To be knowledgeable, to interrogate, to think carefully, to distinguish clearly, and to be steadfast means: to learn extensively, to ask about knowledge in detail, to think carefully, to distinguish clearly, and to practice practically.

Source of the work: Chapter 2 of the Doctrine of the Mean.

"Learn, interrogate, think carefully, distinguish clearly, and stick to it" is not only a one-way order, but also a process of reverse promotion and circular progression: after "learning and speculation", it is necessary to present, verify, advance and practice; After "practicing", we should reflect, learn, improve and make progress "intellectually".

This is what Zixia said: "Being an official is the best way to learn, and learning is the best way to be an official". We often say that "learning to be excellent is an official", and when we learn written martial arts, we will devote ourselves to the official career and serve the motherland; In fact, we should also "learn by being an official". Being in the official career and serving our country, we need to constantly learn and improve, and constantly meet Si Qi.

on the one hand, apply what you have learned; On the other hand, it is used to promote learning; Learning and using learn from each other, and learning is endless. This virtuous circle is the significance of advocating "learning life" and "lifelong learning" now.

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"Be knowledgeable, interrogate, think carefully, distinguish clearly and be faithful", a famous saying in The Doctrine of the Mean, which is often regarded as an inspirational motto by people. For example, the motto of Sun Yat-sen University is: be knowledgeable, interrogate, think carefully, distinguish clearly and be faithful.

this sentence clearly points out several important steps in the process from "learning" to "learning": erudite, knowledgeable and extensive learning, which is the process of absorbing knowledge; Interrogation, careful inquiry, in-depth questioning, this is the process of answering questions; Think carefully, think carefully and think carefully, which is the process of selection and digestion; Distinguish clearly, distinguish clearly and discriminate clearly, which is the process of choosing the result.

Together, the above four steps are called "intellectual speculation", which is the operation of what a person has learned and thought in his own internal world, or the processing at the level of thinking. The last step is to express what you think and gain in the external world and land on the behavioral level: stick to it, perform it firmly, and execute it firmly. This is the process of practicing learning ambition.

the last step is called "practice". "Learning and thinking, practicing", these two stages together, is the unity of knowing and doing, that is, applying what you have learned, that is, Zi Xia, a student who recorded Confucius in The Analects, said "erudite and determined".