that his family of three generations in Chang’an had been specializing in masonry work. In fact, they had constructed countless villas and never had one collapsed. The houses had also outlasted several owners! From that instance, Prince Guo stopped hassling the workers.
.
Through these simple yet philosophical occurrences, Prime Minister Zhang and Prince Guo learnt their lessons in humility.
Humility is a great virtue; when one takes the first step towards humility by giving way and giving selflessly, one benefits and gains greater wisdom.

#CultivatingHumility, #CaiGenTan #SixFeetLanernrn學謙讓
.
.
行不去處，須知退一步之法；
行得去處，務加讓三分之功。—《菜根譚》
.
安徽桐城有一條街，叫做六尺巷。怎麼叫六尺巷呢？
聽說清朝初年，桐城有個張家，三代都是宰相，卻為了蓋房子爭土地。隔壁鄰居說這個地是我的，這個宰相也說這個地是我的，為了這塊三尺地爭得面紅耳赤，最後打上官司。

因為張家是宰相之家，不怕打官司，宰相讓管家趕快寫封信到京城裡頭，給縣長講一定要判我們贏。
.
當縣長接到這封信，看完。在信上批了幾個字寄回：「千里求書為道牆，讓他三尺又何妨？長城萬里今猶在，誰見當年秦始皇？」
宰相看完這封信，決定不打官司了，趕快讓出來三尺，表示自己的氣度，對方也不好意思的退三尺，這件事圓滿了。所以才傳留下來了「六尺巷」的美談。
.
因此，待人寬一分是福，利人其實是利己，天底下的智慧，謙讓的方便之門其實是靠你的智慧來完成。
.
.
.
#學謙讓 、#菜根譚 、#六尺巷
.
.
Cultivating humility

When one’s path is obstacle-laden, one needs to put humility at the fore;
When one’s path is smooth, one needs to work three times harder at humility.
.
The above is one of the aphorisms from the book Caigentan that urged for cultivation of humility toward all, in times of adversity and even more so in times of fortune.
.
Ever heard of the Six Feet Lane in Tongcheng, Anhui, and wondered about its beginnings?
During the Qing dynasty, there was an illustrious Zhang family, whose patriarchs served as Prime Ministers for three generations. This family disputed with his neighbor over the surrounding land in order to build his villa. Neither side was prepared to give way over the three feet border of land. The situation escalated to the Judicial Court.
.
The Zhang family, being senior officials, was not afraid of the lawsuit. Prime Minister Zhang had his aide reach out in a letter to the county head in the Capital to pass the judgement in favor of the Zhang family.
.
Having received and read the letter, the county head responded cryptically, “… if you can reach out over thousands of miles to seek a favor, is it too much to give up a three feet wide space? The thousand-mile glorious Great Wall is clear for all to see, yet how many have any idea how its originator Emperor Qin look like?”
.
Upon reading the response, Prime Minister Zhang immediately stopped pursuing the case, and offered the three feet wide space to his neighbor as a gesture of magnanimity. The neighbor, surprised by the change of heart, reciprocated by giving up another three feet of space, bringing the matter to rest. This story thereafter came to be known as the “Six Feet Lane” legend.
.
Another tale involved a Prince Guo Ziyi《郭子仪》during the Tang dynasty. Emerging victorious from a battle and in celebratory spirits, the Prince wanted to build a villa and decided to supervise its construction. He would constantly remind the workers to perform and not fail in their mission. The workers, tired of the incessant badgering, took to reassure the Prince that his family of three generations in Chang’an had been specializing in masonry work. In fact, they had constructed countless villas and never had one collapsed. The houses had also outlasted several owners! From that instance, Prince Guo stopped hassling the workers.
.
Through these simple yet philosophical occurrences, Prime Minister Zhang and Prince Guo learnt their lessons in humility.
Humility is a great virtue; when one takes the first step towards humility by giving way and giving selflessly, one benefits and gains greater wisdom.

#CultivatingHumility, #CaiGenTan #SixFeetLane

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