When the angel of Gong Jing came, Yan Ying, the "reward of fools" in Yan Ying, was eating. Yan Zi invited him to have dinner together, but there was so little food that neither of them could get enough to eat. The messenger went back and told Gong Jing about the situation. Gong Jing sighed, "alas! I didn't know Yan Ying's family was so poor. This is my fault. " So he sent someone to reward Yanzi for a market that can collect thousands of taxes as his entertainment expenses. After three visits, Yan Zi refused to accept it. He said sincerely, "My family is not poor. Thanks to the gift of the monarch, my relatives can eat their stomachs, my friends can benefit from me, and sometimes they can help the people. That's enough. If the monarch gives me more things, if I use them to benefit the people, it is to rule the people instead of the monarch, and loyal ministers can't do this; Not letting it benefit the people is equivalent to taking the monarch's property as possession, and the benevolent can't do this; If the monarch takes too much property, others will be dissatisfied with me. After my death, all the property belongs to others. Smart people don't do that. As long as I'm not hungry or cold, that's enough. " Gong Jing asked, "In the past, the late monarch gave Guan Zhong five hundred Li of fief, but Guan Zhong did not refuse. Why do you refuse again and again? " Yan Ying replied, "A sage who cares more will lose something, but a fool who cares more will gain something. This is probably the loss of Guan Zhong's sage, and I am a fool's gain from Yan Ying! " /See Yanzi Chunqiu Volume VI, Xiang Shuo Yuan Volume II/Yanzi Chunqiu Volume VI: Yanzi Fangshi, Jing Shizhi. Divide the food, the messenger is not full, and Yan Zi is not full. The messenger objected and the words were public. Gong said, "Hey! If Yanzi's family is poor, I don't know, it's my fault. " Please send an official daughter and a city rent to serve the guests. Yan Zi said it three times, and finally bowed his head and said, "The baby's home is not poor. With the courtesy of the monarch, build three families and make friends. With the roots of the people, the ceremony of the monarch is also thick! The baby's family is not poor. When a baby hears it, her husband will be the king, and Shi Zhimin is a minister representing the people of Jun Jun. A loyal minister will not do this. Generously taking the king and not giving it to the people is a hidden basket, and the benevolent does not do it. Enterprising for the monarch, retreating to offend the scholar, and moving wealth to others after death is to slaughter and hide, but the wise do not do it. In short, a bean is enough to avoid it. " Gong Jing called Yan Zi and said, "In the past, I was your predecessor, Huan Gong, and I received 500 letters from the book club. Why should I leave without saying goodbye? " Yan Zi said, "When a baby hears about it, a sage loses when he worries, and a fool gains when he worries. Who cares about the loss of the clock, who gets the baby? " .

Einstein's "four noes" few people can understand Einstein's theory of relativity and the reason why he lived a very happy life. There are "four noes" in his life: "Dont Ask For Help has no fame, no profit and no applause", so his life is full. He also said that he got more happiness from his work, violin and sailing than all the glories in the world. /Excerpted from Fan Li's Four No's in Life, Reader's Digest No.65438 +099 1, No.65438 +0 1.

Horses don't eat wheat, and the custom of supporting the army stipulates that pigs should be fed fried wheat. The foal in the court was not convinced. He said to his mother, "We work for the king, no matter how far or near, and go all out. Why do we eat cut weeds and drink dead water? " The mare warned the foal, "Don't be jealous that pigs eat fried wheat. In a few days, you will see its harm. " Whenever the new year comes, or when there is a holiday party, every household should catch pigs, slaughter them and put them in the soup pot. The pig howled desperately, which was terrible. At this time, the mare said to the foal, "Don't you want to eat fried wheat? Go and see the consequences. " Pony went to the scene to see how inappropriate the previous idea was. From then on, it ate weeds with peace of mind and never wanted to eat fried wheat again. Even if it meets wheat sometimes, it avoids eating it. /Excerpted from Selected Stories of Buddhist Scriptures by Xie Shengbao.

Hu's contentment made him happy. In the Ming Dynasty, Hu was a disciple of Wu Yubi, a master of Confucianism. He asked himself to practice the "Tao" of Confucianism. His family is very poor and urges the children to work hard, so they can barely make ends meet. However, he burns incense every night, thanking God for letting him enjoy a "quiet life". His wife smiled and said, "Three meals a day of porridge, what is this?" He said: "Fortunately, everything is peaceful and there is no war; Fortunately, there is land to farm at home, and there is no worry about food and clothing; No one is sick, and no one is in prison. What is not a happy life? " /Huang Qingzong's "Ming Confucianism Case" Volume II "Chongren Learning Case II": Hu Zifeng Yi, a native of western Shanxi, studied Taoism from Kangzhai since childhood. The family is very poor, and hard work only gives food and clothing. Burn incense every day, thank you for your happiness. His wife smiled and said, "How can you be happy with porridge and three kitchens?" Mr. Wang said, "Fortunately, the world is at peace and there is no military disaster. Fortunately, there is no hunger and cold at home. No happiness for patients, no prison for prisoners. Why are you unhappy? "

Be troubled by the desire to get.

The two brothers farm together. The two brothers farmed the fields together. When the rice is ripe, they discuss how to distribute it. The elder brother said to the younger brother, "I take the upper part of the rice and you take the half." My brother is surprised that my brother is so unfair. My brother said, "It's not difficult. Wait until next year, you take half and I will take half! " "In the second year, my brother urged my brother to plant seeds quickly, and my brother said; Plant taro this year. "/Ming Fu Bai Zhai master" Laughing Forest ":If there is a fellow brother, we can discuss it when the grain is ripe. My brother said, "I'll take the top one and you take it down." "My brother was stunned by his injustice. My brother said, "It's not difficult. You take it up next year and I'll take it down. "The next year, my brother urged my brother to plant grain. My brother said, "Plant taro this year! "

Brewing in partnership A and B intend to brew in partnership. A said to B, "You get out of the rice, I get out of the water." B said, "The rice is mine. How can I settle accounts in the future? " A said, "I will never let you suffer." When the wine is ripe, you just need to return the water to me at once, and the rest is yours! " "/See Feng Ming magnum" Laughing at the House and Stabbing the Custom "

The old farmer is ungrateful. One night, the old farmer and his long-term worker Stepan were walking in the Woods when a bear came face to face. The old farmer could not shout twice, so he was held down by the claws like bear pliers. The bear grabbed him tightly, turned him over and pushed him to the ground tightly, trying to choose a good place to eat. The old farmer's life is almost over. "Stepan, good Stepan, don't destroy!" His poor cry for help came from under the bear. Stepan used up all his strength, swung an axe, cut off half of the bear's head and pierced the bear's stomach with a steel fork. The bear let out a cry and fell to the ground, half dead. The bear swallowed his last breath. When the crisis was over, the old farmer scolded his rescuer. Poor Stepan just stood there. "Oh, my God! Why is this? " "Fool, you still ask? Stop smirking, or it will be too late! You made a fool of yourself and ruined the whole good bearskin! " /Excerpted from [krylov's Fable]

Be obsessed with money

There is a greedy man who robs gold in the state of Qi, and he is bent on getting gold. One morning, he put on his clothes and hat and went to the place where gold was sold. Seeing someone holding gold in his hand, I took it away. Security guards caught him on the spot, tied him up and asked him, "How dare you rob others of their gold when there are so many people here?" He replied, "I only see gold in my eyes, not people!" " "/"Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Qi people want gold, Qing Dan wears clothes, goes to the place where gold is smashed, and sees people fuck gold and take it. The officials scuffled and tied them, and asked, "Nobody is here, so I'm robbing people of money. Why? "He said to the official," I didn't see anyone, but I saw golden ears! "

Sima Huan, who exhausted the pool to find pearls, had a treasure. He escaped because of a crime. The King of Song sent someone to ask where the treasure was hidden. He said, "It was thrown into the pool." So the king of Song released the water in the pool and went to find the orb. The orb was not found, but all the fish in the pool were killed /"Lu Chunqiu, filial piety, must be for yourself": Song Huan Sima has a treasure bead, and Wang makes people ask where the bead is. Say, "Throw it in the pool." So I used up my pool and asked for it. I got nothing, and the fish died.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius' grandson Zisi lived in Weiguo. A man in Weiguo caught a big mullet that could fill a whole car in the river. Zisi asked the man, "This mullet is the most difficult fish to catch. How did you catch it? " The man replied, "when I started to put the fishing rod, I only hung a little black fish as bait." The snakehead swam without looking, and then I put half a pig in it and it swallowed it. " Zisi sighed, "marlin is rare, but if you eat big bait, you will die." And those talented and cultured people, although ambitious, will also self-destruct their future because of greed! "/Han Confucius" Confucius Cong "; Zi si ju Wei If you catch a fish in the river, you will get a fish, which will be a great profit. Zisi asked, "if you have a fish, it is rare." How did you get it? "Yes," he said, "I started fishing, and I dropped a snapper bait. If I pass, I will see. "If you use half of a dolphin, you will swallow it." Zisi sighed and said, "marlin is rare and greedy for bait; Although I am pregnant with Taoism, I am greedy for death! "

Golden Millet Dream―sheer daydream

Xun, who fantasized about the Three Kingdoms, had a good relationship with his wife. In winter, when his wife has a fever, he stands in the yard and waits until his body gets cold, then returns to the house and sticks his cold body on his wife. He hopes to calm her down and cure her fever in this way. /See The History of Vernacular Laughter translated by Feng Ming, Meng Long and Si Yong.

In the season when his wife left in anger to pick mulberry, there were couples working together in the field next door. At this time, the husband suddenly saw a beautiful mulberry picking girl in the mulberry forest, so he left his wife to chase her. As a result, he did not succeed. When he got home, his wife left him angrily. Therefore, people laugh at this man as a widower without a wife. /Liu Hanxiang "Speaking of Zheng Yuanyan": When Sang was born, his neighbors were surrounded by his wife. Seeing Miss Sang, I couldn't get it because I was chasing her. Nevertheless, his wife left angrily. I laughed at it.

A group of guests get together and talk about their wishes: some people are willing to be Yangzhou secretariat; Some people want a lot of property; Some people hope to become immortal by riding a crane. After listening, one of them said, "I got rich and rode a crane to the state." He wants these three. See "Yin Yun's Novel" written by the Southern Dynasty Cloud: Guests follow each other, and each has his own opinions. He may wish to be a history of Yangzhou, or he may wish to be rich, or he may wish to rise on a crane. One of them said, "I have money to ride a crane to the state." Want to have both.

The urn of a poor scholar is a poor scholar. His only property is a big clay pot, and he often sleeps with it at night. One night, it suddenly occurred to him: if I have money one day, I should take out some money to buy fields and build houses. I will also raise a singer and buy a tall carriage and a gorgeous hood. I want everything a rich family has! The idea hovered over and over in his chest, and the more he thought about it, the happier he became, and he even got carried away and danced! Jumping, jumping, stepping on the urn! /Songshi Yuan Zhi's History of Su Shizhu: There was a poor man who only had an urn at home and kept it at night. One night, I thought to myself: if you make a fortune, you must use a certain amount of money to run a farmhouse and store prostitutes. You must have a tall car and a big cover. Walking back and forth in my arms, I couldn't feel the joy and comfort of dancing, so I passed through the urn.

Maniloff's Fantasy Nikolai Nikolai Gogol portrayed Maniloff in the novel Dead Soul. He is a lazy man, unrealistic and fond of dreaming. He is mentally retarded and empty, but he is proud of his good upbringing. When Ki Kukov, who was engaged in speculation in buying and selling short selling, came to buy a serf who had died but had not been written off in the household registration (the law still recognized him as a living person), he couldn't figure out what was going on for a long time. However, he loves to pretend to be elegant and show love. Not only did he give away all the "dead serfs" for free, but he also talked sweetly about friendship with beggars. When he reluctantly bid farewell to Kukov, he was lost in thought. Thinking about the happiness of friendship, he said, "It's best to live by the river somewhere with friends, and then he will build a bridge over the river, and then build a big house with such a high tower on it, from which you can even see Moscow all the time." He fantasized about sitting in a beautiful sedan chair with Kukov and meeting some people. Finally, the emperor also knew their friendship and gave them the rank of general. The author wrote: "He thought and thought. In the end, only God knows what he is thinking, and even he can't figure it out. " /See [Russia] Nikolai Gogol's Dead Soul.

Monkeys Fishing for the Moon In an open place on the outskirts of Bolognai, 500 macaques are resting on a nearby mountain. One night, macaques were playing under a big tree. There is a deep well under the tree, and the shadow of the moon is shaking in the well. When the leader of the macaque saw it, he said loudly to all the macaques, "Oh, no! The moon fell into the well today! We should try to fish it out together and don't let the night get dark. " So the macaques got together to discuss: "How can I get the moon out of the well?" The leader said, "I came up with an idea: I'm hanging from a branch, and you grab my tail, so that you can go one by one, and then you can fish out the moon from the bottom of the well." Hearing this, the monkeys jumped up with joy, and immediately, according to the leader's statement, one grabbed the other's tail, lined up in a long rope and reached the bottom of the well to catch the moon. Just as they were approaching the surface of the water, the fragile branches could not bear the weight of so many macaques, so they snapped and all the macaques fell into the well water. /Excerpted from Chang's Selected Stories of Buddhist Scriptures.

Greed for fame and fortune

According to legend, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, a satrap died in Nanyang Prefecture. He's been haunting me since he died. Every morning when an official starts to call the roll, he must put on a black veil and a whole belt, walk to the hall and sit in the right position. If an official kowtows to him, he can still nod to accept the bow. He didn't retreat until dawn. During the Yongzheng period, a satrap named Joe came here to take office. When he heard this, he smiled and said, "This man is an official freak! Although the body is dead, the spirit does not know that it is dead, so it will be like this. I'll enlighten him! " The next day, before dawn, he put on his official clothes and hat and won the first place in his class. At the beginning of roll call, the ghost of Dai Wusha came from afar again. When he saw someone occupying a suitable position in the hall, he hesitated for a moment, then sighed and disappeared. Since then, this strange phenomenon has disappeared. /Qingyuan Mei's "New Qi Xie": It is said that there will be a satrap in Nanyang Prefecture in the next season, and its spirit will never go away. Every time dawn comes, he will sit in the south covered with gauze. Officials who kowtow can still hold their heads high and be worshipped. The day is bright, and I can't see it anymore. During the Yongzheng period, Mr. Qiao, the magistrate, arrived and heard about it. He smiled and said, "Some officials are addicted to it! Although you are dead, you don't know you are dead. I should know! " I got dressed before dawn, so I went to class and sat down south first. When we set out, Wu Sha came from far away and saw that there were already people in the class. Without hesitation, he died with a sigh. Since then, it has been very strange.

On the one hand, the colleges under the famous Cambridge University in Britain are mostly named after saints or celebrities, such as St. John, St. Peter and Churchill. However, the newly born david robinson College is quite confusing: Who is this david robinson? It turns out that this man made a fortune by operating TV rental business in the 1970s, but he has been unknown. In order to make himself "immortal", this gentleman made a determined effort to donate a huge sum of 6.5438+0.7 million pounds to Cambridge University and asked to name a college after him. After discussion, Cambridge University finally agreed to the demands of the rich. /Excerpted from Far Away from the Sea, Reader's Digest No.7, 1988.

Eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose compete for position. There are four organs: eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose, all of which have gods. One day, the mouth said to the nose, "What skill are you above me?" The nose said, "I can tell the smell from the taste, and then you can eat it, so it's on top of you." The nose said to the eyes, "What skills do you have, but your position is above mine?" Eyes say; "I can observe beauty and ugliness, I can see things. I deserve a lot of honors and should be above you. " The nose said, "If so, what ability does Mei have, and it is also above me?" Eyebrows said, "I don't know why I got such a position with you." If I am under my eyes and nose, I don't know where I have a face. " /See Song Ye Luo's "Drunken Man Talking about Land"

Indulge in extravagance and waste

Shi Chong and Wang Kai tried to enrich the life luxury of the gentry in the Western Jin Dynasty. Wang Kai, the uncle of Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty, and a rich man named Shi Chong often competed for wealth. They both decorated their chariots and horses with the most gorgeous things and made their own crowns. Emperor Wu of Jin often helped Wang Kai, and once gave him a coral tree that was more than 2 feet high and flourishing, which is rare in the world. Wang Kai proudly invited Shi Chong to see it. Unexpectedly, Shi Chong took one look and smashed it with iron. Wang Kai was angry and sorry, thinking that Shi Chong was jealous of his treasure, so he blamed Shi Chong with his expression. Shi Chong said, "Don't hate me, I will definitely pay you back today." So he asked his servant to bring all the coral trees in his house, and let Wang Kai choose at will. There are many coral trees in Shichong, among which six or seven are as high as three or four feet, with beautiful branches. There are more Rainbow Kay. After seeing them, Wang Kai felt very lost and had to sigh. See Shi Shuo Xin Yu by Liu Yiqing in Southern Dynasties, The Book of Jin by Ling Xuan in Tang Fang (Volume 33) and Taiping Magnolia by Li Fang (Volume 703). Pei/Shi Shuo Xin Yu, Shi Chong, and Wang Kai compete for beauty, and they are poor and beautiful. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Kai's nephew, helped Kai. I once gave Kay a two-foot coral tree. Branches help different things, chinese odyssey. Kay is a symbol of respect. Respect it, strike it with iron, and break it with your hands. Kay felt sorry for herself, but she thought it was a treasure for herself. Her expression was very serious. Chongyue said, "My hatred is not enough. I'll pay you back today. " I ordered people to fetch coral trees everywhere, and six or seven of them were three feet and four feet tall, so beautiful and dazzling. Kay suddenly lost herself.

The biggest cocktail party1799101On October 25th, Duke Edward Russell, a British aristocrat, invited 6000 guests to his mansion for cocktails. In order to solve the problem that the wine container is too small, he ordered the servant to clean the fountain in the yard and pour 25 barrels of 6,000 liters of brandy into it. Then add 590 kilograms of sugar and 25,000 lemons to make cocktails for the guests. The drunken guests were all as drunk as a fiddler, and the room was a mess. /Excerpted from Luxury on Earth, Reader's DigestNo. 1988,No. 12.

Bokassa's coronation ceremony 1977 12.24, bokassa, who has been the lifelong president of the Central African Republic, held the coronation ceremony to become the emperor of the Central African Empire. That morning, the royal motorcade marched on the streets of Bangui. The guard of honor was led by a military band, followed by an imperial guard consisting of 65,438+000 soldiers riding a fine Chadian horse and 65,438+000 soldiers riding a French Normandy horse. Then, a police motorcade consisting of 200 advanced motorcycles cleared the way for the royal coffin carrying the emperor and queen. Behind the pike cavalry behind the temple are 200 luxury cars for the royal family and guests from all over the world. 10, salute 10 1, 18 th century French coronation ceremony began. Recently, the celebration began. The banquet hall decorated with 25,000 bouquets of flowers and 65,438+000 kilograms of petals purchased from Holland, Australia and New Zealand received 65,438+0,500 guests. 40,000 bottles of high-grade wine, 22 tons of champagne and 150 tons of other famous wines shipped from France by 22 foreign planes were specially chartered and all were opened. In order to pretend to be a rich emperor, bokassa wore a royal dress with 785,000 pearls, 6,543,800 crystals and 3,000 gold buttons. His gold crown is inlaid with 6000 diamonds, each weighing 82 carats. The crown is worth 7 million dollars. The coronation cost alone reached 30 million dollars, accounting for half of the annual budget of this poor and backward Central African empire with a population of only 2.5 million. /Excerpted from Xiaoying's The Butcher of the Sahara, Knowledge of Foreign History 1986,No. 1, No.2.

The oil magnate flaunted his wealth. It is located in the restaurant of Lorraine Hotel, a famous hotel on the Champs Elysé es in Paris, with bright lights. All eyes in the restaurant were on four people sitting at a table. They are Arab industrialists with billions of dollars and their friends and relatives. The industrialist has long heard about the reputation of French cuisine, and this time he passed through Paris, intending to give up his old dream. He ordered all the dishes on the menu without looking at it. Many waiters serve food just like a relay race. They just take a few bites and let the waiter take the food away. Other customers in the restaurant watched this incredible scene with surprise and jealousy. After enjoying delicious food, the Arab tycoon ordered the waiter to pay the bill. He took out several stacks of brand-new 500-franc notes from his bag and put them on the dining table. /Excerpted from Xia Xingen's translation of Pleasure in French Hotels, Window of the World No.3, 1986.