The classical Chinese article about "making friends" is: "The Way of Making Friends".

1. Original text

"The Way of Making Friends"

When I met (péng) Meng Xue shot at Yi, he followed Yi's way, thinking that only Yi in the world would heal himself. , so he killed Yi. Mencius said: "Is Yi Yi guilty?" Gong Mingyi said: "It is better to be innocent." He said: "As thin as a cloud ear①, how evil is innocent? The people of Zheng sent Zizhuo (zhúo) Ruzi to invade the Wei, and the Wei He ordered Yu Gong to pursue him. Zi Zhuo Ruzi said, "I am too busy to hold my bow today, and I will die." He asked his servant, "Who is chasing me?" His servant said, "Yu" The master said: "I am born." His servant said: "Yu Gong is good at shooting. What do you mean by Master Yu?" Shoot it at me. Master Yin is a man of honor, and he must take care of his friends. When Master Yu arrived, he said, "Why don't you hold the bow?" He said, "I am working hard today." "The villain learned to shoot from Yin Gong, and he learned from Master Yin. I can't bear to use Master's way to harm Master. Although today's matter is your business, I dare not abolish it." Its gold is sent out by a (shèng) arrow and then reverses ②."?

2. Comments?

①Bo Huyun'er: It's not big.

② Riding arrows: four arrows. ?

3. Translation?

Peng Meng learned archery from Yi. After fully mastering Yi's archery skills, he thought that only Yi in the world was better than himself, so he killed Yi. . Mencius said: "Yi was also at fault in this matter." Gongmingyi said: "(Hou Yi) seems not to have done anything wrong." Mencius said: "The fault is not big, how can you say that there is no fault? Zheng Guo once sent his son Zhuo Ruzi to attack Wei Guo sent Yu Gongzhi to chase him. Zi Zhuo Ruzi said: "I am ill today. I can't hold my bow. I won't survive." He asked the man who was driving him: "Who is chasing me?" The man who drove him said, "It's Yu Gong Si." (Zi Zhuo Ruzi then) said, "I can't die." The man who drove him said, "Yu Gong Si is an excellent archer in Weiguo, but you say you will die." No, how can I say this?" (He replied) "Yugong Si once learned archery from Yin Gong, and Yin Gong said he is an upright person, and the friends he chooses must also be upright people. Will not kill his teacher.) Yu Gongzhi caught up and asked, "Why don't you take the bow?" (Zi Zhuo Ruzi) said, "I am ill today and cannot hold the bow." He said: "I learned archery from Mr. Yin, and he learned archery from you. I can't bear to use your skills to hurt you. Even so, today's matter is a major matter for the king, and I dare not give it up." Hit the arrow on the wheel a few times, remove the arrowhead, shoot four arrows, and then go back."?

4. Modern interpretation?

Confucius said. , "He who has no friends is worse than himself", and also said "be close to benevolent people", etc. These all show that when dealing with people, you should choose the good ones and avoid those with bad conduct. In this chapter, Mencius believes that Yi was guilty, which is also based on this. In a sense, Yi's death was a bit self-inflicted, and the fault lay in his improper employment of people. Today, many leaders are not immune to making mistakes when selecting and appointing cadres. They like those who surround themselves all day long, like to listen to flattery, and laugh flatteringly at the sight of others. On the other hand, they often do bad things to these villains and reap the consequences.