说“郑昭宋聋”

宋、郑两国皆为春秋时期中原地区重要的诸侯国。宋人由于承袭先民殷人遗风,"重厚多君子",行事缺少变通而显得呆滞愚笨;郑人由于其灵活多变的外交手段以及应对变革的措施,行事有变通而显得灵活聪明,以至于时人有"郑昭宋聋"之说。这是两国历史文化传统和社会发展形式以及政治制度共同影响的结果。

On the Idiom “Zheng is flexible,while Song is stubborn”

Zheng and Song were both two important vassal states in the central plains during the Spring and Autumn Period.People in Song who followed their Yin ancestors of noble character,were seldom flexible when doing things and seemed much stubborn.However,people in Zheng were flexible when doing things and seemed clever with their diverse diplomatic practices and measures to deal with changes.That is why people came to use the idiom "Zheng is flexible,while Song is stubborn",which resulted from the impact of the two states’ historical and cultural traditions,social developing forms and political systems.