8th [chinese] 2026.07.21 [One thrives in hardship and perishes in comfort]

8th [chinese] 2026.07.21 [Such a man is a true great man]-CSDN博客

One thrives in hardship and perishes in comfort. 生于忧患死于安乐

From ploughfields came Shun; from wall-builders Fu Yue; from fish-sellers Jiao Ge; from prison Guan Zhong; from the seashore Sunshu Ao; from the slave market Baili Xi. Thus when Heaven intends to lay a great mission on a man, it first torments his mind, exhausts his bones and muscles, starves his body, reduces him to poverty, and confounds all his deeds. By such trials it stirs his spirit, fortifies his temperament, and endows him with powers he lacked before. Men often err, and then they amend; their hearts distressed, their thoughts blocked, they rouse themselves to action. Their grief shows in their faces, sounds in their speech, and others understand them. If within a state there are no upright ministers and loyal counsellors, and without no rival states and foreign threats, the state will surely perish. Only then do we understand: One thrives in hardship and perishes in comfort.