中國民間二十四孝雙語故事：閔損蘆衣順母

　　Min Sun, with the alias of Ziqian, was a man in the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was a disciple of Confucius. Among all disciples of Confucius, he stood comparison with Yan Yuan in terms of moral conduct.

　　Confucius ever praised him as follows:“How filial Min Ziqian is!” (Xian Jin, the tenth chapter of Analects of Confucius)

　　Min Sun's mother died very early. Later his father took another wife, who gave birth to two sons.

　　The stepmother mistreated Min Sun - in winter, while two younger brothers wore winter clothes made of cotton, Min Sun only wore “reed catkins-padded cotton clothes.”

　　One day, he followed his father to go out. When towing the chariot, Min Sun shivered because he felt very cold and the rope dropped onto the ground. Then his father scolded and lashed him.

　　The reed catkins flew out from the broken seam of the flimsy clothes, and then father knew that Min Sun had been mistreated.

　　After the father returned home, he wanted to divorce his wife.

　　Min Sun fell on his knees and begged his father to forgive stepmother.

　　He said: “If mother stays at home, only I myself have to endure cold. But if you divorce from mother, all three children have to suffer from cold.”

　　His father was deeply moved and took Min Sun's advice. The stepmother heard of this, felt remorseful and owned up to her mistakes. Subsequently, she treated Min Sun as her own son.

　　【參考譯文】

　　閔損，字子騫，春秋時期魯國人，孔子的弟子，在孔門中以德行與顏淵并稱。

　　孔子曾贊揚他說：“孝哉，閔子騫!”(《論語·先進》)。

　　他生母早死，父親娶了后妻，又生了兩個兒子。

　　繼母經(jīng)常虐待他，冬天，兩個弟弟穿著用棉花做的冬衣，卻給他穿用蘆花做的“棉衣”.

　　一天，父親出門，閔損牽車時因寒冷打顫，將繩子掉落地上，遭到父親的斥責和鞭打

　　蘆花隨著打破的衣縫飛了出來，父親方知閔損受到虐待。

　　父親返回家，要休逐后妻。

　　閔損跪求父親饒恕繼母

　　說：“留下母親只是我一個人受冷，休了母親三個孩子都要挨凍。”

　　父親十分感動，就依了他。繼母聽說，悔恨知錯，從此對待他如親子。