1.21 [21] 景公異熒惑守虛而不去晏子諫
齊景公驚異火星出現在虛宿而不離去，晏子進諫
【原文】
景公之時，熒惑守于虛，期年不去。公異之，召晏子而問曰：“吾聞之，人行善者天賞之，行不善者天殃之。熒惑，天罰也，今留虛，其孰當之？”晏子曰：“齊當之。”公不說，曰：“天下大國十二，皆曰諸侯，齊獨何以當〔之〕？”晏子曰：“虛，齊野也。且天之下殃，固于富（疆）〔強〕。為善不用，出政不行；賢人使遠，讒人反昌；百姓疾怨，自為祈祥；錄錄（疆）〔強〕食，進死何傷？是以列舍無次，變星有芒，熒惑回逆，孽星在旁，有賢不用，安得不亡？”公曰：“可去乎？”對曰：“可致者可去，不可致者不可去。”公曰：“寡人為之若何？”對曰：“盍去冤聚之獄，使反田矣；散百官之財，施之民矣；振孤寡而敬老人矣。夫若是者，百惡可去，何獨是孽乎？”公曰：“善。”行之三月，而熒惑遷。
【今譯】
1.21 [21] DUKE JING REGARDED IT ODD THAT MARS WAS STATIONED IN XU[1] AND DID NOT LEAVE THAT POSITION.[2] YANZI REMONSTRATED.
At the time of Duke Jing,Mars was stationed in Xu and for a whole year did not leave that position.
The Duke thought it odd,so he summoned Yanzi and asked: “I have heard that Heaven rewards people who do good and inflicts disaster upon those who do the opposite. Mars represents Heaven’s punishment,and since Mars is now stationed in Xu,who should be held accountable for that?”
Yanzi said: “Qi should be held accountable for it.”
The Duke was displeased and said: “There are twelve major states in the world,all of which are called the principalities. Why should Qi,in particular,be held accountable for it?”
Yanzi said: “Xu represents the celestial sphere of Qi.
Then,
Heaven sends down disasters,
they are certainly intended for the rich and powerful states.
Where people who do good are not employed,
and adopted administrative policies are not enforced.
The worthy are kept distant,
and slanderers,w rongly,prosper.
People hate,complain,
and pray for their own fortune.
The mediocre vigorously conceal[3] their faults,
they could go to their death and no one would care.
Therefore,the various constellations are not in sequence,
and variable stars em it flashes of light.[4]
Mars turns against its orbit,
and the inauspicious star[5] still lingers.
The worthy are not employed;
how could destruction be avoided?”
The Duke said: “Can Mars be made to leave?”
Yanzi responded: “Something that can be made to come can also be made to go; something that cannot be made to come cannot be made to go either.”
The Duke said: “How should I deal with it?”
Yanzi answered: “You have to do away w ith the numerous unjust convictions and let the people return to their fields. Distribute the property of all officials and give it as charity to the people. Give money to the orphans and w idow s,and respect the old. Once you have accomplished this,all evils w ill be banished–let alone this inauspicious star,is this not so?”
The Duke said: “Well argued.” He practiced this for three months and then Mars moved away.
注釋
[1]Xu 虛 “Em ptiness,” the celestial sphere of Qi,is one of the tw enty-eight lunar mansions or constellations in ancient Chinese astronomy.
[2]The astronom ical phenomenon described in Item 1.21 [21] is known as a “stationary point.” It refers to a major planet that suddenly appears to be motionless in the night sky. This is caused by the relative motions between Earth and the planet. When a planet,such as Mars,is at near opposition,it is overtaken by Earth and then,because of its closeness to Earth,moves w ith higher relative velocity. Its normal direct motion seems to be temporarily retrograde,as if it were undergoing a loop or zigzag in the sky. The turning point between these motions,when the planet appears motionless against the star field,is known as a “stationary point.” In ancient China,stationary points were called ju 居,liu 留,su 宿 or shou 守. See Needham,ibid,p. 399. The Lüshi chunqiu,6.4/31/20,the Xinxu,4.27/23/25,and the Lunheng,17/54/13,records a sim ilar episode in w hich M ars w as stationed in the lunar mansion of Xin 心–“Heart,” the celestial sphere of Song,and thereby aroused the same negative reaction from the Duke of Song.
[3]食→ 飾 (JS,67/12).
[4]“Variable stars” (變星) are stars whose brightness as seen from Earth fluctuate.
[5]Mars,the inauspicious planet.