Hosted by the Discipline Inspection Commission of Shandong Provincial Prison, January 5, 2024 

Integrity Aphorism | Frugality the commonality of virtue; Extravagance is the greatest of evils. 

Origin of the Aphorism       

Yu Sun said: "Frugality is the common of virtue; Extravagance is the greatest of evils." Commonality means sameness; it means that those with virtue all come from frugality. Frugality leads to few. When a gentleman has few desires, he is not enslaved by material things and can walk the straight path; when a small man has few desires, he can guard himself, practice, avoid crime, and enrich his family. Therefore it is said: "Frugality is the commonality of virtue." Extravagance leads to many desires. When a gentleman has many, he covets wealth and honor, distorts the right path, and quickly invites disaster; when a small man has many desires, he seeks excessively and spends recklessly, ruining his and losing his life; thus, those in office must take bribes, and those in the countryside must steal. Therefore it is said: "Extravagance is the greatest of."

——[Song Dynasty] Sima Guang, "Instructing on Frugality and Warning Against Extravagance" 

The Emperor said to his grandson "Frugality is a common trait among all virtues; extravagance is the greatest of all vices." "Common" means the same, implying that virtuous people all start from being frugal This is because if one is frugal, they will have fewer greedy desires. If a person of status has fewer greedy desires, they will not be enslaved by external things and can walk path of integrity. If a person without status has fewer greedy desires, they can restrain themselves, save expenses, avoid crime, and make their family prosperous. Therefore, it is said: "rugality is a common characteristic of all good virtues." Conversely, if one is extravagant, they will have more greedy desires. If a person of status has more greedy desires, they will after wealth and honor, deviate from the righteous path, and invite disaster. If a person without status has more greedy desires, they will seek wealth by all means, squander it recklessly, their family, and lose their lives. Therefore, if an official is extravagant, they will inevitably commit corruption and bribery; if a commoner is extravagant, they will inevitably steal others money. Thus, it is said: "Extravagance is the greatest of all vices."

Works of the Author 

Sima Guang (1019–1086), courtesy name Junshi, art name Yus, was a native of Sushui Township, Xia County, Shanzhou (present-day Xia County, Shanxi Province), and was born in Guangshan, Guangzhou (-day Guangshan County, Henan Province). He was known to the world as Mr. Sushui. A politician, historian, and man of letters of the Northern Song dynasty he claimed to be a descendant of Sima Fu, Prince Anping of the Western Jin dynasty. 

In the first year of the Baoyuan era of Emperor Renzong of (1038), he passed the jinshi examination and was successively promoted to the position of Direct Scholar of the Longtu Pavilion. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of, he opposed Wang Anshi's reforms and left the imperial court for fifteen years, during which he presided over the compilation of the chronological general history, 《Zizhi Tong》. He served in the courts of four emperors: Renzong, Yingzong, Shenzong, and Zhezong, eventually reaching the position of Left Vice Director of Department of State Affairs and Vice Director of the Chancellery. In the first year of the Yuanyou era (1086), he passed away and was posthumously honored as Preceptor and Duke of Wenguo, with the posthumous name Wenzheng. 

He was listed among the "Yuanyou Factionists," granted the honor of being in the temple of Emperor Zhezong of Song with his portrait placed in the Zhaoxun Pavilion; he was also enshrined in the Temple of Confucius, referred to as "The Precessor Confucian Sima Zixian", and in the Temple of Emperors. He was gentle, modest, upright, and unyielding; he was diligent and hardworking in his work He described himself as "lacking strength by day, but continuing by night," making him a model of Confucian education. He produced numerous works in his lifetime, primarily the 《Collected of Wenguo Wenzheng Sima Gong》, 《Jigu Lu》, 《Sushui Jiwen》, and 《Qianxu》. 

《Xunjian Shikan》is a prose work written by the Northern Song historian Sima Guang. It is a family precept written by Sima Guang to his son Sima Kang, teaching him that he should uphold virtue of frugality.

Interpretation of Aphorisms 

People's Forum: Promoting the Spirit of Diligence and Thrift 

Zhang Fan       

As the saying goes,without thrift, one cannot stand." Diligence and thrift are not only a lifestyle habit but also a reflection of a person's moral cultivation. The《Zuo Zhuan》: "Thrift is the common virtue; extravagance is the greatest vice." Zhuge Liang advised his son: "Cultivate oneself through tranquility, and nurture virtue through thrift." In the-standing values of the Chinese people, simplicity is not just a way of behaving, but a great virtue and the foundation for cultivating good morality. Because a diligent and thrifty person bound to be self-aware, self-disciplined, and self-reflective.         

Today, our advocacy for thrift is not only to promote a healthy and moderate lifestyle, but to let people cultivate the moral quality of "always remembering the difficulty of obtaining resources" through the practice of thrift, eliminate the bad trend of arrogance, extravagance, and debauch, and demonstrate the deeply rooted qualities in every gesture and movement, in order to embrace a better life.

Whether to waste or save seems like a personal choice, yet it reflects the civil quality of a society. In reality, some people lack a sense of, intentionally or unintentionally wasting and squandering food; others care too much about face and show, engaging in varying degrees of excessive consumption, comparison, and extravagance, causing a huge waste of wealth. All of these run counter to social civilization. Civilization lies in the public moral consciousness of "everyone making their community better"; in the self-discipline and self-awareness revering nature and respecting labor; and in the value scale of prioritizing public interests... Therefore, it is important to understand the hardship of "a thousand drops of sweat for a single grain rice," and thus be grateful for the gifts of nature and the efforts of laborers; to understand the principle of "taking with moderation and using with restraint," so as to do one' best to reduce waste, save resources, and protect the environment. This value choice of revering nature, respecting labor, and considering the community is worthy of our promotion and adherence.

"The beginning of extravagance leads to gradual peril and ruin." For a nation, promoting the spirit of thrift and frugality requires strengthening crisis awareness and carrying forward the spirit of hard struggle. The "foundation" we possess today was accumulated through the arduous efforts and struggles of several generations; it must never be squ and lost through extravagance and waste. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Even as life improves day by day, there is no right to waste!" Whether facing the reality of scarce resources and a fragile ecological environment, or facing grand goals and a complex domestic and international environment, we need to always maintain the spirit of hard struggle and the style of thrift and frugality.Always think of the days of scarcity when you have plenty, and do not wait until you have nothing to think of the days of plenty." By saving every grain of food and every bit of, accumulating small things to form a great whole, we can possess the profound confidence to resist risks and the powerful strength to tackle difficulties. 

Thrift and frugality are important components cultivating excellent personal character and effective ways to promote national development and social progress. Looking around us, although the phenomenon of "waste on the tip of the tongue" has improved to some extent food waste in some places still exists, bizarre "consumerism" is prevalent, and some people have fallen into the vicious cycle of "extravagance and waste" and "over consumption." This is clearly far from the social atmosphere we need and expect. "Habits are as easy to form as spider webs, but as hard to break as ropes." If we extravagance and waste to become deeply rooted habits and a widespread bad trend in society, they may become difficult to change and impossible to reverse. At this time, it is necessary for us reiterate the profound significance of "practicing thrift and opposing waste," letting more people reflect on themselves, inspire themselves, and take it as a mirror for their own conduct.

Is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Promoting the spirit of thrift and frugality throughout society requires each of us to put struggle and thrift into practice and action, and more importantly, to persevere and work tirelessly over the long term, so that the values of "being diligent and thrifty" and "abstaining luxury to practice frugality" can truly touch people's hearts and become a widespread social trend.