Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. This sentence comes from "The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan Chapter". It is one of Confucius' classic sayings and the essence of Confucian culture. China's "The Analects of Confucius" is Like the Western Bible, it is a summary and guidance of the culture of a nation or a region. The Analects is divided into twenty chapters, among which the "Yan Yuan Chapter" mainly talks about Confucius's explanation of "benevolence" and "forgiveness".
"Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" means: don't impose on others what you don't want. Confucius emphasized that people should treat others with forgiveness and should promote the way of "forgiveness". , only in this way is the expression of benevolence. The Tao of "forgiveness" is the negative expression of "benevolence", and its positive expression is "to establish oneself, one can establish others, and to achieve oneself, one can reach others." "Love others" is the center, and the behavior of loving others certainly includes the aspect of treating others with forgiveness. "The Analects" mentioned: The way of the Master is loyalty and forgiveness.
What this sentence reveals is the processing Important principles of interpersonal relationships. What Confucius said is that people should treat others based on their own behavior. People should be broad-minded and should not be narrow-minded when dealing with others, but should be magnanimous and forgiving towards others. Forcibly pushing things you don't want to others will not only damage the relationship with others, but also make things stalemate and get out of hand. This principle should indeed be adhered to in interactions between people, which is to respect others and treat others equally. In addition to paying attention to your own existence, you must also pay attention to the existence of others. Everyone is equal, and you must not do to others what you do not want to do to others.
As understood above. "People" refers to the public in a broad sense. However, the definition of "people" in the era when "The Analects of Confucius" was born usually refers to the narrow sense, that is, people above the scholar level, which is relative to "people". "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" is written in front of "Going out is like seeing a distinguished guest, treating the people as if they are receiving a great sacrifice." This is narrated in the same sentence. It is obvious that the "people" here refer to the exploited Class, working people. In today's language, "people" in the narrow sense refers to slave owners, that is, the exploiting class, and "people" refers to slaves, that is, the exploited class, so of course this sentence can be understood as " This principle of interpersonal relationships applies to the exploiting class, but the relationship between the exploiting class and the exploited class may not be like this. This understanding is not nonsense, nor is it completely impossible. However, As we all know, Confucius is a person who strongly advocates "benevolence", and the word "human" here should be used in a broad sense.
What Confucius said is not a universally applicable theorem. If we all start from this principle, many things will be stuck in the middle and it will be difficult to move forward. If two people are facing each other with guns, their lives are at stake. A is righteous and B is evil. At this time, if A adheres to "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you." "Principle, isn't it tragic! Of course A doesn't want to be killed, so shouldn't he kill B who doesn't want to be killed? Any reason or law is only suitable under certain conditions and circumstances.
“Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you” is the essence of Confucianism and a deep-rooted creed of the Chinese nation. However, in reality many people cannot abide by the principle of “do not do to others what you don’t want others to do to you.” Creed, everything is centered on personal interests, only taking into account one's own feelings, and ignoring the feelings of others. Whether dealing with interpersonal relationships or political relations, we should not hesitate to recognize the importance of the enduring principle of interpersonal relationships: "Do not do to others what you would like others to do to you."