試譯《貞觀政要》1091029

【段落】《貞觀政要‧君道》第2段

【原文】

貞觀二年，太宗問魏徵曰：「何謂為明君暗君？」徵曰：「君之所以明者，兼聽也；其所以暗者，偏信也。《詩》云：『先民有言，詢於芻蕘。』昔唐、虞之理，闢四門，明四目，達四聰。是以聖無不照，故共、鯀之徒，不能塞也；靖言庸回，不能惑也。秦二世則隱藏其身，捐隔疏賤而偏信趙高，及天下潰叛，不得聞也。梁武帝偏信朱異，而侯景舉兵向闕，竟不得知也。隋煬帝偏信虞世基，而諸賊攻城剽邑，亦不得知也。是故人君兼聽納下，則貴臣不得壅蔽，而下情必得上通也。」太宗甚善其言。

【翻譯】

唐朝貞觀二年，唐太宗問他的大臣魏徵：「什麼樣的君主稱為『明君』？什麼樣的君主稱為『暗君』？」魏徵回答說：「一位君主能夠被稱譽為聖明，其原因在於他能夠全面聽取各種意見；相對的，一位君主若被人批評為昏暗不察，那往往是因為他偏信了部分意見所致。

In the second year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, Tang Taizong asked his minister Wei Zheng: "What kind of monarch is called Ming Jun(明君)? What kind of monarch is called Dark Jun(暗君)?"Wei Zheng replied, "A monarch can be called a sage, the reason is that he can fully listen to all kinds of opinions; on the contrary, if a monarch is criticized for being dim and unobserved, it is often because he has partial belief in some opinions.

微臣曾經在《詩經》上讀過這樣的文字：『先民有言，詢於芻蕘』(古人曾告訴我們，在上位者要知道治理國家的道理，還是要多聽基層民眾的想法)，從前，上古帝王唐堯、虞舜治理國家時，開闢東西南北四方的大門，讓他們的眼睛與耳朵，能夠看見、聽見四方民眾的心聲。

I once read this text in the "Book of Songs"(詩經):"先民有言，詢於芻蕘" (the ancients once told us that who in the upper ranks must know the principles of governing the country by listen more to the opinions of the grassroots people) In the past, when the ancient emperors Tang Yao(唐堯) and Yu Shun(虞舜) ruled the country, they opened doors to the east, west, south, and north, so that their eyes and ears could see the viewpoint and hear the voice of the people from the four places.

所以，唐堯、虞舜的聖明，能夠達到無不察見的程度，因此，像共與鯀那樣的人，不能阻塞民眾與帝王之間的溝通管道，一些不符合事實的陳述，也不能迷惑帝王的心智。

Therefore, the sages of Tang Yao and Yu Shun can reach the level of all observing. Therefore, people like Gong and Gun cannot block the communication channel between the people and the emperor. Some statements that do not conform to the facts cannot be confused the mind of the emperor.

但也有像秦二世那樣的君主，卻選擇將自己深藏在皇宮的宮牆之內，與外界及基層遠遠疏隔，偏信自己喜愛的大臣趙高，竟然到了國家朝政的大局已經潰散，大臣紛紛叛離之際，他還被蒙在鼓裡，對這些情況不知不聞。

But there are also monarchs like Qin II(秦二世)who choose to hide themselves deep in the palace walls, far away from the outside world and the grassroots. Qin II believe that his favorite minister Zhao Gao(趙高) has actually reached the end of the country’s political affairs, when the ministers rebelled, he was still kept in the dark, ignorant of these situations.

再說到梁武帝，梁武帝也偏信他的臣子朱異，受到朱異的迷惑，到了奸臣侯景背叛，舉兵攻擊皇帝時，梁武帝竟仍不能在第一時間內知道事態嚴重。

Speaking of Emperor Wu of Liang(梁武帝), Emperor Wu of Liang also believed in his courtier Zhu Yi(朱異), and was deceived by Zhu Yi. When the traitor Hou Jing(侯景)betrayed and attacked the emperor with troops(舉兵向闕), Emperor Wu of Liang could not know the situation was serious in the first time.

再舉例說隋煬帝，也是偏信他的大臣虞世基，以致群賊攻陷國家的城池時，隋煬帝仍然不知情。

To give another example, Emperor Yang of Sui(隋煬帝) also believed in Yu Shiji(虞世基)one-sidedly, so that when a group of thieves captured the city of the country, Emperor Yang of Sui still did not know.

所以說，為人君主，全面聽取各種意見，重視並採納來自基層的建言，那麼尊貴的大臣也無法壅塞君主的視聽，而基層的意見也必然能向上傳達而無有窒礙。」唐太宗覺得魏徵說得非常好。

Therefore, as a monarch, he fully listens to all kinds of opinions and values and adopts the suggestions from the grassroots. Then the noble ministers cant constrain the monarchs vision, and the opinions of the grassroots can inevitably be conveyed upwards without hindrance. " Tang Taizong felt that Wei Zheng said it very well.

【翻譯工具】Google翻譯 http://translate.google.com.tw

【參考網址】貞觀政要全文─中國哲學書電子化計劃

https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&res=891288