Teaching a man to fish is better than teaching him a fish
half a word difference
Once upon a time, two hungry men went out to seek a way to survive. An elder gave them two things as a gift for them to choose - a fishing rod or a basket of fat fish. One hungry man took away the basket of live fish, and the other hungry man took away the fishing rod.
The person who caught the fish ate and drank so much that he starved to death next to the empty fish basket a few days later. Another man started fishing for a living. A few years later, he built a new house, married a wife, and lived a happy and healthy life.
A short story, I realized the great truth of life, and then came up with the famous motto: "It is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish." It is also said that "it is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish."
all say that it is better to teach people how to hunt for food than to give them food. Although this phrase is only half a word different from "鱼" and "鱼", its meaning and effect are quite different.
Having fish to eat is the goal, and being able to fish is the means. The ancestors interpreted various similar sayings from this: "It is better to teach people with talents than to give them money; it is better to teach people with skills than to teach people with talents."
"Give a man a fish and you will have one meal; teach a man to fish and you will have a lifetime."
"Give a man a fish, and he will eat fish for a day; teach a man to fish, and he will fish for a lifetime."
"It is better to teach people to desire than to teach them how to fish."
"It is better to educate people to be strong than to treat others with ease."
"It is better to retreat and build a net if you are looking for a fish in the abyss."
"It is better to go home and weave a net if you are envious of fish when you are near the river."
There is a British proverb with a similar meaning: "It is better to give someone a shotgun than to give him bread."
The Embarrassment of Giving a Man a Fish
China has been in a long-term feudal society. The brightness of politics and the purity of officialdom have a subtle impact on the ethics of officials and even the effectiveness of governance.
Although the administration of officials is bad and luxury is common, those who are officials will become dirty themselves, and those who are pure will become pure.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Gongsun Yi served as the prime minister of Lu State . He loved to eat fish. Relatives and friends rushed to buy fish as gifts for him, but Gongsun Yi always refused to accept it.
His disciples asked in confusion: "You like to eat fish, but you are unwilling to accept gifts from others. Why?" Gongsun Yi said: "It is because you like to eat fish that you refuse to accept them. If you accept fish from others, you will inevitably treat others badly. If you feel humble, you may break the law, and if you break the law, you will be exempted from the aspect. If you want to eat fish if you don't accept it, you will not be exempted from the aspect, and you can be self-sufficient for a long time."
Gongsun Yi. Juyu told the truth that the reason why he didn't want to be corrupt and didn't dare to be corrupt was just to keep his position. Once you have an official position, you can rely on your generous salary to eat and buy whatever fish you want. Once you lose your black yarn , who can satisfy your appetite for a long time?
Gongsun Yi is indeed a shrewd person. He will definitely not do that stupid thing of "healing the sores in front of his eyes but removing the flesh in his heart"!
There are many honest and forward-looking officials like Gongsun Yi in history.
When Emperors Huan and Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty were in power, a man named Yang Xu served as the Lujiang prefect. He liked to eat fresh fish very much. In March of this year, Jiao Jian, the magistrate of the government, sent a large fresh carp. Yang Xu repeatedly refused, so he hung the fish in the court to express his intention of refusing the gift. Over time, the fish becomes dried in the sun.
In March of the following year, Jiao Jian sent another fresh fish. Yang Xu didn't say anything, but just took out last year's dead fish and showed it to Jiao Jian. Jiao Jian understood Yang Xu's virtues of thrift and thrift, so he stopped sending fish.
Similar to Yangxuxuanyu, there is also the Southern Dynasties the honest official Fu Zhao.
"Southern History" records that Fu Zhao was appointed as the internal history of Ancheng (now Anfu, Jiangxi). Fish was not produced there, so it was regarded as a delicacy on the table.
One summer, someone brought Fu Zhao some big, fresh fish. Fu Zhao neither accepted the gift nor refused it outright. Instead, he hung the fish by the door and let it dry day by day. When people passed by his house and saw the dried fish, they naturally understood the owner's intention.
Yangxu and Fu Zhao used the same euphemistic trick to let the fresh fish wither to show their desire to clean themselves, and their intentions were good.
The allusion of "closing the altar and withdrawing the fish" tells the story of a mother who resolutely refused the fish sent by her son.
Eastern Jin Tao Kan was born in poverty and worked as a small official in charge of fisheries in the county. He knew that his mother Zhan loved salted fish, so he asked someone to bring a jar of salted fish to the old man.
Tao Mu asked the visitor, how did his son get these fish? The visitor said that Mr. Tao was in charge of the government's fisheries, and doing this little pickled fish was nothing.
Tao's mother returned the pickled fish intact and attached a letter, sternly reprimanding her son: "As an official, you leave me official property. Not only will it not benefit me, but it will increase my worries!"
The meaning is that as an official in charge of fisheries, you gave me government items. Not only did you not feel that you were fulfilling your filial duty for your son, but it made my mother even more worried.
Since then, Tao Kan has always kept in mind his mother's teachings, lived an honest man, and served as an official with innocence, and later grew into a famous official of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Later generations praised Tao's mother: "If a mother like Zhan can teach her sons, why would the country suffer from having no talents to use!"
From the above, it is not difficult to see that "what is good at the top will be better at the bottom." ". Teaching someone a fish is actually bribing someone with gifts. For those who hold power, their verbal hobbies often become a breach of corruption for others, so we must be warned.
Apocalypse of Teaching Fishing
Nothing is difficult in the world, only those who are willing can do it. It can not only avoid corruption in the mouth, but also satisfy the craving for food. The ancients came up with clever tricks one after another.
In the early Ming Dynasty, Xu Du, the governor of Changzhou , loved to eat Taihu white fish. Once, a fisherman filed a lawsuit. In order to win the lawsuit, the fisherman specially sent some big and fat Taihu white fish to Xu Du, but Xu Du refused to take them. The fisherman asked in confusion: "Don't you like to eat fish? , why not accept it?"
Xu Du's response was exactly the same as Gongsun Yi, the Prime Minister of Lu State in the Spring and Autumn Period: "It is precisely because I like to eat fish that I cannot accept it. If I accept your fish, I will be accepting bribes and I may be dismissed. Wusha and salary are gone, how can I buy fish in the future?"
Xu Du said to the fisherman, "Why don't you teach me how to weave a net for fishing after the lawsuit is over?" ! ”
This approach is truly “teaching people how to fish is worse than teaching them how to fish”. Soon, Xu Du quickly learned to weave a net for fishing. Whenever he had free time, he would drive a small boat to the lake to fish.
Once, Zhu Yuanzhang visited Changzhou, and Xu Du entertained him with a big fish feast. Zhu Yuanzhang asked doubtfully: "With your salary, how can you get the money to buy so many fish?" The implication is that you have offended the local people.
Xu Du said that the fish on the table were caught by himself. Zhu Yuanzhang was doubtful, so he went to the lake with Xu Du and saw with his own eyes that he cast a net to catch fish as good as an experienced fisherman. Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he immediately rewarded Xu Du with silver patterns One hundred taels.
When Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the court, he still greatly appreciated Xu Du's self-taught fishing. As a result, many Ming Dynasty county and government officials became proficient in farming, planting, breeding and other survival methods.
Xu Du was not the only honest official who weaved nets for fishing in history. According to the records of "Wu Lu", Meng Ren, a native of Wu in the Three Kingdoms, was Sima of Salt Pond. He could make nets and fish by himself. Taking advantage of the convenience of managing the salt pond, he caught a lot of fish, dried them and dried them, and sent them all the way to honor his mother.
Unexpectedly, the mother was not only unhappy, but also sent the dried fish back and wrote a letter blaming her son. The mother said in the letter: "Sir, as a fisherman, you pretended to be a public servant and gave me fish to eat privately. How can a mother swallow it? You should avoid suspicion."
Meng Ren knew that his mother had wrongly blamed him, so he stayed away from home for thousands of miles. I took my mother back and let her see with my own eyes that the child could weave a net and catch fish in the sea, and then I felt relieved.
Historical question: "How to balance the relationship between personal eating habits and refusal to bribe and fight corruption?"
This has been a difficult problem since ancient times. The folk saying is the most vivid description: "The fish smells bad when it hangs, and the cat loses weight when it meows."
Xu Du and Meng Ren avoid teaching fish by giving them the best of both worlds, and everyone is happy. It reminds people of the old saying: "As long as the mind does not slip, there are always more solutions than difficulties."
