keep to a principle(lǚ duān dà shì bù hú tú)

keep to a principle

From Li Zhi, a thinker in the Ming Dynasty, he wrote a couplet: "ZHUGE was cautious in his whole life, while LV Duan was not confused in his major events." It is intended to encourage oneself by the way of Zhuge Liang and LV Duan. Later, Mao Zedong praised Ye Jianying.

Idiom information

[Chinese characters] Lu Duan is not confused about big things and [word explanation] refers to adhering to principles in handling affairs. It also refers to keeping a clear mind in front of major right and wrong. [idiom nature] commendatory words

The origin of Idioms

The biography of Lu Duan in the history of the Song Dynasty: "Emperor Taizong wanted to serve each other.". Or: "Duan is a fool." Taizong said, "you should be confused about small things, but you should not be confused about big things." I'm determined

Idiom story

Fame and wealth is what the world strives for, and it is also the easiest to haggle over every detail. However, Lu Duan shows a kind of indifferent attitude. It is also because of his indifference to these issues, such as the level of official positions and the amount of money, that he left a "muddle headed" statement. In 995, Lu Duan was promoted to prime minister by Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty. Lu Duan didn't think much of this position. What he thought was how to mobilize the enthusiasm of all his officials, so he didn't hesitate to delegate power and give up his position. At that time, he had the same reputation as a famous official, Kou Zhun, who was capable and talented, but had a strong temperament. Lu Duan was worried that Kou Zhun would be unbalanced when he became prime minister. If he played his temper, the government would be affected. So he asked Taizong to give another order. He asked Kou Zhun, who was the deputy prime minister, to take turns with him in charge of political affairs. The foreman played the role and went to the political hall together. He got Taizong's approval and calmed Kou Zhun's mood. Later, Taizong issued an imperial edict, saying that the major affairs in the court should be handled by LV Duan first, and then reported to me. However, when Lu Duan was in trouble, he always discussed with Kou Zhun, never arbitrary. After a period of time, LV Duan takes the initiative to give Kou Zhun his position and become a political advisor himself. In the eyes of the world, this kind of initiative is naturally a "muddle headed" move. One year, Li Weiqing, Minister of the central court, was replaced by Taizong from the position of privy envoy in charge of the national military affairs to become the censor Zhongcheng, who was in charge of supervising all the officials. Although he was in a flat tone, his actual power changed. He thought it was Lu Duan who played a bad role in the middle. Therefore, Li Weiqing took advantage of LV Duan's illness to rest at home and did not have the opportunity to go to court to sue LV Duan. When it came to Lu Duan's ears, he didn't agree. He didn't go to tell the emperor, nor did he go to Li Weiqing to settle the accounts. Instead, he said faintly: I've done well all my life; I've sat upright, didn't do anything wrong to others, and I'm afraid of gossip. This kind of calm attitude is also considered "muddle headed". When LV Duan was just a political counsellor (Deputy Prime Minister), he passed in front of the civil and military officials. A little official was not convinced by LV Duan's "muddle headed" rumors. He said in a disdainful tone: this man has become a deputy prime minister, too? LV Duan's entourage felt that it was unfair. They wanted to ask the person's name to see what he did. Lu Duan stopped and said: don't ask. If you ask him, you have to say it. If he says it, I'll know. As soon as I know, I will never forget the person who insults me openly. It's definitely not for me to retaliate deliberately, but it will be very difficult for me to treat him fairly if anything involves him in the future. So, it's better not to know. For Lu Duan, this kind of gentleman's action of not thinking evil and pretending to be confused is a noble state of self-cultivation, but in the eyes of the world, it is naturally regarded as "confused". Lu Duan's "muddle headed" still lies in his not buying property. He is not only very clean as an official, but also has never been involved in corruption and bribery. Even his share of salary is often given out to take care of others. After Lu Duan's death, his two sons had no money to get married, so they had to mortgage their property to others. When Emperor Zhenzong knew this, he was very moved. He spent five million yuan from the expenses of the imperial palace to redeem the house. In addition, he rewarded a lot of gold, silver and silk to pay off the old debts of the LV family. In the eyes of ordinary people, it is so "muddleheaded" to respect the prime minister while the later generations are so poor. Lu Duan's "muddleheaded" attitude towards personal interests and his own fame and wealth is so valuable and worthy of learning. No wonder his "muddleheaded" attitude is praised by people. Lu Duan experienced three dynasties: Taizu, Taizong and Zhenzong. Zhao Pu, the Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, once commented that he was not happy when he was praised, not afraid when he encountered setbacks, and had the bearing of a prime minister. However, what really made him famous throughout the ages was that he was not confused about major events. There are two main reasons for this. First, appease Li Jiqian. Li Jiqian, a member of the Dangxiang clan, once surrendered to the Northern Song Dynasty, later rebelled against the Song Dynasty and repeatedly harassed the northwest frontier. Once in a battle with the song army, he didn't protect his mother well. My mother became a prisoner of the song army. After the news was reported to the court, Taizong wanted to kill the old lady. Kouzhun was in charge of the national military at that time. Taizong summoned Kouzhun alone to discuss the matter with him. He was ready to kill the old lady on the border to punish those who were against the imperial court. When Kou Zhun went back from Taizong, he passed the prime minister's office. LV Duan suspected that he wanted to discuss major issues with him, so he said to Kou Zhun: I don't need to know about the daily affairs on the border. If it's a military and national event, I'm the prime minister, you should tell me. Although it was not a military and national event, Kou Zhun told him exactly. Lu Duan said: it seems that it is not appropriate to do so. Please put it off. I'll go to the emperor to talk about it. He came to Taizong and said a truth: Once upon a time, Xiang Yu caught Liu Bang's parents and wanted to cook them in a pot before the battle, but Liu Bang said that if you have to cook, then share a cup of broth with me. People who do great things don't worry about his parents. What's more, Li Jiqian is a barbarian rebel. If his majesty kills the old lady today, will he be able to catch Li Jiqian tomorrow? If he can't catch him, he can only bear grudges and strengthen his rebellious heart. Taizong thinks what he said is very reasonable: what do you think should be done? Lu Duan said: it's better to properly settle the old lady in Yanzhou (Yan'an, Shaanxi Province) and attack Li Jiqian. Although he may not be able to surrender, his mother is still in our grasp. Taizong repeatedly said: thanks to you, almost missed the national affairs. Later, Li's mother died in Yanzhou, while Li Jiqian was killed by an arrow when he attacked Tubo in 1004, and his son returned to the Song Dynasty. Lu Duan's farsightedness has achieved good results. in 997 ad, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty was critically ill. In the process of the alternation between Taizu and Taizong, there was a case of "candle shadow and axe sound". Therefore, during the sensitive period of Taizong's critical illness, Lu Duan accompanied the Prince (song Zhenzong) to Taizong's bed every day. At that time, Wang ji'en, the favored eunuch, worried that the crown prince's succession would be bad for him, so he colluded with the empress first, and then secretly colluded with Li Changling, the political adviser (Vice Prime Minister), Li Jixun, the commander in charge of the imperial guards in front of the Palace, Hu Dan, and others, in an attempt to support Zhao YuanZuo (the eldest son of Taizong), the king of Chu. As soon as Taizong breathed, the queen immediately sent Wang ji'en to summon LV Duan, planning to force LV Duan to agree to establish the king of Chu as king. In fact, when they first started planning, Lu Duan had heard something about it. Now when he heard that the queen called others' palace, he knew that the situation might change, so he resolutely locked Wang ji'en in his study, sent someone to guard him strictly, and then went to the palace to see him. Sure enough, the queen asked him the question of establishing the king of Chu, and Lu Duan went back to him: when the former Emperor was there, he had already made it clear that the crown prince would not listen to him. As Wang ji'en, the key figure in the plot, had been controlled, the queen had no idea for a moment. Lu Duan struck while the iron was hot and led the ministers to protect the crown prince (Zhenzong) from the throne. After Zhenzong ascended the throne, he sat on the main hall and hung the curtain to accept the worship of the ministers. Lu Duan stood at the bottom and refused to kneel down. He asked to roll up the curtain. Then he stepped on the stage to see if it was really Zhenzong himself. Then he went down the stage and led the ministers to kowtow and kneel. Then, they sent those elements to other places to settle the dispute and ensure the stability of the regime. Lu Duan experienced three generations of emperors in his life, and hardly suffered any impact in his 40 years of official career. This kind of experience is rare in feudal dynasties. This has a lot to do with his quality that he is not confused about the overall situation and the festival, but can "muddle through" on issues related to his personal interests. For today's people, whether they are officials or people, they should learn this "muddle headed" spirit.

Chinese PinYin : lǚ duān dà shì bù hú tú