Endure. Encourage Endurance: A Hundred Pieces of Advice

Author: Wu Bing, Translated and Annotated by Tao Jinhua
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Chinese nation is a highly resilient and tenacious one, with patience and humility being virtues that have been cherished since ancient times. The Confucian concept of inner virtue, the Taoist practice of maintaining gentleness, and the Buddhist principle of compassion are all manifestations of "endurance." "Retreat a step, and the sky will be vast; endure to achieve success; do not act where you should not, and you can achieve where you should." Inner virtue enables external sovereignty; gentleness leads to strength; compassion transcends suffering. In the Book of Documents, King Cheng of Zhou advised the ruler Chen, saying, "There must be endurance to achieve success; there must be tolerance to cultivate great virtue." Confucius taught, "A small lack of patience can lead to great chaos in plans," and "A gentleman does not compete." Mencius spoke of "cultivating the noble spirit of righteousness." Laozi taught, "The highest virtue is like water, which benefits all things without contention," "Heaven's way contends not yet overcomes, speaks not yet responds," "Great straightness seems bent, great skill seems clumsy, great eloquence seems slow." The Buddhist principle of the "Six Perfections and Ten Thousand Actions" emphasizes that "patience is the greatest perfection." Proverbs say, "In all things, endure and endure; forgiving others is not foolish, fools do not forgive." These are all expressions of Chinese endurance culture.
In the Shuowen Jiezi, "endurance" is explained as "ability." Ability refers to a bear-like animal resembling a deer, with strong and tough tendons beneath its fur. The character for "endurance" () is composed of the radical for blade () and the radical for heart (), meaning a heart with a blade—resolute and decisive, able to endure what others cannot. This is a skill, a cultivation, and a strategy.
For example, Zhong Er endured hardship and humiliation in exile to become the ruler of Jin; Fan Qian offered Xi Shi to help Yue defeat Wu but withdrew himself; Yan Yuan lived on a bowl of rice and a gourd of water, content with poverty, to become one of Confucius's most virtuous disciples; Liu Xiaohui remained pure and chaste, earning praise from later generations; Han Xin carried a sword yet endured the humiliation of being stepped on from under it; Zhang Liang picked up shoes on the riverbank and eventually rose to the position of prime minister; Su Wu guarded a staff and tended sheep for nineteen years, enduring what others could not, becoming a model for later generations. These are all examples of those who could bend and stretch, ultimately achieving success—"Enduring humiliation brings peace, enduring disgrace ensures survival." Conversely, one cannot find peace of mind or survive. Yang Guifei, relying on favor, died at Maogui; Shi Chong, proud of his wealth, was eventually killed.
In the tenth year of the Dade era (1306), Wu Liang of Hangzhou compiled the words of famous figures throughout history on "endurance" and the deeds of those who were patient, humble, loyal, and forgiving, creating the Jin Jing (The Art of Endurance), which contains 156 entries. Four years later, in the third year of the Zhidai era (1310), Xu Mingkui coincidentally wrote the Qunin Banzhen (One Hundred Admonitions on Endurance), a four-volume work with 100 entries, becoming the culmination of endurance studies. The content covers moral categories such as loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, as well as emotional realms like joy, anger, likes, and dislikes, and areas such as food, drink, music, and status. It includes both theories of endurance, methods, functions, and key principles, as well as stories, practices, and history related to endurance, forming a theoretical and practical system centered on endurance.
Particularly, almost every entry contains one or more stories about endurance, making the book highly readable and engaging while also imparting wisdom for better conduct, harmonious coexistence, and a long life. This is also our sincere wish in compiling this book of wise sayings to advise the world.