The Original Text and Translation of Sima Qian's Biography of Huo Zhi

"Preface to the Biography of Huo Zhi and Laozi" said: "The ultimate rule, neighboring countries face each other, and the voices of chickens and dogs hear each other. People are willing to eat their own food, beautiful clothes, keep their customs and enjoy their careers until they die. " "You have to take this as a service, and you can draw people's eyes and ears in modern times, so there are fewer lines.

Tai Shigong said: Before Fu Shennong, I didn't know myself. Since the summer, as described in poems and books, my eyes and ears are eager to look good and listen well, my mouth is eager for low taste, my body is comfortable, and my heart is proud of potential energy. It made vulgarity gradually popular for a long time. Although people say it is embarrassing, it cannot be changed. Therefore, if a good person does it, he will benefit it, if he teaches it, he will be neat, and the bottom will compete with it.

Fujian is rich in timber, bamboo, bamboo and jade, Shandong is rich in fish, salt, lacquer, silk and timbre, and Jiangnan is rich in bangzi, ginger, cinnamon, gold, tin, lotus, cinnabar, rhinoceros, tortoise shell, pearl, tooth and leather. Copper and iron are thousands of miles away. This is bigger. They are all loved by the people of China, and they are well-fed and have tools for life and death. Therefore, it is dangerous to wait for farmers to eat, and it is done by working and doing business. Is there a period of political and religious levy in Jinning? Everyone is allowed to do what he can and try his best to get what he wants. So cheap things are expensive, and expensive things are cheap. Everyone suggests his industry and enjoys it. If he goes underwater, he will come uninvited, and the people will come uninvited. Isn't it a symbol of Tao, but a test of evil by nature?

Zhou Shu said, "Without agriculture, there will be food shortage; If you can't get out of work, you will lack things; If there is no business, there will be three treasures; If you can't get out of danger, you will have less money. " "Wealth is small and the mountain is not gentleman. These four things are the source of food and clothing for the people. It turns out that the big one is forgiveness, and the small one is fresh. The upper class has money, and the lower class has money. The way of the rich and the poor, don't take it, the skillful one is more than enough, and the humble one is insufficient. Therefore, King Taigong was sealed in Yingshan, where the land was barren and there were few people. Taigong advised her daughter to be extremely skilled, and only after passing the fish and salt pass would the characters return to it and converge. Therefore, Guan Qi wears clothes and shoes all over the world, and Haidai spends his leisure time in the DPRK. After that, the State of Qi declined, managed and established nine clans, so the Duke of Huan was the hero and nine Wang Ping ruled the world. The Guan family also has three returns, and it is in the position of accompanying ministers among the kings of various countries, and it is extremely rich. Therefore, Qi Fuqiang, as for.

Therefore, as the saying goes, "granaries know etiquette, food and clothing know honor and disgrace." Rites are born, but they are abolished. Therefore, a gentleman is rich and good at his virtue; Little people have money and can do what they can. Deep and fish live, mountains are deep and beasts go, and people are rich and benevolent. Rich people get benefits and lose benefits, but the guests are not happy. Yidi is very helpful. As the saying goes, "the son of a thousand daughters will never die in the market." This is not empty talk. Therefore: "the world is bustling, all for profit; All the soil in the world is beneficial. " The situation of people who are still poor and form a family!

Laozi said: "In ancient times, although people in neighboring countries could see each other and hear the voices of chickens and dogs, people thought that their food was the most fragrant, their clothes were the most beautiful, their customs were the most comfortable and their careers were the happiest." Old age and death do not communicate with each other. "If someone takes this as the goal, it is almost impossible to draw and shield the eyes and ears of ordinary people in modern times and let them go back to ancient times. Tai Shigong said: I have no way of knowing what happened before Shennong. As for the situation since the summer recorded in The Book of Songs and The Book of History, we can still know that people's ears and eyes should try their best to enjoy the music of music and sound, and their mouths should eat all kinds of delicious food. The body is comfortable and happy, but the heart envies and boasts the glory of being strong and talented. This trend has been deeply rooted in people's hearts for a long time. Even if we use ingenious theories to persuade people from door to door, we can't make them change. Therefore, the best way for the people is to let nature take its course, then guide them according to the situation, then educate them, and then make laws and regulations to limit their development. The worst way is to compete with the people for profit. The western part of Taihang Mountain is rich in wood, bamboo, Broussonetia papyrifera, wild hemp, oxtail and jade. East of Taihang Mountain is rich in fish, salt, lacquer and silk, as well as songs and dances and women's colors. Jiangnan produces nanshu, catalpa, ginger, cinnamon, gold, tin, lead, cinnabar, rhinoceros horn, hawksbill, pearl, ivory and leather; The north of Longmen and Jieshi is rich in horses, cattle, sheep, felt, wool, tendons and horns; As for copper and iron, they are distributed in the territory of thousands of miles, and all the mountains and rivers are produced everywhere, which is really dotted. This is the general situation. These are the necessities that people in the Central Plains love, and they are usually used to make things to wear, eat, drink, preserve health and die. Therefore, everyone relies on farmers to farm for food, people in distress to develop resources in the mountains, workers to make various utensils, and merchants to trade for goods to flow. Is there a political decree to levy and bind them? People do their work according to their abilities. Do your best to satisfy your desires. Therefore, cheap things are signs of being expensive, and expensive things are signs of being cheap. This is why people from all walks of life strive to engage in their own businesses and regard work as fun, just like water flowing downwards, day and night. There is no need to call, they will deliver it themselves; There is no need to seek things, people will produce them themselves. Doesn't this prove that the work of Nong' an Industry and Commerce conforms to economic laws? " "Zhou Shu" said: "If farmers don't produce, they will lack food; If workers don't produce, they will lack utensils; Merchants do not transship, and grain, utensils and goods are cut off; If people don't produce, there will be a shortage of goods. Without commodities, Shanze's resources cannot be developed. Agriculture, industry, commerce and dangerous production are the sources of food and clothing for people. A big source makes you rich, while a small source makes you poor. If the source is large, it can make the country rich and the family rich. The rich and the poor have to rely on themselves. No one plundered him when he was rich, and no one gave him anything when he was poor, but there were more smart people than stupid people. Jiang Taigong is enclosed in Yingshan, where the land is saline-alkali land and there is little labor. Therefore, Jiang Taigong encourages women to spin, and tries their best to show their skills, so that local fish and salt can flow to other places. People with children on their backs gathered there in an endless stream, just like the spokes of a car gathered in the hub. Therefore, the crown-belt clothing and shoes produced by Qi are sold all over the world. The monarch of a small country between the East China Sea and Mount Tai respectfully rolled up his sleeves and came to Qi. Later, when Qi weakened halfway, Guan Zhong revised the Taigong policy, set up a Jiupin yamen and adjusted the cashier's currency. Qi Huangong took this opportunity to seek hegemony, met with governors for many times, and everything in the world was rectified, so Guanzhong also collected city rent. Although he is a minister, he is richer than the monarchs of other countries. Therefore, the prosperity of Qi continued until the times of Qi Weiwang and Qi Xuanwang. Therefore, Guan Zhong said, "The warehouse is well stocked, so that ordinary people can understand etiquette, have food and clothing, and distinguish honor from disgrace. Etiquette comes into being when you are rich and is abandoned when you are poor. Therefore, a rich gentleman is benevolent; Only when civilians are rich can they adjust their labor force. In deep water, fish will naturally gather; When the mountain is deep, the beast will naturally run; When people get rich, benevolence and righteousness naturally join. When the rich gain power, their reputation becomes more prominent; Once you lose power, you will have no home like a stranger, so you will be unhappy. In Yidi, the situation is even worse. As the saying goes, "a man with a daughter will not die in the mall." "This is not empty talk. Therefore, it is said: "Everyone in the world is happy, and they all come for financial gain; All the people in the world are clamoring for money. "The monarch with thousands of chariots, the governors of thousands of households in the food city, and the doctors who eat hundreds of households are still afraid of poverty, let alone ordinary people!

Note (1) Eight sentences of "extreme governance": quoted from Laozi, but the text is slightly different. (2) the sentence of "pull the modern": pull, the same as "late". To smear or block. ③ Same as "Yi". (4) Straw: refers to the meat of livestock. Grass is called "straw", such as cattle and sheep; Those who feed on food are called "dogs", such as pigs and dogs. (5) Miao: the same as Miao. (6) Tao: the same as "guiding". (7) Luo: Chu tree, whose bark can be used to make paper. Cattle with long hair on their tails can be used to decorate flags. (8) refining, the same as "chain", lead ore. (9) cinnabar, the same as "cinnabar", is the name of the mineral, commonly known as cinnabar. (10) Tortoise: Tortoise, its armor is a valuable ornament. (1 1): non-round beads. (12) Longmen: the name of the mountain. Between Jishan County in Shanxi Province and Hancheng County in Shaanxi Province. (13) Jieshi: The mountain name is in the northwest of Changli County, Hebei Province. (14): same as "felt". (15) Tendons and horns: Animals' tendons and horns can be used to make crossbows. (16) Yu: The official in charge of the production of mountain forests and rivers refers to the person who develops mountain forests and rivers. (17) Evil is the same as "Ye". (18) refers to Yi, but there is no such passage in this edition of Yi. Gai is the lost text of the ancient book Yizhoushu. (19) is the same as "eccentricity". (20) The original text is the same as the "source". (2 1) King Tai Gong, that is, according to legend, surnamed Jiang, a famous businessman, was sealed in Lu by his ancestors, so he was also called Lu Shang. He helped the King of Wu to attack the Zhou Dynasty and sealed it in Yingqiu 'e, now southeast of Changle County, Shandong Province, with the same title. (22) to, still say negative. (23) three returns, which shall be owned by the office according to regulations. (24) Accompanying the minister, the vassal doctor claimed to accompany the minister to see the emperor. (25) Wei and Xuan, whose real name is Zi, reigned from 356 BC to 320 BC. Xuan, son of the king of Wei, reigned from 3 19 BC to 30 1 BC. (26) "Cang" two sentences: See "Guanzi Herdsmen". (27) loam is the same as "prosperity". (28) compiled households, incorporated into the household registration book.

The influence and spread of Huo Zhi's biography From today's perspective, we can't praise Sima Qian's economic thoughts expressed in Huo Zhi's biography too much. As a historian, Sima Qian still has such a clear idea of economic freedom, and his views on economic activities and businessmen are also of great reference significance to China today. On the relationship between * * * and the private economy, the view that "the good must learn, benefit, teach, and sort it out, and the lowest will compete with it" is also quite enlightening in China today.

Sima Qian's thought of economic freedom has influenced the people of China in past dynasties and will continue to do so. His people-oriented thought and peaceful and open mind towards businessmen constitute an important part of China's traditional thought. This is the wealth of the Chinese nation.

Biography of Huo Zhi is a special chapter to record the social and economic history from the end of the Spring and Autumn Period to the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In the preface, the author refutes Laozi's historical retrogression theory of "small country and few people", affirms people's reasonable desire to pursue material wealth, and tries to explain social problems and social consciousness by this. He believes that people's material needs will inevitably promote the division of social production and the development of social and economic sectors, while people's moral behavior is restricted by the amount of wealth they have, thus condemning the economic monopoly policy in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and attacking the idealistic view of explaining social problems by providence at that time.

Poetry: "Preface to Huo Zhi's Biography of Poetry" Author: Sima Qian Han Dynasty Poetry Classification: Ancient prose, preface theory.