313 BC - 238 BC

Xunzi (313 BC - 238 BC) was named Kuang, with the courtesy name Qing. Later, he was renamed Sun Qing to avoid the taboo of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. During the Warring States Period, Zhao Guoyi (now Anze, Shanxi) was a famous thinker, writer, politician, and one of the important representatives of Confucianism. He developed Confucianism and advocated the theory of evil nature, which is often compared with Mencius' theory of good nature. It also made considerable contributions to the reorganization of Confucian classics.

Life

"Historical Records? Biography of Xunqing" records his life. Xunzi began to study in Qi in the 50th year, and in the reign of King Xiang, he was "the most teacher" and "the third one was offering wine". Later, he was exiled to Chu, and Lord Chun Shen took him as the Lanling order. Lord Chun Shen died and Xun Qing deposed him, and he lived in Lanling. During this period, he once entered the Qin Dynasty and said that the Qin State was "the best in governance". He also visited the State of Zhao and discussed the war with Lord Linwu in front of King Zhao Xiaocheng. Finally, he died in Chu State. He once preached and taught, and two of the most famous thinkers and politicians in the late Warring States Period - Han Fei and Li Si - were his disciples. Also because his two disciples were representatives of Legalism, some scholars in the past dynasties doubted Xunzi. Confucian scholar or not, Xunzi was also heavily criticized by many scholars in Chinese history because of his disciples.

Works

"Xunzi" (Yang Liang made annotations for it in the Tang Dynasty. Because Xunzi was criticized by scholars of all dynasties, there were not many annotators. Until the rise of textual criticism in the Qing Dynasty, annotations The number of editors has increased. There are more scholars studying Xunzi in modern times than in ancient times)

Including Wang Xianqian in the Qing Dynasty and Liang Qixiong in the Republic of China. Tan Sitong, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, commented in his book "Ren Xue" that "(China's) two thousand years of learning, Xun Xue, are all based on the wishes of the hometown." (For the full text of "Xunzi", see: /page/dcf7d7d3/)

Philosophical Thoughts

Xunzi’s thoughts are biased towards experience and personnel aspects. They start from the social context, attach importance to social order, oppose mystical thoughts, and value human efforts. The central thought of Confucius is "benevolence", and the central thought of Mencius is "righteousness". Xunzi followed the two of them and put forward "ritual", which attaches great importance to the norms of people's behavior in society. He regarded Confucius as a saint, but opposed the philosophical thought of the "School of Simi-Meng" headed by Mencius and Zisi, and believed that Zi Gong and himself were the scholars who inherited Confucius' thoughts. Xunzi believed that people are born with the desire to satisfy their desires, and if their desires are not satisfied, they will have disputes. Therefore, he advocated that human nature is inherently evil, and that it is necessary to educate the sage king and etiquette to "change nature and make it false" to improve personality.

Xun Kuang was a thinker of the emerging landlord class. He was knowledgeable. On the basis of inheriting early Confucianism, he also absorbed the strengths of each school, synthesized and transformed them, established his own ideological system, and developed the ancient materialist tradition. Most of the existing thirty-two chapters of "Xunzi" are Xunzi's own works, involving many aspects of philosophy, logic, politics, and morality. In terms of his view of nature, he opposed the belief in destiny, ghosts and gods, affirmed that the laws of nature are not subject to human will, and put forward the idea that man can conquer nature; on the issue of human nature, he proposed the "theory of evil nature" and denied the innate moral concept. He emphasized the influence of acquired environment and education on people; in terms of political thought, he adhered to the Confucian principle of ritual rule, while paying attention to people's material needs, and advocated the combination of economic development and the rule of ritual and law. Epistemologically, he acknowledged that human thinking can reflect reality. But there is a tendency to underestimate the role of the senses. In the famous "Encouraging Learning", he concentrated on his views on learning. Chinese emphasizes the importance of "learning" and believes that only knowledgeable people can "know and help without making mistakes". It also points out that learning must be connected with reality and apply what is learned, and the learning attitude should be sincere, dedicated and persevering. He attaches great importance to the status and role of teachers in teaching. He believes that if a country wants to prosper, it must value teachers. At the same time, he puts forward strict requirements for teachers. He believes that if teachers do not set an example for students, students will not be able to practice.

The articles in "Xunzi" have clear themes, rigorous structure, thorough reasoning, and strong logic. The language is rich and colorful, good at metaphors, and there are many parallel sentences. He has his own unique style and has a certain influence on later generations of reasoning articles. The five short poems in "Xunzi" created the literary genre named after Fu; he wrote "Chengxiang Pian" in the form of folk songs at that time. The text is easy to understand and he used the form of rap to express his political and academic thoughts. It also has a certain impact on future generations. Xun Kuang deserves to be regarded as a great thinker, outstanding writer and educator in ancient my country.

Different versions of Xunzi:

One:

Qing, a native of Zhao Guoxun (now Linyi County, Shanxi Province).

Xunzi's life activities are recorded in "Customs and Meanings? Qingtong": "At the time of King Wei of Qi, the wise men from all over the world gathered in Jixia... Sun Qing was a scholar, and he came to study since he was fifteen years old." In 286 BC, Qi destroyed the Song Dynasty. "On Salt and Iron? On Confucianism" mentioned that King Min of Qi was arrogant and arrogant, "all the Confucian scholars did not obey the advice and dispersed." At this time, Xun Qing said to Qi Xiangjin: "The victory is the best." The power of a person will overcome the way of others." He pointed out: Today, the giant Chu is holding me in front of me, the big Yan is threatening behind me, and the powerful Wei is hooking on my right... If one country plans a plan, the three countries will definitely take the opportunity to invade. , In this way, Qi State will inevitably fall apart and the country will be in danger of destruction. ("Xunzi. Strengthening the Country", quoted from this book, only note the title of the chapter) The opinion was not adopted, so Sun Qing went to Chu State. During the reign of King Xiang of Qi (283 BC - 265 BC), Xunzi returned to Qi for the second time. "Xunqing is the most teacher." He was recommended as a sacrificial wine (a high-ranking and respected person) three times. ("Historical Records? Biography of Mencius and Xunqing") During the period when Fan Ju was in charge of the Qin Dynasty (266 BC - 255 BC), Xunzi went to Qin to meet King Qin Zhao. King Zhao asked: "Confucianism is not beneficial to people's country?" ) asked Sun Qingzi: "What will happen when you enter Qin?" "To"; however, "almost no Confucianism" was "Qin's shortcoming". Since the Qin State implemented the rule of law, Xunzi's idea of ??governing the country with Confucianism would not work.

Some people in Qi slandered Xunzi, so Xunzi left Qi and came to Chu. In 255 BC, he was appointed as the Lanling Order. But some people think that Xunzi is a danger to Chu State. So Xunzi resigned from Chu and came to Zhao State, where Zhao State worshiped him as its high minister. Later, someone from Chu State proposed to the Prime Minister of Chu, Chun Shenjun, to invite Xunzi to return to Chu. So Chun Shenjun sent someone to invite Xunzi back and reinstated him as the Lanling Order. In 238 BC, Lord Chun Shen was killed by Li Yuan, and Xunzi was dismissed from office. He died within a few years.

More than 300 pieces of Xunzi's works were circulated in the Han Dynasty. After Liu Xiang edited and deleted the duplicates, 32 pieces were finalized.

Two:

Xunzi (approximately 325 BC - 238 BC) was named "Qing" by people at that time, so he was also called Xun Qing. In the Han Dynasty, the name was changed to avoid Emperor Xuan's taboo. Sun Qing, a native of Zhao State (now southwestern Shanxi Province) at the end of the Warring States Period, was a famous thinker in the Pre-Qin Dynasty.

Xunzi studied in Qi in his early years. Because of his profound knowledge, he was "the most teacher" and served three times as the "jiujiu" (head of the academy) of the "Jixia Academy" in Qi State at that time. In about 264 BC, at the invitation of King Zhao of Qin, he traveled westward to Qin. He said that Qin had "simple people", "a hundred officials were solemn" and "the best governance" in the country. Later, he returned to the State of Zhao and joined the righteous soldiers of Linwu Jun in front of King Zhao Xiaocheng. He believed that "the foundation of using troops to attack and fight depends on the people" and "those who are good at following the people are also good at using troops" ("Xunzi: Discussion on Arms"). Later, Xunzi was used by Lord Chunshen of Chu and served as the order of Lanling (now Lanling Town, Cangshui County, Shandong Province). In his later years, he engaged in teaching and writing.

Comments

Xunzi was erudite and thoughtful, and his thoughts and theories were based on Confucianism, drawing on the strengths of Taoism, Dharma, Ming, and Mohism. He regarded himself as the successor of Confucius and Zhong Gong, maintained the Confucian tradition, denounced the Confucians of the Zi Zhang family, Zi Xia family, and Zi You family as "cheap Confucians", and severely criticized the Zisi and Mencius schools. It has a certain benefit and loss to Confucius' thought. Confucius' "ethics" is highlighted in political thought, and there is a tendency to change to Legalism. It is not entirely accidental that Han Feizi and Li Si, the representative representatives of Legalism in the later period, came from Xunzi's sect.

Since Xunzi was at the end of the Warring States Period, the thoughts and theories of various schools of thought had emerged. This allowed him to not only adopt the thoughts of various schools of thought, but also to criticize and compare them. Therefore, Xunzi’s thoughts were very rich. . It can be said that Xunzi made great achievements in various aspects such as cosmology, theory of human nature, ethics, theory of knowledge, education, literature, politics, economics, logic, etc.

1. The view of heaven: Xunzi believes that "heaven" is the objective nature of nature. "The stars rotate with each other, the sun and the moon pass by, the four eras are governed, the yin and yang are transformed, the wind and rain are generous, and all things have their own destiny." Harmony is born, and each receives its nourishment to become complete. Without seeing its actions but seeing its achievements, this is called God. Everyone knows the reason why it is achieved, but no one knows its intangibility. This is called heaven." ("Xunzi? Theory of Heaven"). The natural world has regularity that is independent of human will. "The behavior of heaven is constant, and it is not preserved by Yao or destroyed by Jie. If it is managed, it will be good, and if it is chaotic, it will be bad." ("Xunzi? Theory of Heaven") . Starting from acknowledging the objectivity and regularity of nature, Xunzi put forward the view of "the separation of nature and man", "Strengthening the foundation and using it sparingly, then nature will not be poor; when it is well prepared and active, then nature will not be sick; follow the Tao and not Second, then Heaven cannot cause harm;... Therefore, if one understands the distinction between Heaven and Man, he can be said to be the Supreme Man" ("Xunzi's Treatise on Heaven"). On the basis of advocating respect for the laws of nature, Xunzi further proposed the idea of ????playing human subjective initiative and "controlling the destiny of heaven and using it" to control, distribute and conquer nature. ; It is given from heaven, who can use it to control the destiny of heaven; who can wait for the time and make it happen; who can make it according to the time, who can make it more due to things, who can transform it with the energy of things; who can think of things and use them, and who can make them with reason. Don't lose things; I hope that the reason why things are born is the reason why things are made. Therefore, if you think about heaven by mistake, you will lose the emotion of all things." ("Xunzi: Theory of Heaven"). This series of Xunzi's materialistic thoughts was unique among the pre-Qin scholars' debates on the view of heaven. It promoted the spirit of rationality and therefore had high theoretical value.

2. Epistemology: Xunzi pointed out: "Everything that can be known is the nature of human beings; what can be known is the principle of things" ("Xunzi? Uncovering"), that is, the world is knowable, and it can be known through Carry out according to human body function. The process of understanding is to contact external things through the "Tianguan" (sense organs), and then the "Tianjun" (thinking organ) performs rational processing ("knowledge"), that is, the combination of subject and object. "Heart" (thinking) is an important stage of understanding. "The heart is the king of form; it is also the master of gods" ("Xunzi? Uncovering"). It is believed that the one-sidedness and subjectivity of knowledge are a major "concealment", and there are many forms of "concealment", including: "desire is a cover, evil is a cover, the end is a cover, the far is a cover, the near is a cover, the extensive is a cover, the shallow is a cover It is a concealment, it was a concealment in ancient times, and it is a concealment today. All things are different and they are all concealed. This is the common danger of the mind." ("Xunzi: Uncovering the Concealment") To unblock the concealment, one must "know", "How can one know?" It is called the heart. How does the heart know? It is said to be empty and calm. People are born with knowledge, and those who know and have ambitions are those who have hidden things. Xunzi? Uncovering”). If you achieve "emptiness and tranquility", you can achieve "Great Qingming". Regarding the relationship between "knowledge" and "action", Xunzi believed that "action" is higher than "knowledge", "Knowing is not as good as doing it, and learning stops when you do it" ("Xunzi? Ruxiao"). Regarding the relationship between "name" and "reality", Xunzi emphasized that "reality" is the objective basis of "name" and put forward the viewpoint of "making names to refer to reality" ("Xunzi? Correcting Names").

3. Theory of human nature: In terms of theory of human nature, Xunzi put forward the view of "evil nature" that is completely opposite to Mencius' theory of "good nature". He believes that human nature is an innate and simple natural attribute. "Everything that exists in nature is what heaven has to offer. It cannot be learned or done...but what exists in humans is called human nature" ("Xunzi: Human Nature"). "Evil"), manifested as "the desire to be full when armored, the desire to be warm when cold, the desire to rest when tired" ("Xunzi: Evil"), so human nature is "born with good interests" and "born with diseases and evils" ”, “Born with desires for ears and eyes, and good voices and colors” (“Xunzi: Evil Nature”). The "goodness" of human nature is man-made (that is, "false") acquired by nature. "Human nature is evil, and the good ones are fake" ("Xunzi: Evil Nature"). "Goodness" is the result of acquired environment and upbringing. "Rites and righteousness are born of saints. People can learn what they learn and do what they do... Talent is what can be learned and done." , called it false” ("Xunzi: Evil Nature"). The "nature" endowed by nature and the "fakeness" of acquired learning and things are a pair of contradictions. To resolve the contradiction, we must "change the nature to make it fake", which is to change the "nature" through learning and things. "Xing" and "falseness" are opposites and unified. "Without sex, there will be nothing false, and without falseness, nature cannot be beautiful." Only by achieving "the harmony of sex and falsehood, can the name of a saint be the same" ("Xunzi's Theory of Rites") ). Xunzi's theory of "evil nature" is very different from Mencius' theory of "good nature", but they are consistent in terms of the purpose of educating and influencing the people through the so-called "teachings of the sage kings".

His thought of evil nature is also considered by later generations to be the germination of his legalist ideological trend.

4. Theory of Rites: The idea of ??"ritual" is the core concept of Xunzi's social and political thought. Xunzi proposed that "ritual" is a "measurement and demarcation" formulated by the "previous kings" in order to regulate people's desires and avoid wars. "Where did the etiquette come from? He said: Human beings are born with desires. If you don't get what you want, you can't live without it. If there is no measure and no boundaries, then there is no choice but to fight. Fighting will lead to chaos, and chaos will lead to poverty. The ancient kings hated chaos, so they created etiquette and righteousness to cultivate people's desires and make people's desires endless. , things will not succumb to desires, and the two will maintain each other and grow, which is the origin of etiquette." ("Xunzi's Theory of Etiquette") Xunzi believed that although the content of "ritual" includes "things to do", "to die" and "to sacrifice". ", "teacher travel" and so on, the essence is nothing more than "yang" ("the desire to nourish people") and "system" ("there are equals between high and low, there are differences between senior and young, and there are people who are rich and poor, and they are all distinguished"). Xunzi emphasized that "ritual" is the highest standard for measuring everything and the foundation for governing the country, that is, "the ultimate in humanity", and it is also the supreme and highest principle of eternal existence. With the line, rivers flow, all things prosper, likes and dislikes are decorated, joys and anger are balanced, if you think of the bottom, it will be smooth, if you think of the top, it will be clear, everything will change without chaos, if you don't do it, it will be mourning, isn't it true!" ("Xunzi's Theory of Rites")

5. Views on education: Xunzi attaches great importance to the functions of education and learning. This is actually the logic of his view of the way of heaven and the theory of human nature of "the separation of nature and man". extend. He believes that learning is very important to people, and "learning can't stop", "I think about it all day long, it's not as good as what I learned in a moment" ("Xunzi: Encouraging Learning"). Education determines a person's growth. "The sons of Qian Yue, Yi and Raccoon are born with the same voice, grow up and have different customs, and they are taught to do so" ("Xunzi Encouraging Learning"). He pointed out that knowledge and moral cultivation are accumulated through accumulation. "When soil accumulates, a mountain will be formed, and wind and rain will flourish; when water accumulates, a chasm will form, and a dragon will emerge; if good deeds accumulate, then the gods will be content with themselves, and the holy heart will be ready." (Xunzi? Encourage learning"). Xunzi believed that there is no end to learning and that those who come after will be superior. "Green comes from blue, and green is from blue; ice comes from water, but is cold from water." He also emphasized that the purpose of "learning" lies in "doing", so There is an end to learning mathematics, and if it is true, it cannot be abandoned even for a moment. To do it is like a human being; to give it up is like an animal" ("Xunzi Encouraging Learning").

Xunzi has always been considered a very important figure in the early teaching of Confucian classics. , Ying Shao's "Customs" said: "Sun Qing is good at writing "Poetry", "Li", "Yi" and "Spring and Autumn". Wang Zhong, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, authored "General Theory of Xun Qingzi", which believed that "Xun Qing's learning originated from Confucius, and was especially responsible for the classics". He also made detailed research on Xunzi's "Jing Chuan", which constituted the history of Confucian classics. Scholars who have studied it basically agree that Xunzi was a very important Confucian scholar and scholar in the pre-Qin Dynasty. In the early feudal society of China, his status was relatively high. However, since the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucians tended to exalt Mencius and belittle Xunzi, and removed him from Confucianism. However, Xunzi’s thoughts and theories still have a profound and widespread influence. Zhang Heng, Wang Chong, Liu Zongyuan, Wang Fuzhi, Dai Zhen and modern bourgeois revolutionary democrats are all influenced by him to varying degrees.

Xunzi’s famous sayings

(1) Perseverance ("Xunzi Encouraging Learning"): Carving something and never letting go is a metaphor for perseverance and perseverance.

(2) Green, taken from blue, and green from blue ("Xunzi Encouraging Learning"): It is a metaphor that students are better than teachers, and future generations are better than predecessors.

Famous quote

< p>(1) Anyone who is not me is my teacher; anyone who is me is my friend; anyone who flatters me is my thief ("Xunzi·Cultivation of the Body")

(2) The movement of heaven is constant, and it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie. ("Xunzi: Theory of Heaven")

(3) The eyes cannot see clearly, and the ears cannot hear clearly. ·Encouragement to Learn")

(4) Even if the road is far away, it cannot be done. Even if the task is small, it cannot be accomplished if it is not done. ("Xunzi·Cultivation of the Self")

(5) Perseverance. If you give it up, the rotten wood will not be broken; if you persevere, the gold and stone can be carved ("Xunzi Encouraging Learning")

(6) The hemp growing in the ground will be straight without support; the white sand will be black in the nirvana. "Xunzi Encouraging Learning")

(7) Therefore, if you don't accumulate steps, you can't reach a thousand miles; if you don't accumulate small streams, you can't build a river ("Xunzi Encouraging Learning")

(8) The gentleman said: Learning is something you can’t do anymore.

("Xunzi Encouraging Learning")

(9) Green, taken from blue, and green is from blue. Ice, water is for it, and cold is from water. (<>)

Detailed explanation:

1. Introduction to the author's works

Xunzi (about 298 BC - 238 BC) was famous. At that time, people respectfully called him Xun Qing. The work of the Han Dynasty was written as Sun Qing to avoid the taboo of Liu Xun, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. A native of Zhao at the end of the Warring States Period. He twice went on study tours to Jixia (now Ximen of Linzi, Shandong), the cultural center of Qi State at that time, and served as the priest (leader of the academy) of Dr. Li. He also went to Qin State to pay homage to King Qin Zhao, and later to Chu State, where he served as a minister of Lan Lan. Ling (now southeast of Zaozhuang, Shandong) Order. He lost his official position in 238 BC, died at home, and was buried in Lanling. Han Fei and Li Si were both his students.

Xunzi was the last representative figure of Pre-Qin Confucianism, and he and Mencius, who preceded him, became two opposing factions in Confucianism. Xunzi believed that the existence of nature is not dependent on human subjective will, but human beings can use subjective efforts to understand it, comply with it, and use it to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune. He put forward the idea of ??"controlling the destiny and using it". In terms of epistemology, he believed that people's understanding of objective things must first come into contact with external things through sensory organs, emphasizing the necessity of "action" for "knowledge" and the importance of acquired learning. Have simple materialistic thoughts. In politics, in response to Confucius and Mencius' thoughts of imitating the previous kings, he proposed the "King after Law", advocating that governance should be adapted to the social conditions at that time, select talents, clarify rewards and punishments, and use "rituals", "laws" and "techniques" to rule . Many of his ideas were absorbed by Legalists. On the issue of human nature, he disagreed with Mencius's theory of good nature, and advocated the theory of evil nature. He believed that acquired environment can improve people's evil nature, so he advocated "transforming it by clarifying etiquette and justice." He attaches great importance to the role of education and emphasizes the importance of educational functions.

Xunzi's prose is thorough in reasoning, rich in momentum, simple in language, concise and dense in syntax, often uses parallelism, and is good at using metaphors. He wrote "tens of thousands of words" in his life, which was compiled by later generations as "Xunzi". Except for the vast majority of his own works, a small part of them are the works of his disciples, with a total of twenty volumes and thirty-two articles. The content covers philosophical thoughts, political issues, academic methods, ways of being in the world, academic debates, etc. "Encouraging Learning" is the first of them.

2. Regarding "(Crabs) have no place to live except in the den of snakes and eels" (Zhou Jinhua)

There is no place to live in except the dens of snakes and eels: Xun Kuang believes that crabs are impetuous in nature. , If the mind is not focused, it cannot dig a hole by itself. If there is no snake eel cave, it cannot settle down. This is not in line with the life patterns of crabs. According to the old farmer, crabs can dig holes. Biological researchers say that crabs can dig holes, and so can snake eels. But snake eels use natural gaps to dig in with their heads, turn their bodies, and generate power to dig caves. Crabs occasionally live in the burrows of snakes and eels. This does not mean that they cannot dig holes. Thinking that crabs cannot dig holes is a misunderstanding caused by incomplete observation.

(Excerpted from "Corrections and Errors in "Encouraging Learning", "Wenhui Po" on December 7, 1963)

3. The abridged portion of the text (the omitted parts are selected parts of the text)

p>

The gentleman said: There is no limit to learning...there is no fault in practice.

Therefore, if you don’t climb high mountains, you don’t know how high the sky is; if you don’t visit deep streams (here refers to valleys), you don’t know how deep the earth is; if you don’t listen to the last words of the former kings, you don’t know how great knowledge is. The sons of Qian, Yue, Yi, and Raccoon (generally people from the southern and northeastern border tribes) were born (newly born) with the same voice (crying), grew up and had different customs (customs and habits), and were educated (acquired education). Of course (this is the case). "Poetry" ("Book of Songs") says: "域(jiē, interjection) you (you) gentleman, there is no permanent (permanent) rest (peaceful rest). Jing (respectful)*** (same as "offering", serving) Your position (position), good (hào admiration, pursuit) is (this) integrity. God listens (perceives) this (this refers to the above-mentioned virtues), and introduces (helps, bestows) you with good views (big, high). Blessing."

God (the highest wisdom) is greater than the Tao (being integrated with the laws of nature and able to understand and apply them. "Tao", the laws of nature), and blessings cannot grow (transcend) in nothing. disaster.

I have been thinking about it all day long... Good and fake are better than things.

There is a bird in the south named Mengjiu (a wren is a small bird that is good at building nests). Use feathers as a nest, braid them with hair (generally refers to the feathers of birds and animals and fine fibers of grass and trees), tie (hang) them (the preposition "yu" is omitted after "zhi") with reeds (tiáo, spikes of reeds), and when the wind comes If the sweet potato breaks, the egg will break and the child will die.

The nest is not incomplete (strong), it is tied to it (making it so). There is a tree in the west, named She (yè) Gan (also known as Wushan, a grass with white flowers and long stems that grows in the highlands). The stems are four inches long and grow on high mountains. Eight feet, one says that seven feet is the abyss (deep valley) of one foot. The stems of wood (referring to shoot stems) cannot grow long (it does not mean they can grow very high), but they can be erected (it is the place where they grow that makes them so tall). Peng (grass with a stem about one foot long, usually with horizontal branches that are not straight) grows in hemp and grows straight without support. The white sand is in niè (mineral powder used as a black dye in ancient times), and it becomes black (turns black). Orchid Sophora japonica (the name of the herb, the stems and leaves are called Orchid Sophora japonica, and its roots are called Zhi. Zhi is a plant that can be used as spice). The root is Zhi, and it is gradually (soaked) (xiǔ, smelly water, urine). Gentleman If it is not close, the common people (common people) will not accept it (wear it. The ancients often wore vanilla). Its quality is not unattractive, but it is so gradually. Therefore, when a gentleman lives (residence, home), he must choose a hometown, and when traveling (going out, making friends), he must (get close to) scholars (referring to people with both good moral character), so he should guard against evil and eccentricity and stay close to Zhongzheng (upright people).

The origin of things (the gathering of things into categories) must have a beginning (the reason for the beginning). Honor and disgrace must be in accordance with (conform to, based on) one's virtue (moral behavior). Worms appear in rotting meat, and beetles (dù, borers) appear in fish. If you are negligent (lax, careless) and forget yourself (the rules you should abide by), disaster will occur. Strong (too strong) brings about its own pillars (meaning to break), and softness brings about restraints. Evil and filth are in the body, and resentment is the structure (gathering, gathering). If the firewood is placed in the same place, the fire will be dry. If the ground is flat, the water will be wet. Plants and trees grow in groups (of the same kind), birds and animals live in groups (of the same kind), and things all follow their kind (kinds of the same kind). This is because the (bullseye) of the target (archery target) is stretched (open) and the bow and arrow reach the limit; the trees are lush and the ax (logging ax) reaches the limit; the trees become shady and the birds are silent; the vinegar (xī, vinegar) is sour and the gnats (ruì, small mosquitoes) gather together. Therefore, words (careless words) can bring disaster, actions (careless actions) can bring disgrace, should a gentleman be careful about what he does?

When the soil accumulates and becomes a mountain, the wind and rain stir up the wind and rain... It is also a matter of impatience. Therefore, those who have no ambition (here means sincerity, single-mindedness, and hard work) will not have Zhaozhao (obvious appearance); those who do not have hazy (same as "Mingming") will not have greatness. (Significantly grand appearance) of merit (merit). Those who walk on the narrow roads (crossing roads, divergent roads) will not come, and those who serve two kings will not be tolerated (will not be tolerated by both sides). The eyes cannot see clearly, and the ears cannot hear clearly. (téng) Snake (a legendary flying snake) can fly without legs, Wu rat (i.e. shí rat) has five skills (skills). "Shuowen" says, "If you can fly, you can't cross the house; if you can, you can't be poor; if you can, you can't be poor. You can swim but cannot cross the valley, you can use holes but cannot hide yourself, you can walk but cannot move forward, these are called the five skills") and you are poor (you have no solution). The poem says: "The corpse dove (cuckoo) is in the mulberry, and its son Qi Xi ("Mao Zhuan" says that the cuckoo raises seven chicks. When feeding the chicks, start from the top in the morning, feed from the bottom in order, and feed from the bottom in the evening. Start by feeding them upwards in order, evenly, every day. Here we take the meaning of single-mindedness. Like a knot (like a knot, it will not come apart, a metaphor for concentration). "So the gentleman is tied together (he is focused when studying).