【Original text】
郑人游于乡校①，以论执政②。然明谓子产曰③：“毁乡校，何 如？”子产曰；“何为？夫人朝夕退而游焉④，以议执政之善否。其 所善者，吾则行之；其所恶者，吾则改之，是吾师也，若之何毁 之？我闻忠善以损怨⑤，不闻作威以防怨(6)。岂不遽止(7)？然犹防川(8)： 大决所犯，伤人必多，吾不克救也；不如小决使道(9)，不如吾闻而 药之也(10)。”然明曰：“蔑也，今而后知吾子之信可事也(11)。小人实 不才(12)。若果行此，其郑国实赖之，岂唯二三臣(13)？”
Zheng Ren visited the rural school to discuss governance. However, Ming said to Zichan: "What's wrong with destroying the rural school?" Zichan said, "What's the matter? My wife retreats day and night and wanders around to discuss whether the governance is good or not. If she does good, I will do it; if she does bad, I will change it. This is my teacher, so how can I destroy it? What? I heard that being loyal is good to avoid resentment (6). Wouldn’t it be better to stop (7)? If the big decision is committed, many people will be hurt, and I can’t save it. It’s not as good as the small decision (9), and it’s not as good as I heard it (10). Not talented (12). If this is done, the Zheng Kingdom can only rely on it.
仲尼闻是语也，曰(14)：“以是观之，人谓子产不仁，吾不信也。”
Zhongni heard this and said (14): "Looking at it from this point of view, people say that childbirth is unkind, but I don't believe it."
【注释】
【Note】
①乡校；古时乡间的公共场所，既是学校，又是乡人聚会议事的地方。 ②执政：政事。③然明：郑国大夫融蔑，然明是他的字。④退： 工作完毕后回来。⑤忠善：尽力做善事。损：减少。(6)作威；摆出 威风。(7)遽(jv)：很快，迅速。(8)防：堵塞。川：河流。(9)道： 同“导”，疏通，引导。(10)药之：以之为药，用它做治病的药。(11)信： 确实，的确。可事；可以成事。()12)小人：自己的谦称。不才：没有才能。 (13)二三：这些，这几位。(14)仲尼：孔子的字。（孔子当时只有十岁， 这话是后来加上的。）
① Rural school: In ancient times, a public place in the countryside was both a school and a place where villagers gathered for meetings. ②Governance: political affairs. ③ Ran Ming: Zheng Guo’s official Rong Ming, Ran Ming is his name. ④Retreat: Come back after finishing work. ⑤Loyalty: try your best to do good things. Loss: decrease. (6) To show authority; to display authority. (7) 锽(jv): very quickly, quickly. (8) Prevention: blockage. Chuan: river. (9) Tao: Same as "guide", dredge, guide. (10) Medicine: Take it as medicine and use it to treat diseases. (11) Letter: Indeed, indeed. Something can happen; something can happen. ()12) Villain: one’s own humble name. Untalented: No talent. (13) Ersan: These, these few. (14) Zhongni: the name of Confucius. (Confucius was only ten years old at the time, and this was added later.)
【译文】
【Translation】
郑国人到乡校休闲聚会，议论执政者施政措施的好坏。郑国 大夫然明对子产说：“把乡校毁了，怎么样？”子产说：“为什么毁 掉？人们早晚干完活儿回来到这里聚一下，议论一下施政措施的 好坏。他们喜欢的，我们就推行；他们讨厌的，我们就改正。这 是我们的老师。为什么要毁掉它呢？我听说尽力做好事以减少怨 恨，没听说过依权仗势来防止怨恨。难道很快制止这些议论不容 易吗？然而那样做就像堵塞河流一样：河水大决口造成的损害，伤 害的人必然很多，我是挽救不了的；不如开个小口导流，不如我 们听取这些议论后把它当作治病的良药。”然明说：“我从现在起 才知道您确实可以成大事。小人确实没有才能。如果真的这样做， 恐怕郑国真的就有了依靠，岂止是有利于我们这些臣子！”
Zheng people went to the township school for a leisure gathering to discuss the quality of the rulers' administrative measures. Zheng Guo's doctor Ran Ming said to Zichan: "How about destroying the rural school?" Zichan said: "Why destroy it? People come back here after work in the morning and evening to discuss the quality of administrative measures. If they like it, we will implement it; if they hate it, we will correct it. This is our teacher. Why should we destroy it? I have heard that doing good deeds can reduce resentment, but I have never heard of using power to prevent resentment. Is it not allowed to stop these discussions quickly? Is it easy? But doing that is like blocking a river: a big breach in the river will definitely hurt a lot of people, and I can't save it; instead of opening a small opening to divert the water, we might as well listen to these discussions and use it as a cure." Ran Ming said: "From now on, I know that you can really achieve great things. If you do this, I am afraid that Zheng Guo will really have support, and it will not only benefit us ministers!"
孔子听到了这番话后说：“照这些话看来，人们说子产不仁， 北打下如估”
After hearing these words, Confucius said: "According to these words, people say that the birth of children is unkind, and the attack on the north is like estimation."
【读解】
【Interpretation】
春秋时的乡校，让我们联想到古代希腊和罗马的民主政治。在 希腊、罗马凡，自由民，都有参与政治的权利。乡校自由地议论 政治，与希腊、罗马的情形有些相似，但有一个重大差别：乡校 的平民百姓虽然可以议政，却无权参政，没有选举权和被选举权。 因此，二者有实质性的差别。
The rural schools of the Spring and Autumn Period remind us of the democratic politics of ancient Greece and Rome. In Greece and Rome, free people had the right to participate in politics. The rural schools discussed politics freely, which was somewhat similar to the situation in Greece and Rome, but there was one major difference: although the common people in the rural schools could discuss politics, they did not have the right to participate in politics, and did not have the right to vote or be elected. Therefore, there is a substantial difference between the two.
不过，考虑到中国传统等级制度之下的政治专制，能移开一 个口子让老百姓无所顾忌、畅所欲言地议论统治者，真是 要很 大的气魄和开阔的胸襟。真的，能做到这一点，在几千年的传统 社会中，即使不是绝无仅有，也算得上几十年、几百年才会见到 一次。
However, considering the political autocracy under China's traditional hierarchical system, it takes a lot of courage and open-mindedness to be able to open a door and allow the people to speak freely about the rulers without any scruples. Really, being able to do this is something that, if not unique, would only be seen once in tens or hundreds of years in a traditional society that has existed for thousands of years.
完全可以设想到老百姓议政的内容，比如国家的繁荣昌盛，社 会的风习，与百姓日常生活密切相关的问题，施政方针，一直到 宫廷秘闻，某个官员乃至国君的私生活。不管是什么样的话题，平 民百姓中横挑 子竖挑眼、鸡蛋里面挑骨头的人，毕竟是少数，而 大多数人的。目中都有相对公平的衡量尺度，他们眼睛盯住的是 统治者的施政实绩，而不是统治者的夸夸其谈。
It is entirely conceivable that the content of people's political discussions can be imagined, such as the prosperity of the country, social customs, issues closely related to people's daily lives, policy policies, all the way to palace secrets, the private life of an official or even the monarch. No matter what the topic is, after all, those people who find fault with others and find fault with others are in the minority, and they belong to the majority. They all have relatively fair measures in their eyes. What they focus on is the ruler's performance rather than the ruler's rhetoric.
可以打个比方，老百姓的评论，是统治者所作所为的无情的 镜子。统治者可以用高压手段迫使百姓保持沉默，却无法使人们 不在心里估价，无法左右人心的向背。所以，沉默并不意味著顺 从；相反，沉默中蕴含著可怕的力量。
For example, the comments of ordinary people are a ruthless mirror of what the rulers do. The rulers can use high-pressure means to force the people to remain silent, but they cannot make people stop evaluating things in their hearts and cannot influence people's opinions. Therefore, silence does not mean submission; on the contrary, silence contains terrible power.
