The guest asked Chen Jifang: "What merit does the family Jun Taiqiu have and the name of the world?" Ji Fang said: "My family is like a laurel tree born of Mount Tai, with a height of 10,000 feet and an unfathomable depth below; The top is stained with nectar, and the bottom is moistened by the deep spring. At that time, the laurel tree knew the height of Mount Tai and the depth of the deep spring! I don't know if there is merit or not! ”
Notes] Jiajun: Father. An honorific title for one's own or another's father. 荷 (hè): to bear; Withstand. Duplicate name: Daimyo.
The corner of the Ē Mountain. 仞 (rèn): A unit of length, in ancient times, one thousand was equal to seven feet or eight feet.
Abyssal Spring: Deep Spring.
A guest asked Chen Jifang: "What are the merits and virtues of Ling Zun Taiqiu, so that he enjoys a high reputation in the world?" Ji Fang said: "My father is like a laurel tree that grows in the corner of Mount Tai; There are thousands of peaks above, and unfathomable abysses below; The upper part is watered by rain and dew, and the lower part is moistened by the deep spring. In this case, how does the laurel tree know how high Mount Tai is and how deep the deep spring is! I don't know if there is merit! ”
Chen Chen knew that the other party had bad intentions and wanted to provoke him, so he took a tortuous way. He likened his father to a laurel tree in the corner of Mount Tai, with tens of thousands of peaks on it and unfathomable origins below; The upper part is soaked by the rain and dew, and the lower part is moistened by the deep spring. In this case, how can the laurel tree know how high Mount Tai is and how deep the source is? It skillfully answered the other party's questions with its meaning, leaving the other party speechless. From his answer, it can be seen that Chen Chen's thinking is meticulous and his response is sensitive. From the words he answered, on the one hand, it shows that the son has no right to discuss the Confucian ethics of his father's merits and failures, and on the other hand, it shows the father's way of being an official who is close to the people and respects the king. At the same time, he also showed his father's tall image and profound cultivation.