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우왕은 나라 이름을 하夏로 정했다. 중국 역사상 최조의 왕조였다
어느 날 한 시녀가 우왕에게 향기가 고운 포도주를 바쳤다. 그 맛을 보더니 빠져들 것 같자 시녀에게 단단히 일렀다.
“다시는 이런 것을 가져오지 말라. 앞으로 이 술때문에 망하는 왕들이 많이 나올 것이니라.”
이후 일절 술을 입에 대지 않았다. 그만큼 우왕은 자기 절제력이 강했으며 요순처럼 손수 농사를 지어 식량을 마련했다. 권농일을 제정해 농산물의 증대에 힘을 쏟았으며 백성의 살림에 관심을 갖고 자주 순행하였다. 우왕이 어느 고을에 들렀을 때 도둑이 잡혀왔다.
“왜 남의 곡식을 훔쳤는가?”
사내가 울먹이며 대답했다.
“소인의 처자가 삼일째 굶고 있습니다. 제가 배고픈 것이야 참겠지만 처자가 굶는 것만큼은 참기 힘들었습니다.”
신하들은 왕이 아무리 굶어도 남의 것을 훔치면 되느냐고 호통칠 줄 알았다. 그러나 우왕은 성큼 도둑에게 다가가 두 손을 잡고 같이 흐느껴 우는 것이 아닌가? 당황하기는 어디 도둑뿐이랴. 신하들도 마찬가지였다. 일제히 황망히 엎드리며 아뢰었다.
“폐하, 어인 일로 우시나이까?”
“요순임금 때는 백성이 모두 풍족했건만 내가 임금이 된 뒤 배고픈 백성이 생겨났으니 내 부덕의 소치로다. 이 사람에게 왕실의 곡식을 나눠주어라.”
이 대목에서 손무는 자기도 모르게 눈을 감고 깊은 사색에 잠겼다.
‘왕이 도적질할 수밖에 없었던 백성의 처지를 자기 부덕으로 돌리기란 쉽지 않다. 백성이 왕을 위해 존재하는 것이 아니라 왕이 백성을 위해 존재한다는 철학을 가져야만 가능한 것이다. 이처럼 우왕이 자신은 백성을 위한 존재라 여기며 정치했기에 요순처럼 만백성으로 부터 존경을 받았다.’
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<*The following is [the full text] of the English article translated by 'Google Translate'. 'Google Translate' is working hard to improve understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.>
[Novel The Art of War 11]When the king sheds tears......,
The name of the crying country was decided as Xia. It was the first dynasty in Chinese history. One day, a maid offered fragrant wine to King Yu. When he tasted it and seemed to be addicted to it, he firmly warned the maid.
“Don’t bring anything like this again. Many kings will fall because of this wine in the future.”
After that, he never drank alcohol again. King Yu had strong self-control and, like Yao and Shun, he farmed and secured food himself. He established a day to encourage farming and devoted his efforts to increasing agricultural products, and he often traveled around with an interest in the people’s livelihoods.
When King Yu stopped by a certain town, a thief was caught.
“Why did you steal someone else’s grain?”
The man answered tearfully.
“My wife and children have been starving for three days. I can bear being hungry, but it is hard to bear my wife and children starving.”
The subjects knew how to scold the king, saying that no matter how hungry he is, he can still steal from others. However, King Wu quickly approached the thief, grabbed his hands, and cried together.It was not only the thief who was embarrassed. The subjects were the same. They all fell down in a panic and said,
“Your Majesty, why are you crying?”
“During the reigns of Yao and Shun, the people were all well-off, but after I became king, there were hungry people. It is my fault. Share the royal grain with this person.”
At this point, Sun Tzu unconsciously closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
“It is not easy for the king to attribute the fact that the people had no choice but to steal to his own fault. It is only possible when one has the philosophy that the people do not exist for the king, but the king exists for the people. In this way, King Wu regarded himself as a being for the people and conducted politics accordingly, so like Yao and Shun, he was respected by all the people.
