eat one's word

Idiom files

【Source】(Warring States) Meng "Mencius Suffers from the King"

【Interpretation】Er: You; Against: "return", return. What you do, you will receive

kind of consequences. Now it is self-contradictory to describe people's words and deeds.

Idiom stories

During the Warring States period, the princes competed for hegemony, wars continued, coupled with natural and man-made disasters, old

The surname is miserable. The neighboring countries and the Lu country were both small countries at that time, and their national strength was almost the same

One year, the two countries were at war, and Zou Mugong thought that this war must be a bitter one

It is difficult for the two sides to distinguish the winner from the loser.

Unexpectedly, not long after the war began, the Zou State lost its weight and soldiers everywhere

The creation and release were completely unsatisfactory to the life and death of his own general, and the Zou State was soon defeated by the Lu State

Finish. Zou Mugong was very angry, thinking that the people of Zou State did not support him, so he went

Ask Mencius for advice on how to punish these people.

Zou Mugong said: "This time in the war with the Lu State, the strength is about the same, and

And neighbors still have the possibility of winning, and even if they lose, they should not lose like this

Fast. In this war, thirty-three of my generals were killed, but the native soldiers were safe

Unharmed, they saw that the generals of their country were killed, but they sat back and did not save them, which is really okay

Evil! If you kill these soldiers, there are too many of them, and they can't kill them all, and

If you kill them, who will defend the Zou State: if you don't kill them, these soldiers are too bad

Hate. What should I do, you say?

When Mencius heard this, he said, "How did your people live in the years of famine?

Yes? Maybe the king doesn't remember. The old and frail starved to death in the barren ravine, in the prime of life

Thousands of people have fled to all directions, but your granary is full of food,

If there is enough money in the treasury, not only will they not open a warehouse to help the victims, but your officials will also pay it back

is still living a drunk, obscene and rancid life, this is not harming the hundreds

Surname? There are at least thousands of people who have suffered, right? You complain about the common people

If you don't die, then did your officials save them? None of the officials are to you

Report, this is to snub the king and harm the people. Zeng Tzu said

of the Ring! Those who are out of the way are also those who are against you. 'How do you treat others?'

The same is how others answer you. Who can you blame when the people answer you like this?

This? If the monarch cares about the common people, the common people will naturally support the monarch, naturally

willingly contributed to the king, even at the cost of their lives. "Zou Mu

After listening to Mencius's words, the public suddenly woke up and began to implement benevolent government.