大義滅親

春秋時期，在東周周天子的統(tǒng)治下有許多小公國。這些國家常常為了擴大自己的領(lǐng)土而互相爭斗。而且，在一個公國內(nèi)部，權(quán)力之爭也時常發(fā)生。衛(wèi)國的州吁殺害自己的哥哥――衛(wèi)國的公爵就是一個典型的例子。在一個重要的大臣石厚的幫助下，州吁殺害了他的哥哥。最后，他作了衛(wèi)國的公爵。接著，他發(fā)動了同其他公國的戰(zhàn)爭，使衛(wèi)國人民經(jīng)受了很多痛苦。人們怨聲載道。

州吁對此也很擔(dān)憂。他與石厚商量如何鞏固政局，贏得百姓的信任。石厚說：“這個容易。大臣和百姓們都十分尊敬我的父親，我去請他出來為我們說話。
這樣我肯定他能幫我們解決這個問題。”石厚的父親石碏曾是前任公爵的上卿。州吁奪權(quán)后，他辭去了官職。他痛恨州吁殺害了前任公爵。同時，他也恨自己的兒子石厚，因為他參與了這場謀殺。現(xiàn)在，石厚來向他求助。石碏說：“諸侯接位，應(yīng)該得到周天子的許可。只要他同意了，所有的問題都好解決。” “可是怎么讓周天子會同意嗎？” 石厚問。老人說：“陳國公爵受到周天子的信任，而且陳國和我國關(guān)系很好。
如果你和州吁先去陳國,向他求助，我肯定他會樂意在周天子面前為你們說好話的。”

石厚把他父親的主意告訴了州吁，然后他們來到了陳國。但在他們到達(dá)前，石碏已經(jīng)秘密快信送至陳國公爵，要求他殺死這兩名兇手。州吁和石厚一到陳國，就被抓了起來。衛(wèi)國的大臣特地到陳國去執(zhí)法處死這兩個人。他們斬了州吁，但對石厚是否要被斬首很遲疑，因為他畢竟是石碏的親兒子。 當(dāng)老人得知這個情況后，他堅定的說：“我兒子殺衛(wèi)公有罪，留他在這世上何用？” 他派家臣去陳國斬了石厚。

后來，史學(xué)家們評論道：“為了維護(hù)國家的利益，石碏不因親人而違法。實在是大義滅親呀！”成語“大義滅親”由此而來。

Uphold justice at the cost of one's blood

During the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋 chūn qiū,770-476 BC), there was many dukedoms under the king of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (dōng zhōu 東周). These dukedoms often fought one another to expand their territories. And within a dukedom, the struggle for power frequently occurred. A typical case was the murder of the Duke of Wei by his younger brother Zhou Xu (zhōu xū 州吁) in the state of Wei (weì guó 衛(wèi)國). Zhou Xu committed the crime with the help of an important official called Shi Hou (shí hōu 石厚). Eventually, Zhou Xu became duke himself. Then he launched wars against other dukedoms and the people suffered. There were complaints and resentments all around.

When he learned about this, Zhou Xu was worried. He talked with Shi Hou about how to stabilize the situation and win back people's confidence. Shi Hou said:"That's easy. I'll ask my father to speak for us. He is highly esteemed by all the officials and the people. I'm sure he'll help us out." Shi Hou's father, Shi Que (shí què 石碏), had been a high-ranking official serving under the former duke. He resigned when Zhu Xu seized power. He hated Zhou Xu for his murder of the former duke. He also hated his own son, Shi Hou, for his part in the murder. Now, Shi Hou came and asked him for help. The father said, "A duke' ascendance to power should be granted by the king. If the king approved it, all the problems will be solved." "But how can we bet the king's approval?" Shi Hou asked his father. The old man said, "The Duke of Chen (chén guó 陳國) is trusted by the king and his dukedom has good relationship with ours. If you and Zhou Xu go to the Duke of Chen and ask him for help, I'm sure he is willing to say a good word for you before the king."

Shi Hou passed his father's word to Zhu Xu and they went to the Dukedom of Chen. But before they arrived, the old man sent an express letter in secret to the Duke of Chen asking him to kill the two murderers. As soon as Zhou Xu and Shi Hou arrived in the Dukedom of Chen, they were arrested. Some officials from Wei made a special trip to Chen to kill the two men. They put Zhou Xu to death but hesitated to kill Shi Hou because of his father. When the old man learnt about this, he said firmly :'My son has also committed the murder of the duke. What's the good to have him in the world!" he sent his own man to Chen and beheaded Shi Hou.

Later historians commented: "To safeguard the interest of the country, Shi Que did not bend the law for the benefit of his relative. It's really a case of cutting off consanguinity for the sake of righteousness!" Hence comes the idiom "Uphold justice at the cost of one's blood relation".

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