A Shameless Husband

A man of the state of Qi had a wife and a concubine, and the three of them lived together in the same house. Whenever the husband went out, he would come back satiated with food and wine. Being asked by his wife about the people he ate and drank with, he told her that they were all wealthy men.

His wife said to his concubine, “Whenever our husband goes out, he would come back satiated with food and wine. I asked him about the people he ate and drank with and he said they were all wealthy men. But no distinguished visitor has ever come to our house. I am going to follow him secretly and find out where he goes.”

She got up early one morning and followed her husband stealthily. In the whole capital city no one stopped to talk to him. Eventually he went to the cemetery in the eastern suburbs and begged for leftovers from those who offered food as sacrifices to ancestors in front of their graves. When he did not have enough he would look around for other people offering sacrifices. This was how he became satiated with food and wine.

His wife returned home and told the concubine everything. “ Our husband is the support and stay of our lives, and now he has degraded himself himself to this.”

The two of them abused him and wept together in the courtyard. Their husband, knowing nothing of what had happened, sauntered in and put on airs in front of his wife and concubine.

In the view of men with a sense of decency and honour, of all the means people employ to gain wealth and riches, few would not cause their wives and concubines to weep together in shame.

 

中国文化--齐人妻妾

有个齐国人，他有一个妻子和一个小妾。丈夫每次出门都必定吃饱了酒肉才回来，他的妻子询问与他一起吃饭的人是谁，则都是些有钱有势的人。妻子告诉小妾说：“我们的丈夫每次出门都必定吃饱了酒肉才回来，询问与他一起吃饭的人，都是有钱有势的，但是从来没有地位显赫的人到我们家来，我要暗中看看丈夫到底去了哪里。”

早晨起来，妻子悄悄地跟着丈夫出去。满城中都没有站下来与他交谈的人，最后他去了东郊的墓地，向上坟祭奠的人乞讨剩余的贡品，不够，又张望着向其他人乞讨，原来这就是他吃饱喝足的办法。

妻子回来告诉妾说：“丈夫是我们依靠着过一辈子的人，现在他却做出这样的事情来！”两个人咒骂着她们的丈夫，在厅堂里面对面哭泣。她们的丈夫还不知道这些，洋洋得意的从外面回来，先自己的妻妾炫耀。

在君子看来，人们用来求取富贵腾达的手段，能使他们的妻妾不感到羞耻，不相对哭泣的，是很少见的。