To be brave is to be brave, not to be without virtue

The Analects of Confucius opened by a snail: Gongye Chang No. 5 7

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5. 7 Original text

Confucius said: "If the way is not possible, take a boat and float in the sea. If you follow me, that's the reason!" Zilu was delighted when he heard this. Confucius said: "You are braver than me, and you have nothing to draw from."

Notes

①桴: A raft used to cross a river.

② Follow: follow, follow.

Translation

Confucius said: "If my idea doesn't work, I will go overseas on a raft. Probably the only one who can follow me is Zhong You!" Zilu heard this It was a pleasure to say that. Confucius said: "Zhong You, your bravery exceeds mine, and there is no other worthy talent."

Commentary

Zhong You (542 BC - 480 BC), zi Zilu, also named Jilu, was a native of Lu (Zhongcun Town, Pingyi County, Shandong Province, named after Zhongzi's hometown). One of the "Ten Philosophers of Confucius", he was worshiped by Confucianism. Zhong You was famous for his political affairs. He was upright and courageous. He followed Confucius and traveled around the world. He was one of the seventy-two sages of Confucius. Zhong You served in Lu at first and then in Wei. When Confucius was serving as the Sikou of the State of Lu, he served as the prime minister of the Ji Sun family, and later as the prime minister of the doctor Kong Li. In the first year of Wei Zhuang (480 BC), Kong Li's mother Bo Ji and others conspired to make Kuai Chi (Bo Ji's younger brother) the king, and forced Kong Li to kill the guards and go public. He fled after hearing the news. After Zhong Yu heard the news outside, he went to the city to see Kuai Chi. Kuai Chi ordered Shi Qi to shoot down Zi Lu's crown tassel with his sword. Zi Lu said: "When a gentleman dies, he will inevitably wear his crown." (A gentleman must be neatly dressed even if he is dying). While he was fastening his hat and tassel, he was chopped into pieces.

This passage from Confucius is actually an evaluation of Zilu. In the troubled times of the Spring and Autumn Period, the benevolent government advocated by Confucius could not be implemented by all countries. Therefore, Teacher Kong was extremely disappointed with the world and people's hearts, so he complained angrily: "Laozi's ideas cannot be reused, and there is no point in staying here. I'd better go out to sea on a raft." But Teacher Kong thought again: "No, although I can go to sea, I have to be cared for by someone, so I can't let me catch fish myself. Come with me?" Teacher Kong frowned and said leisurely: "As for going to sea, the only one who can go with me is Zhong You." When Zhong You heard this, he said. He immediately danced with joy and said in his heart: "Teacher, you have said so much, and you finally mentioned me. Next, please watch my performance..." Teacher Kong took a look and said: "Hey, what's going on? Just now. Just a few compliments and your tail will go up to the sky. You little boy, let me take care of you." Then Teacher Kong said, "Oh, Zhong Yu is just braver than me, and there is nothing else to be said for him." Zhong Yu: " …” (Teacher, would you like to give me a date or a mallet? The students’ little hearts can’t bear it.)

You see, Teacher Kong is not as serious as you think. On the contrary, I do have some skin from time to time. So, what does Teacher Kong mean? Does Teacher Kong really only think that Zhong Yu has nothing but bravery? From the previous introduction, we can see that Zhong Yu is a brave man, but as one of the 72 sages of Confucius, his talents are also very outstanding. So, why did Confucius say that only Zhong Yu could go to sea with him?

First of all, let’s look at Teacher Kong’s words about going to sea. Maybe we think this is Teacher Kong’s complaint, or a small wish. However, we often ignore the state of the place where Teacher Kong is going, and even the transportation conditions of Teacher Kong. Teacher Kong wants to go to sea. The key point is to go to the sea. That was the sea more than 2,000 years ago. Going out there would have been all kinds of violent storms and rough waves, not the current sightseeing tours. Therefore, it must be very difficult for Teacher Kong to go overseas. Then, there are the tools. What is it? It's a "桴", which is a small raft, not a luxury yacht, let alone the Titanic, and it's not even comparable to a current fishing boat. So you see, Teacher Kong is going to take a small raft to the sea. Now, can you imagine how dangerous this journey is? Judging from Teacher Kong's skills, I'm afraid that going out is just feeding the fish. After all, these days are nothing compared to Zhou Xingchi's sharp tongue, let alone talking about fish and shrimp exploding, which will probably have the opposite effect. Therefore, it is meaningful for Teacher Kong to say that only Zhong Yu can go with him at this time. First, Zhong You must be very brave. Like the fisherman in "The Old Man and the Sea", he probably has no problem fighting sharks. Second, Zhong Yu is not only brave, but must also be talented. Only in this way can he preach with Confucius. Otherwise, as Teacher Confucius said in a classic saying, Zhong Yu doesn't know why, wouldn't it be a great disgrace? Third, Zhong You must be committed to Taoism and be loyal to the study and preaching of Taoism. Otherwise, if he abandons Teacher Kong halfway, Teacher Kong will really be in trouble every day. . Therefore, from this point of view, Zhong Yu should be a man of both wisdom and courage, and he must also be very determined. That's why Teacher Kong praised him so much.

However, Zhong You was still too young, and when he heard the teacher's praise, he felt a little complacent.

Therefore, Teacher Kong, who is good at teaching students anytime and anywhere, quickly reminded the juniors at the right time, lest Zhong You would stop going to sea with Teacher Kong once he thought he was great (to be honest, in this chapter, I always felt that Teacher Kong had some kind of talent) Tang Seng’s sense of déjà vu, if I were lectured every day, I would definitely collapse). As a person who is committed to the Tao, and as a person who takes the world as his own responsibility, he cannot be complacent just because of a small compliment. But always pay attention to your own virtue. It cannot be said that happiness and anger are invisible, but at least it is necessary to be modest and cautious. That is to say, no matter how strong your will is, no matter how good your talents are, you cannot stop pursuing perfect morality.

People can be without talent, but they cannot be without virtue.

Sima Guang has an incisive discussion of virtue and talent in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian": "A man who is smart, strong, and perseverant is called talent, and a man who is upright, neutral, and balanced is called virtue. Talent is the capital of virtue; Virtue is the leader of talents." He defined saints, gentlemen, and villains: "That's why we call him a saint if he has both talents and virtues, and he is a fool if he has both talents and virtues. "The villain." Sima Guang's statement was made in a targeted manner. The criteria he proposed for selecting candidates were: "It is better to get a fool than a humble saint." Sima Guang's words are not unreasonable. . The most ideal standard for employing people is to have both ability and political integrity, but the selection space for this standard is too small, and saints have been rare since ancient times. When talent and virtue cannot be combined, a fool is a safer choice. Choose a puppet to control, and he will be very obedient. Because he is stupid, he has no ability to do good things, and he also has no ability to do bad things. The villain is different. The villain has no virtue, but he has talent. Without virtue, he cannot do good things, but his talent is enough to do bad things. The prerequisite for choosing a puppet is that there must be a good operator. Otherwise, the puppet will not be able to do anything, and the villain will still succeed.

There are countless examples of people who lost the world because of their talents and virtues, such as the well-known Li Yu who "is really peerless as a poet, but pitiful and unlucky to be a king", Huizong who died in a foreign country, and other historical figures. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, he was quite talented in literature and a very sober king who subjugated his country. These people have no virtue and cannot serve the world, and their talents cannot govern the world. It is reasonable for the country to perish.

Therefore, for Teacher Kong, no matter when and where, never forget to cultivate your own virtue.