Translation: Don’t dwell on other people’s shortcomings, and don’t boast about your own strengths. Don’t think twice about giving kindness to others, and never forget to accept kindness from others. The world's praise is not something to be envied, as long as benevolence is the guideline for one's actions. Hide your sincerity, don't act blindly, and consider whether it is in line with benevolence before taking action. What harm will other people's slanderous comments do to you?
Don't make your reputation exceed reality. Staying foolish is what the sage appreciates. The quality of pure white, which does not change color even if it is dipped in black, is precious. The surface is dull, but the inner things contain light. Weakness is the foundation of survival, so I must refrain from being strong and aggressive, for those who are strong will die. Being humble, stubborn and upright, the villain takes this as a virtue and persists.
A gentleman is leisurely, restrained but not sharp, and it is difficult for others to figure him out! A gentleman should be cautious in his words, be restrained in his diet, and be content with what he has, so that he can eliminate bad luck. If you practice it for a long time, over time, it will be fragrant.
Source: "Motto" is an inscription written by Cui Yuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The full text contains 20 sentences and 100 words. It expresses the author's basic attitude and stance in life. Every two sentences constitutes a meaning, and The meanings of these two sentences are often opposite, relative or even contradictory. It is through this opposition and contradiction that the author highlights the value and significance of subjective choices and reflects the more common values ??at that time.
Extended information
"Motto" refers to the basic principles and methods for people to follow in dealing with the world. It can be one or two concise sentences, or it can be a poem, a motto or a proverb. The function of a motto is to motivate and restrain yourself. This word was first seen in "Selected Works - Cui Yuan (Motto)".
Lü Yanji noted: "Brother Yuan was killed by someone, so Yuan killed his enemy and fled. He was pardoned and escaped. He wrote this inscription to warn himself and put it on his right, so it is called a motto." Cui Yuan likes to act on his own initiative. His elder brother Cui Zhang was killed by others. After Cui Yuan avenged his brother, he ran for his life. He was able to return to his hometown only when the imperial court granted him amnesty.
For this reason, he made an inscription warning himself not to act recklessly. Because it is placed on the right side of the seat, it is called "motto". The inscription has two meanings:
The first is the words that record facts and praise merits on utensils and tablets. Such as "gold inscriptions" and "epitaphs" in ancient China.
The second is self-warning words, such as "motto". But the original "ming" was a vessel for holding wine. It is said that during the Spring and Autumn Period, people in Qi built a temple in memory of Duke Huan of Qi. There is a kind of vessel for holding wine inside, called a Qi vessel.
Once, Confucius and his students went to the temple to worship and said: "When the teacup is empty, it tilts; when half of the wine or water is poured in, it stands upright; when the teacup is full, it still tilts. . So in the past, Duke Huan of Qi always placed the Qi Qi on the right side of his seat to warn against complacency."
From Confucius's words, we can see that the original "motto" is a kind of "object." "Ming" is related to Qi Qi. Today's "motto" usually refers to the motto or aphorism we believe in most, many of which are famous quotes. Each of us should have our own motto to motivate ourselves to continuously make new progress.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Motto