Translation of Zheng Ren Buying Lu in classical Chinese

1. Translation

Once upon a time, there was a man from Zheng who wanted to buy a new pair of shoes, so he measured the size of his feet in advance, and then put the measured size on his on the seat. (Zheng Guoren) When he arrived at the market, he forgot to bring his size. (Zheng Guoren) After picking out shoes, he realized: "I forgot to bring the size." So he returned home to get the size. When he returned to the market, the market was closed and he didn't buy any shoes.

Someone asked: "Why don't you try the shoes on your own feet?" He replied: "I would rather believe in the measured size than my own feet."

2. Original text

If a Zheng person wants to buy a pair of shoes (some books say, "A Zheng person wants to buy a pair of shoes"), he should first hold his feet up (duó) and then sit on them. Go to the market and forget to operate it. Having found the shoes, he said: "I forgot to keep it!" When he rebelled, he was dismissed from the market and could not carry out his duties.

People said: "Why not give it a try?" He said: "It is better to be trustworthy than to be confident."

3. Source

Han Feizi's "Han Feizi·Wai Chu Shuo Upper Left" written by Han Feizi during the Warring States Period. Extended information

1. Enlightenment

Be able to be flexible and adaptable when dealing with things. You must not stick to rules or stick to dogma. You must pay attention to objective and realistic facts, and you must proceed from reality when dealing with people.

2. Introduction to the author

Han Fei (about 280 BC - 233 BC) was a native of Xinzheng, the capital of South Korea (now Xinzheng City, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province) during the Warring States Period. Representative figure, outstanding thinker, philosopher and essayist. The son of King Han, a student of Xunzi, and a senior fellow student of Li Sitong.

Han Feizi is the master of Legalism. His works on Legalism provided a theoretical basis for the birth of China's first unified and authoritarian centralized state.

Han Fei loved his motherland deeply, but he was not taken seriously by the King of Han, but the King of Qin sent troops to attack South Korea in order to get Han Fei. After Han Fei entered Qin, he wrote to the King of Qin about his strategy to weaken Qin and protect Han, but in the end he could not be used by the King of Qin. Han Fei was imprisoned because of his impeachment against Yao Jia, the high minister, which caused Yao Jia's revenge. Later Li Si was imprisoned and poisoned.

Although Han Fei died, his Legalist thoughts were reused by King Yingzheng of Qin, who regarded "Han Feizi" as the key to the governance of Qin. Help Qin become rich and powerful, and eventually unify the six countries. Han Fei's thoughts were profound and advanced, and had a profound impact on future generations. Han Fei combined Shang Yang's "method", Shen Buhai's "technique" and Shen Dao's "power" into one, and was the master of Legalist thought.

Han Fei integrated Laozi’s dialectics, simple materialism and law. He is the author of "Han Feizi", with fifty-five chapters and more than 100,000 words. It is unique among the prose of pre-Qin scholars, showing that Han Fei attaches great importance to materialism and utilitarianism, and actively advocates the theory of monarchical absolutism, with the purpose of providing the autocratic monarch with the idea of ??enriching the country and strengthening the army.

"Historical Records" records: When the King of Qin saw the books "Gu Ang" and "Five Beetles", he said: "Sorry, I will see this person traveling with him, and I will die with hatred!" It can be seen that the King of Qin at that time of attention.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Zheng Ren buys shoes