Listen to this articlefāfèn-zhùshū
发愤著书
By “key concepts in Chinese thought and culture” we mean concepts and keywords or phrases the Chinese people have created or come to use that are fundamentally pertinent to Chinese philosophy, humanistic spirit, way of thinking, and values.
fāfèn-zhùshū 发愤著书
Indignation Spurs One to Write Great Works.
因在现实生活中遭遇不平而下决心写出传世著作。源出《史记·太史公自序》。西汉司马迁在遭受宫刑后，强烈的愤懑情绪成为他创作《史记》的驱动力。他借《史记》表达自己的思想、感情、志向，最终使著作流传于世。“发愤著书”后多用来解释优秀的文艺作品的创作动机和原因。这一术语揭示了优秀的文学作品的产生往往与作者个人的不幸遭遇有直接关联。后世在此基础上又衍生出“不平则鸣”“诗穷而后工”等观点。
This term means suffering injustice in life can spur one to create great works. It originated from the “Preface by the Grand Historian to Records of the Historian.” After Sima Qian, an official in the Western Han Dynasty, suffered the unjust punishment of castration, his indignation spurred him to write the great work, Records of the Historian. In the book he gave expression to his thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, which made the book a classic for later generations. The expression “indignation spurs one to write great works” was used to explain one of the motivations and reasons for creating masterpieces. It points to the fact that injustice suffered by an author often turns out to be the source of inspiration for him to write a literary masterpiece. It later led to similar terms like “Where there is injustice there will be an expression of indignation” and “Frustration inspires poets to write fine poems.”
引例 Citations：
◎惜诵以致愍兮，发愤以抒情。（屈原《九章·惜诵》）
（痛惜直言进谏却招致谗毁疏远，怀着一腔忧愤抒发衷情。）
I am saddened that my frank remonstration with the king has brought false accusations on me and left me in exile. In anguish and indignation, I am writing these poems to express my strong feelings. (Qu Yuan: Collection of Nine Pieces)
◎《诗》三百篇，大抵圣贤发愤之所为作也。此人皆意有所郁结，不得通其道，故述往事、思来者。（司马迁《报任安书》）
（《诗经》三百篇，大都是圣贤抒发忧愤而创作出来的。这些人都是情意郁结，不能实现志向，所以记述往事，希望将来的人能够了解。）
Most of the 300 poems in The Book of Songs were written by sages who were in anguish and indignation. They were depressed over what had prevented them from fulfilling their aspirations, so they composed poems about what had happened in the hope that future generations would understand them. (Sima Qian: A Letter of Reply to Ren An)
