..續本文上一頁 seven steps; if his brother failed, he would use it as a pretext to execute him. Unexpectedly, in the short time it took to walk seven steps, Cao Zhi chanted this famous "Seven-step Poem"：

　　煮豆燃豆箕，豆在釜中泣；

　　本是同根生，相煎何太急？

　　The beans are being cooked Over a fire of bean stalks.

　　From within the pot, the beans cry out：

　　"We both came from the same root;

　　Aren”t we being too hasty in torturing each other？

　　他說，我好比那熱鍋裏被煮的豆子，而用來生火煮我的，卻是哥哥你這同根生長的豆梗；哥哥啊！你爲什麼這麼樣迫害我呢？這時一直緊張地躲在後面偷看的太後，忍不住跑出來，抱住曹植哭得死去活來，曹丕也掉下了淚，放曹植遠去了。

　　"Cao Zhi”s meaning was, "I am like some beans being cooked in a pot, and the fuel that is used for the fire to cook me is you, my brother--the bean stalks that grew from the same root. Brother, why do you want to do me in？" Al that point, the Empress Dowager, who had been watching secretly, couldn”t bear it any longer. She ran out, hugged Cao Zhi. and cried for dear life. Cao Pi shed tears, too, and bid farewell to Cao Zhi.

　　古人說：“帝王之家無親情。”爲了權力地位，甚至父子相殘；兄弟相殺，就更不計其數，但也不是沒有例外的。舜帝所以被稱爲大孝，就因爲他對屢次要害死自己的父親和繼母，不但是始終盡孝不渝；對做幫凶的後弟，更不究既往，封予爵祿。這就是真正能體會親心的孝子！

　　An ancient saying goes, "There are no bonds of kinship in the imperial family." Countless times the desire for power and position pitted father against son, or led brothers to kill one another. However, there have been exceptions. Emperor Shun became known as a greatly filial son because he remained ever filial to his father and stepmother even though they plotted his death many times. As for his stepbrother who was their accomplice, Shun didn”t hold it against him and even bestowed nobility and benefits upon him. This was a filial son who truly understood his parents” hearts.

　　又唐玄宗還是皇子時，因爲他英武而立有大功，他的長兄就把太子位讓給他。唐玄宗即皇位後，就把他做皇子時住的地方加以整修，又蓋了樓，題爲“花萼相輝”；另在四周建造五座宮殿，分賜給他四個親兄弟和一個堂弟，號稱“五王宅”。意思是一登此樓，就可望見五王宅，好像花萼與花一樣相輝映。

　　Another example is Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Since he had earned great merit in battle as a prince, his eldest brother yielded the position of crown prince to him. After he assumed the throne, he renovated the residence he had used when he was a prince, building a tower which he called "The Mutual Shining of Flower and Calyx" there. On the four sides he built five palaces which he conferred upon his four brothers and a cousin. He called them "The Houses of the Five Kings." If one climbed to the top of the tower, one could see the five king”s houses; it was just like the calyx and the flower mutually illumining each other.

　　唐玄宗常和兄弟同遊獵，在玩耍時，彼此只行家人禮，從不擺皇帝架子。任何一個兄弟生病，他必寢食不安，殷勤探問；有一次爲了替幼弟煎藥，還不小心燒著了胡須。最爲人所津津樂道的是“花萼被”和“花萼床”--他特地打了一床六人長枕和大被，並造了一張六人大床，以便和他的兄弟抵足而眠。所以後來的人，就用“花萼”來比喻兄弟的友愛。

　　Emperor Xuanzong often went hunting with his brothers, and during those playful times, the brothers followed the family etiquette among themselves; the Emperor never put on airs. If any one of his brothers got sick, he would not be able to eat or sleep in peace, and would constantly inquire after him. Once when he was boiling medicinal herbs for his little brother, he even burned his beard by accident. The things people like to tell about most are his "Flower and Calyx Blanket" and "Flower and Calyx Bed"-he had a long pillow, large blanket, and large six-person bed custom-made so that he and his brothers could sleep under the same covers. That”s why the term "flower and calyx" has come to be used to refer to brotherly affection.

　　古時候的家庭，孩子幼小時，父母是左手提抱一個、右手牽攜一個這樣地帶著；孩子則是一個抓父母前襟，一個拉父母後裾的跟著。吃飯共一張桌子，衣服也兄弟相傳，有的還同枕共被一床眠；所以縱使孩子有賢愚肖不肖之別，大抵上感情都還親厚；到了各自婚嫁，插入了來自不同家庭背景的新成員，就容易有嫌隙；這時，個人品德的好壞，就很分明地比出來了！大抵而言，小時就著重兄友弟恭的家庭裏，仍是比較經得起考驗的。

　　In the families of ancient times, parents would carry a child in one arm and hold another by the hand; and the children would hang onto their parents” lapel or the hem of their robe. They would sit down at one long table for meals, and clothing would be handed down form older siblings to younger ones. Siblings even slept under the same covers and shared the same pillow sometimes! And so even if some might be smarter or more obedient than others, in general they were all very close. When they got married and new members joined the family, there tended to be some discord. At that point, each person”s moral calibre would become apparent. In general, families in which siblings were taught to show respect and affection for one another had an easier time of it.

　　現在的家庭孩子少了，“個人主義”又方興未艾；莫說獨生的不知孝友爲何物，就有一兩個兄弟姐妹的，也都自小各行其是，毫無禮讓容忍或與人分享的概念。一個家庭可以有叁、四種不同的生活方式，美其名曰“自由”、“進步”；殊不知那已是在開倒車，回到沒有法紀和倫理的原始社會上。恢複舊道德，真是刻不容緩呀！

　　In modern families where there are fewer children, inpidualism is on the rise. Not only do those who are "the only child" have no idea of what filial piety and brotherly affection are, even those with several siblings still do their own thing ever since they are little; they don”t understand what it means to yield to, to accept, or to share with others. In a single family there might even be people leading three or four different kinds of lifestyles. People call this "freedom" and "progress"; little do they know that we are actually regressing to the state of primitive societies that had no laws or ethics. There is no time to be lose: let us quickly return to our old moral and ethical values!

《弟子規淺釋 Standards for Students 第叁章﹕悌 Chapter Three﹕ FRATERNITY - 1》全文閱讀結束。