The word wealth always reminds people of money and the sayings or concepts related to money. For example, “money talks”; “money makes the ghosts turn the mill”; “as birds die for food, so men die for wealth”; “the poor have no friends even though they live in the noisy downtown, while the rich have remote kinsfolk even if they live in the deep mountains”; “poverty chills ambition” “one cent short may put a hero in an awkward situation” etc, etc..
In the 1980” s, all shops were state-owned with marked prices. You couldn”t buy what you wanted with even one cent short, so one cent could indeed embarrass a hero. A popular song at that time started “I picked up one cent at the roadside, and I handed it over to the policeman…” But now no one cares to pick it up even if it were ten cents.
People”s reverence for money is expressed in varied ways. The names of companies or stores are often “Beer of Wealth and Honor”, “Restaurant of Wealth and Rank” “Store of the Aristocrats” “Hotel of Fame and Prestige” etc. (even some people”s names have the meanings of “full of gold” or “great fortune”). At New Year”s time, the god of wealth is worshiped and the picture of the god is covered with signs of money. When a millionaire is walking in the street, people will show their profound respect even though they know very well that they can not get a cent from him. The English film “the Million-Pound Note” makes a most vivid revelation of this situation. With the million pound note in hand, the hero has the privilege to buy on credit, or on loan and is even presented money from others. It”s an idealized end of the story that the hero is still loved by his girl friend ev[]en after he lost his million-pound note. However, without the million-pound note, they couldn”t have known each other. It”s very difficult for people to make friends directly with beggars.
The song of “All Good Things Must End” in A Dream of the Red Mansions attacks the money worshipers by saying:
“All men long to be immortals
yet silver and gold they prize
And grub for money all their lives
Till death seals up their eyes”
But when Chen Shih-yin tries to expound this song by analyzing the inconstancy of human relationships and the incomprehensible human heart, he has to say:
“While men with gold and silver by the chest
Turn beggars, scorned by all and dispossessed”
The conclusion is that it doesn”t work without money.
In spite of the human civilizations over thousands of years, people can not deny the function of money. This shows how important money is. Money plays a decisive role to individuals, to families and even to countries or nationalities. Otherwise, why is everyone, from doorkeepers to presidents, trying to earn as much as possible Why does every country need Chancellors of the Exchequer, who keep formulating and revising financial laws and regulations How different it is to be a creditor nation and a debtor nation! The United States is playing the tyrant just because it is wealthy enough. A poor man may cherish lofty aspirations, but will probably be beaten because of his poverty. The Afghanistan may have won a lot of sympathy, but how difficult it would be to live solely on charity.
Of all ages and in every country, all kinds of corruption stem from money. No matter how rough the man is, and in what despicable way he earned the money, he can grease the palms of or buy over some very decent officials or even intellectuals. Can you see how crucial a role money is playing (A case in point is the bankrupt of the company)
Some people or organizations like some religious groups claim that they have seen through the human vanity and can take money lightly, but to people”s puzzlement, they are also accumulating money, either to renovate the temples, or to regild Buddha”s statues, in whatever pretexts. They are not engaged in production, so they can only depend on the donations from the devout believers. Sometimes your sincerity relies on whether you donate and how much you donate. Do the monks care about money The answer is affirmative. What”s more, many monks are already provided with a salary.
We are living in a material world, and it”s really difficult to deny the function of money or wealth. We need money for food, clothes, education, hospital, housing and transportation, etc. There”s rarely anything that doesn”t need money. What we can discuss now is not the importance of money, but whether money is almighty and whether more wealth can bring us more happiness.
We must say that money is not almighty, and there are many things which money can”t do. For example, many emperors like Qin Shihuang longed for elixirs. As wealthy as they were, and as mighty as they were to take every measure to search for long life medicine, they still could not avoid the sad denouement that “their graves are a covered with weeds”.
Many great men suffered from fatal illness. Even though they were treated with the best medical means, they had to suffer as much as the ordinary people, and met with the same inescapable fate. Rich or poor, great or ordinary, we come and go with nothing belonging to us.
Huang Shiren, the cruel hearted landlord, was rich but Xi”er would rather hid in the deep mountains and turn into a white-hired girl than marrying him;
Wang Baochuan wouldn”t give up her marriage with Xue Pinggui even though she had to live in the cold cave for over ten years;
Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty owned the whole country, but just because of the death his beloved concubine, he eventually became disillusioned with this world and spent the rest of life in the temple as a monk (it”s all right even if it is a legend).
Many love stories can never be bought with money. The ever-lasting folktale of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai shows people”s identification with this point of view.
Wealthy men also have a lot of worries: afraid of being stolen or kidnapped, they may have to hire a bodyguard; they”re concerned about their spoiling the children, or worry about the family discord because of the legacy disputes after their death; Fearing devaluation if they don”t invest, while fearing of bankrupt if they invest; Where is their happiness
How much is enough No limitation. As poor as beggars without a penny, they can make a living by begging. It”s said that some have become millionaires through begging. As wealthy as a billionaire, they can only enjoy a couple of dishes each meal. If someone is allergic to seafood, or tired of rich dishes, he may enjoy the pickled vegetables just as much.
As for money, people can take it easy sometimes, but most of the time, they can”t. In theory, they may take it easy while in practice, they usually take it very seriously; Talking about others, they can take it easy, but to themselves, they take it seriously again. Some people take it seriously for one moment, but may take it easy afterwards, just as we said what is hidden from the concerned is plain to the bystanders. Most people take money too seriously when being involved. In fact, as long as you have enough to eat, what is the difference between a little and a lot
Everything has a limit, so does money. We should conform to the course of the nature in stead of going out of our way to grasp it. We should spend according to our income. The rich may enjoy much more luxuries but no less worries than the poor. The only difference is the content and form of worries. The higher the income is, the bigger the expenditure is. The world famous boxers may earn millions of dollars for one game, but often find themselves deep in debt. With an annual salary as high as tens of thousands of dollars, the former President of the United States Bill Clinton ran into debts because of lawsuit, and had to throw off his airs to earn money in every mean. However, the monthly income of some of the Chinese families is no more than a few hundred Yuan while leading a life with enjoyment. Happiness doesn”t necessarily rely on money.
According to the western fable the Gold Touch, a king was very fond of gold and prayed to God for more gold everyday. To teach him a lesson, God imparted the Gold Touch to him. From then on, whatever he touched turned into gold, including bread, milk, flowers, and even his beloved daughter. He couldn”t eat gold, of course, nor could he lose his daughter. In the end, he repented his sin, pleaded God to take the Gold Touch back and went back to his former happy life again. This story is a little exaggerated, but at the same time it told us vividly that wealth and happiness are not synonym. What”s more, no matter how much money you have, you can”t spend it all.
Wealth itself is neutral, but it acquires a double-attribute because of the difference of its owner. Kind people use it for charities, while wicked people may use it to make guns and cannons for killing. Therefore wealth can be the origin of both good and evil.
God(if he really exists), can you make the kind richer and the evil live in poverty
Wealth always reminds people of money, land, houses, and cars, etc. which are all material. In fact, wealth has two aspects: material and spiritual. People pay more attention to material wealth, which is tangible and also limited. For example, a cake can be quickly eaten up, and a big sum of money can be spent. However, spiritual wealth is different, since it is intangible and unlimited. For example, a kind of philosophy, concept, spirit, a plan, a strategy, or a innovation is hard to estimate its value. Chairman”s Mao”s thought had aroused millions of people, and with an overwhelming and irresistible momentum, his strategy of “encircle the city from the country” defeated first the Japanese invaders and then Jiang Kai-shek”s army of eight million. Deng Xiaoping”s principle of “reform and opening up” led China out of the trap of poverty. The current financial policy and the general plan of “” have kept the Chinese currency RMB from devaluating during the Asian economic crisis and kept our national economy at a 7% growth rate in the unstable macro environment of world-wide economic crisis.
An enterprise can grow bigger and bigger like a snowball, but in the meantime, it can go bankrupt instantly like a deflated balloon, all depending on whether the operating strategy and specific measures are appropriate. Just as the old saying goes: As long as the line is right, the future is bright. Long-term development doesn”t depend on good luck. Therefore we believe that spiritually rich is really rich, and spiritual wealth is the biggest wealth. Judging a man, we should see whether he has the wisdom while judging an enterprise, we should see whether its strategies and measures are in accordance with the historical trends. Never trust beautiful illusions like the moon in the water and flowers reflected in a mirror that will not last long. We don”t advocate beggarism, so we are not afraid of wealth, but uphold wealth. However, we should acquire wealth in a proper way, and think more about the future. We should not forsake good for the sake of gold, nor should we benefit ourselves at the expenses of others. What we should do is to enjoy our own share at the common wealth of the human beings. Wealth is not absolute. A great man may as rich as owning the whole world, at the same time, he may also as poor as penniless. Therefore, as long as we are not spiritually poor, it is all right even if we are not rich man for the whole life.
Being poor is not because someone is penniless, but mainly because of the lonely misery in his inner world. They are green-eyed, because they are never satisfied with what they have, but are always jealous of people who are successful or who earn higher salaries. They never look at other people”s devotions and contributions, but with their habit of jealousy they always feel poor and uncomfortable. It is more difficult to solve internal poverty. Suppose we can look back at the past with the concept of wealth, how can we stay poor We may well say that wealth lies in your heart and we should know how to treasure it.
Translated by Zhang Baodan
June 20, 2004
中文
一說到財富，人們就會想到金錢，又會想到與錢有關的許多說法和觀念。比如：錢能通神。有錢能使鬼推磨。人為財死，鳥為食亡。窮在鬧市無人問，富在深山有遠親。人窮志短，馬瘦毛長。一分錢難倒英雄漢，等等。
八十年代前，都是國營商店，明碼標價，差一分真不賣給你，一分錢也確能難倒個英雄漢。那時有支應運而生的歌曲是：我在馬路邊，揀到一分錢，交到警察叔叔手裡邊……。到了現在，一毛錢在地上，經常沒有人再留意了。
人們對錢的恭維，表現在許多方面。給公司或商店起名子，經常是：豪門啤酒，富豪酒家，貴族商店，名門飯店等（個人連名字也是金滿，萬財之類）。過年了，要請財神，畫上印滿了金元寶。遇到百萬富翁過市，明知並不會給自己一分錢，仍會恭恭敬敬地迎送和瞻仰。英國電影《百萬英鎊》，揭露的淋漓盡致，百萬英鎊在手，允許賒欠，可以借貸，甚至會送給你錢物。雖然片尾主人公失去百萬英鎊仍能和女友相好，但如果沒有這個百萬英鎊，他們還是不能結識的。人們很難直接去結交一個叫花子。
《紅樓夢》在好了歌里雖然抨擊了拜金主義者，說到：“世人都曉神仙好，只有金銀忘不了。終朝只恨聚無多，待到多時眼閉了。”但在甄士隱的註釋里談到世態炎涼，人心冷暖，又不得不說：“金滿箱，銀滿箱，轉眼乞丐人皆謗。”結論是：沒錢還是不行。
人類積幾千年的文明，都不能否認錢的作用，說明金錢的確是很重要的。無論對於個人，對於家庭，對於國家或民族，金錢都舉足輕重。不然，為什麼小至看門人，大至總統都在拚命掙錢？為什麼各國政府都要設財經大臣，都要不斷地制定和修改財經計劃？債權國和債務國是多麼的不同？美國所以橫行國際，不就是財大氣粗嗎？你可以人窮志不窮，但窮了有可能挨打。阿富汗雖然贏得了很多同情，但靠施捨過日子是艱難可知的。
古往今來，國際國內，一切腐敗的產生，都源於金錢。人不管怎麼粗俗，錢不管來路怎樣骯髒，都可能去買通、甚至買斷一些體面的官僚乃至知識分子。錢的作用還不夠大嗎？（比如美國的安然公司破產案）
世上也有許多的人或團體，自謂是看破紅塵的，當然也應該看輕了錢，如一些教派。但不解的是，他們也在聚錢。或為了重修廟宇，或為了再塑金身，總有個名目。他們不自己生產，只能是由善男信女們捐贈了。有時，捐贈與否和捐贈多少，竟是你誠信度的標誌。出家人也在意錢嗎？是的。更何況，現在許多僧眾已經是帶薪修行了。
我們生在一個物質的世界，要否定錢、或說財富的作用是很難的。吃飯要錢、穿衣要錢、上學要錢、看病要錢、住房要錢、坐車要錢，不要錢的地方很少，。我們現在能夠討論的不是錢重不重要，而只是錢萬能嗎？財富是不是越多越幸福？
我們說，錢不是萬能的，它有許多辦不了的事。比如秦始皇、還有許多帝王，他們都想長生不老。他們富有天下，他們可以用一切可能的手段去求取長生不老葯，但他們都無法擺脫“荒冢一堆草沒了”的結局。
許多偉人們患了絕症，儘管可以動用一切醫療手段，他們還是經歷着跟常人一樣的痛苦，甚至得到與常人們一樣的歸宿。富人、窮人、偉人、平常人，都來去赤條條。
黃世仁雖有錢，喜兒並不買賬，寧願躲到深山當白毛女。
王寶釧寧住寒窯，也不放棄與薛仁貴的婚姻。
清順治帝雖富有天下，竟能因一愛妃去世而看空一切、並步入僧門。（傳說也無妨）
許多感情的事，是金錢買不動的。梁山伯與祝英台的故事流傳千古，正是人們對於這一觀點的認同。
很富有的人，也有很多憂慮。怕被偷盜，怕被綁票，有時還要雇保鏢。
怕把孩子寵壞，又怕身後遺產分配不均，造成家人不和。
不投資怕貶值，投資了怕破產。哪有那麼多快活？
錢多少為夠？沒有止境。少到一文不名，討飯吃也可以過活。現在甚至有乞討成萬元戶的。多到億萬富翁的，一頓飯也不過三兩小菜。碰上個海鮮過敏、魚肉生膩的人，甚至可能只要兩碟鹹菜下飯。
對於金錢，人們是又看得開，又看不開。理論上往往看得開，實踐又常常看不開。談別人，看得開；到自己，又看不開。也有當時看不開，事後看得開的。因為當局者迷嘛，事到臨頭看不開的較多。其實，只要不斷了你的炊煙，多點少點又何妨？
萬事有個度，錢也一樣，不要刻意追求，順其自然。多了多花，少了少花，一樣可以過生活。富人們雖可以花天酒地，但苦惱並不比窮人少，只是苦惱的內容與方式不同。掙大錢的花銷也大。世界級拳王，出場費幾百萬美金，上千萬美金，常常是欠債的。美國前總統克林頓，年薪幾十萬美金，仍然為官司欠債，不得不放下架子去多種渠道掙錢。而我們有些中國人的家庭，月薪幾百元人民幣，過得有滋有味。幸福不一定錢多。
西方有個寓言，叫點金術。說有個國王嗜金如命，每天都在祈禱上帝給他更多的金子。上帝為了懲戒他，給了他點金術。從此他摸什麼什麼是金子，麵包、牛奶、花朵、乃至他心愛的女兒。他不能吃金子呀，他不能沒有女兒呀。他終於懺悔，又祈求上帝收回點金術，回到他原來本就很幸福的生活。這個寓言雖然誇張，但卻生動地告訴了我們，財富並不是幸福的同義詞 。何況，財富再多，你也花不了多少。
財富本身是中性的，因為擁有的人不同，就具有了兩重性。善良的人擁有了，可以去做慈善事業，惡人擁有了，可以打造槍炮去殺人。所以，財富可以成為萬善之本，也可以成為萬惡之源。
上帝啊（如果有的話）：能不能讓善良的人們多一點財富，而讓那些心地險惡的人與財富無緣？
講到財富，人們想到金錢、土地、房屋、車輛等等，但這都是物質的。其實財富包括兩方面，即物質財富和精神財富。物質財富人們比較看重，但它是有形的，因而也有限。比如一張餅，可以吃光的。比如一萬元，可以花完的。而精神財富則不然，它無形也無限。比如一個主義，一種 觀念，一種精神，一個計劃，一個戰略，一個創新，常常很難估算它的價值。毛澤東的思想，當時發動了千千萬萬的民眾，排山倒海，勢如破竹，以農村包圍城市的方略，打敗了日寇，打敗了蔣介石八百萬軍隊。鄧小平的一個“改革、開放”方針，讓中國甩掉了貧窮。中國現時的積極財政政策和拉動內需的大戰略，使我國在亞洲金融危機時能保持人民幣不貶值，在世界經濟危機起伏動蕩的大環境中，能保持國民經濟 7 ％的增長率。
一個企業，可以象滾雪球一樣，從小到大，也可以象泄了氣的皮球一樣，瞬間倒閉，全在經營戰略和具體措施是否得當。正如俗話所說，路線對了頭，一步一層樓。長期發展是不能靠僥倖的。所以我們相信，精神富有是真正的富有，精神財富才是最大的財富。我們看一個 人，要看他有無頭腦。看一個企業，要看是否有符合潮流的發展戰略和措施。不要相信水中月，鏡中花，那是不能長久的。我們不信奉叫花子主義。我們不怕財富，也崇尚財富，但要取之有道，立足長遠。不要見利忘義，不要損人利已，而應在人類走向繁榮的大潮中去享有自己的那一股激流。富有不是絕對的。既便是一個非常偉大的人，如毛澤東、孫中山等，雖可以富有天下，也可能一文不名。所以，只要心中不貧窮，不一定一輩子當富翁。
真正的貧寒，不是因為兜里沒有錢，主要是內心荒涼。他們集中表現於“紅眼”病。他們永不滿足自己的所得，而對一切成功者，高薪者心中不平。不看別人的付出，不看別人的貢獻，嫉妒成性，因而總覺得自己貧窮，總不舒服。內心貧窮幫扶比較困難。如果我們能夠以財富的理念回顧過去，誰能不富有？可不可以說，財富本就在你心中，要珍惜啊 !
宋遠利
2003/2/12
來源：中國英語網
英語演講稿《財富wealth》 標籤：奧巴馬開學演講