《孟子》中英文版
第五编 《滕文公上》(2)
第二章 上行下效的实例
滕定公薨。世子謂然友曰：“昔者孟子嘗與我言於宋，於心終不忘。今也不幸至於大故，吾欲使子問於孟子，然後行事。”
When the duke Ding of Teng died, the prince said to Ran You, 'Formerly, Mencius spoke with me in Song, and in my mind I have never forgotten his words. Now, alas! this great duty to my father devolves upon me; I wish to send you to ask the advice of Mencius, and then to proceed to its various services'
然友之鄒問於孟子。孟子曰：“不亦善乎！親喪固所自盡也。曾子曰：‘生事之以禮；死葬之以禮，祭之以禮，可謂孝矣。’諸侯之禮，吾未之學也；雖然，吾嘗聞之矣。三年之喪，齊疏之服，飦粥之食，自天子達於庶人，三代共之。”
Ran You accordingly proceeded to Zou, and consulted Mencius. Mencius said, 'Is this not good? In discharging the funeral duties to parents, men indeed feel constrained to do their utmost. The philosopher Zeng said, "When parents are alive, they should be served according to propriety; when they are dead, they should be buried according to propriety; and they should be sacrificed to according to propriety - this may be called filial piety." The ceremonies to be observed by the princes I have not learned, but I have heard these points: that the three years' mourning, the garment of coarse cloth with its lower edge even, and the eating of congee, were equally prescribed by the three dynasties, and binding on all, from the sovereign to the mass of the people.'
然友反命，定為三年之喪。父兄百官皆不欲，曰：“吾宗國魯先君莫之行，吾先君亦莫之行也，至於子之身而反之，不可。且志曰：‘喪祭從先祖。’”曰：“吾有所受之也。”謂然友曰：“吾他日未嘗學問，好馳馬試劍。今也父兄百官不我足也，恐其不能盡於大事，子為我問孟子。”
Ran You reported the execution of his commission, and the prince determined that the three years' mourning should be observed. His aged relatives, and the body of the officers, did not wish that it should be so, and said, 'The former princes of Lu, that kingdom which we honour, have, none of them, observed this practice, neither have any of our own former princes observed it. For you to act contrary to their example is not proper. Moreover, the History says, "In the observances of mourning and sacrifice, ancestors are to be followed," meaning that they received those things from a proper source to hand them down.' The prince said again to Ran You, 'Hitherto, I have not given myself to the pursuit of learning, but have found my pleasure in horsemanship and sword-exercise, and now I don't come up to the wishes of my aged relatives and the officers. I am afraid I may not be able to discharge my duty in the great business that I have entered on; do you again consult Mencius for me.'
然友復之鄒問孟子。孟子曰：“然。不可以他求者也。孔子曰：‘君薨，聽於冢宰。歠粥，面深墨。即位而哭，百官有司，莫敢不哀，先之也。’上有好者，下必有甚焉者矣。‘君子之德，風也；小人之德，草也。草尚之風必偃。’是在世子。”
On this, Ran You went again to Zou, and consulted Mencius. Mencius said, 'It is so, but he may not seek a remedy in others, but only in himself. Confucius said, "When a prince dies, his successor entrusts the administration to the prime minister. He sips the congee. His face is of a deep black. He approaches the place of mourning, and weeps. Of all the officers and inferior ministers there is not one who will presume not to join in the lamentation, he setting them this example. What the superior loves, his inferiors will be found to love exceedingly. The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows upon it." The business depends on the prince.'
然友反命。世子曰：“然。是誠在我。”五月居廬，未有命戒。百官族人可謂曰知。及至葬，四方來觀之，顏色之戚，哭泣之哀，弔者大悅。
Ran You returned with this answer to his commission, and the prince said, 'It is so. The matter does indeed depend on me.' So for five months he dwelt in the shed, without issuing an order or a caution. All the officers and his relatives said, 'He may be said to understand the ceremonies.' When the time of interment arrived, they came from all quarters of the State to witness it. Those who had come from other States to condole with him, were greatly pleased with the deep dejection of his countenance and the mournfulness of his wailing and weeping.
【原文】
滕定公①薨②，世子谓然友③曰：“昔者孟子尝与我言于于宋，于心终不忘，今也不幸至于大故④，吾欲使子问于孟子，然后行事。”
然友之邹⑤问于孟子。
孟子曰：“不亦善乎！亲丧，固所自尽（6）也。曾子曰：“生，事之以礼；死，葬之以礼，祭之以礼，可谓孝矣（7）。’诸侯之礼，吾未之学也；虽然，吾尝闻之矣。三年之丧(8)，齐疏之服(9)，飦粥之食(10)，自天子达于庶人，三代共之。”
然友反命，定为三年之丧。父兄百官皆不欲，曰：“吾宗国(11)鲁先君莫之行，吾先君亦莫之行也，至于子之身而反之，不可，且《志》(12)曰：‘丧祭从先祖。’曰：‘吾有所受之也。’”
谓然友曰：“吾他日未尝学问，好驰马试剑。今也父兄百官不我足也，恐其不能尽于大事，子为我问孟子！”然友复之邹问孟子。
孟子曰：“然，不可以他求者也。孔子曰：‘君薨，听于冢宰(13)，歠(14)粥，面深墨，即位而哭，百官有司莫敢不哀，先之也。'上有好者，下必有甚焉者矣。君子之德，风也；小人之德，草也。草尚之风，必偃(15)。是在世子。”
然友反命。
世子曰：“然；是诚在我。”
五月居庐(16)，未有命戒。百官族人可，谓曰知。及至葬，四方来观之，颜色之戚，哭泣之哀，吊者大悦。
【注释】
①滕定公：滕文公的父亲。
②薨：死。古代称侯王死叫“薨”，唐代以后用于指二品以上官员死。
③然友：人名，太子的老师．
④大故：重大的事故，指大丧、凶灾之类。
⑤之：至，到。邹与滕相距只有四十余里，所以可以问后行事。
（6）自尽：尽自己最大的心力．
（7）曾子曰：这几句话在《论语·为政》中是孔子对樊迟说的。
（8）三年之丧：指子女为父母、臣下为君主守孝三年。
（9）齐（zi）疏之服：用粗布做的缝边的丧服。齐，指衣服缝边。古代丧服叫做衰（CUT），不缝衣边的叫“斩衰”，缝衣边的叫“齐衰”。
（10）飦（zhan）；稠粥。粥：稀粥．这里是偏义复词，指稀粥。
（11）宗国：鲁、膝诸国的始封祖都是周文王的儿子，而周公封鲁，于行辈较长，所以其余姬姓诸国都以鲁为宗国。
（12）《志》：记国家世系等的一种书。
（13）冢宰：官名。在君王居丧期间代理朝政．
（14）歠（Chuo）：饮。
（15）君子之德………必偃：这几句出自《论语·颜渊》篇孔子的话。“尚”与“上”同；偃，倒下。
（16）五月居庐：居住在丧庐中五个月。
【译文】
滕定公死了，太子对老师然友说：“上次在宋国的时候孟子和我谈了许多，我记在心里久久不忘。今天不幸父亲去世，我想请您先去请教孟子，然后才办丧事。”
然友便到邹国去向孟子请教。
孟子说：“好得很啊！父母的丧事本来就应该尽心竭力。曾子说：‘父母活着的时候，依照礼节侍奉他们；父母去世，依照礼节安葬他们，依照礼节祭把他们，就可以叫做孝了。’诸侯的礼节，我不曾专门学过，但却也听说过。三年的丧期，穿着粗布做的孝服，喝稀粥。从天子一直到老百姓，夏、商、周三代都是这样的．”
然友回国报告了太子，太子便决定实行三年的丧礼。滕国的父老官吏都不愿意。他们说：“我们的宗国鲁国的历代君主没有这样实行过，我们自己的历代祖先也没有这样实行过，到了您这一代便改变祖先的做法，这是不应该的。而且《志》上说过：‘丧礼祭祖一律依照祖先的规矩。’还说：‘道理就在于我们有所继承．’”
太子对然友说：“我过去不曾做过什么学问，只喜欢跑马舞剑。现在父老官吏们都对我实行三年丧礼不满，恐怕我处理不好这件大事，请您再去替我问问孟子吧！”
然友再次到邹国请教孟子。孟子说：“要坚持这样做，不可以改变。孔子说过：‘君王死了，太子把一切政务都交给家事代理，自己每天喝稀粥。脸色深黑，就临孝子之位便哭泣，大小官吏没有谁敢不悲哀，这是因为太子亲自带头的缘故。’在上位的人有什么喜好，下面的人一定就会喜好得更厉害。领导人的德行是风，老百姓的德行是草。草受风吹，必然随风倒。所以，这件事完全取决于太子。”
然友回国报告了太子。
太子说：“是啊，这件事确实取决于我。”
于是太子在丧庐中住了五个月，没有颁布过任何命令和禁令。大小官吏和同族的人都很赞成，认为太子知礼。等到下葬的那一天，四面八方的人都来观看，太子面容的悲伤，哭泣的哀痛，使前来吊丧的人都非常满意。
【读解】
领导人以身作则，上行下效是孔子反复申说的一个话题，孟子也同样继承了孔子的思想。他在本章里所说的“君子之德，风也；小人之德，草也。革尚之风，必惬。”正是孔子在《颜渊》里面说的“君子之德风，小人之德草，草上之风，必修’的翻版。
由此可见，以身作则，上行下效是孔子、孟子都非常重视的政治领导原则。而本章正是这样一个上行下效的实例。滕国的太子（也就是后来的膝文公）死了父亲，由于他上一次在宋国听了孟子“道性善，言必称尧舜”，给他留下了很深刻很听得进去的印象，所以这一次遇事，他就托自己的老师去向孟子请教如何办丧事。孟子的意见回来以后，太子发出了实施三年丧礼的命令，结果遭到了大家的反对，“虽令不从”。太子于是又再次请老师去问计于孟子，这一次孟子讲了上行下效，以身作则的道理，希望太子亲自带头这样作。结果，丧事办得非常成功，大家都很满意，“不令而行”。
从这件事上，我们固然可以看到儒家对于丧礼的观点，但对我们更有启发意义的，还是领导人以身作则的问题，正如我们在《论语·颜渊》的读解中所概括，这是一种“风吹草动”的统治术．风不吹，草怎么会动起来呢？反过来说，要草动，风就得不断地吹啊！。 |
