"The three armies can win the handsome, but the ordinary man can't win the ambition." It means that the leader of the army of ordinary people can be changed, but the ambition of men (ambitious people) cannot be changed. This sentence describes the importance of one's ambition. Many people think that "take" here means "be taken away". The annotation in Wang Li's "Ancient prose" is: "Although the number of the three armed forces is large, if the soldiers are not in harmony, their leaders will also be taken away." It's hard to understand that the Lord can be taken away and so can his ambition. It doesn't make sense.
In fact, "taking" here is not taking away, but changing. The correct explanation is that the most important commander in chief of the three armed forces can be replaced, but the ambition of an ordinary person cannot be changed. The purpose of Confucius' saying this is to tell students that one should have a firm and unswerving faith.
The Literary Features of The Analects of Confucius
The Analects of Confucius is also good at showing characters through the description of expressions and voices. Confucius is the center of the description in The Analects of Confucius, "Confucius' elegant demeanor is beyond words" (Wen Xin Diao Zheng Longsheng); There are not only static descriptions of his manners, but also vivid descriptions of his personality and temperament. In addition, centering on Confucius, The Analects of Confucius also successfully created some images of Confucius disciples.
Such as frankness and recklessness, Yan Hui's virtuous, Zi Gong's cleverness and eloquence, Zeng's naturalness and refinement. , can be called a distinctive personality, can leave a deep impression on people. Confucius taught different students in accordance with their aptitude, taking into account their different qualities, advantages and disadvantages, and the specific situation of studying in Germany. It embodies the valuable spirit of tirelessly teaching people.
Refer to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-The Analects of Zi Han