Confucius said: "A gentleman is not for himself, but for the people; Let people work without making them resentful; To pursue benevolence, not greed for money; Solemn but not arrogant; Majestic but not fierce. "

Said by: The Analects of Confucius and its disciples in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Excerpt from the original:

Zhang Zi asked Confucius, "Why can you go into politics?" Confucius said, "Respect five beauties and screen out four evils, so you can go into politics." Zhang Zishuo: "What is five beauties?" Confucius said, "A gentleman benefits without toil, labors without resentment, desires without greed, is Thai but not arrogant, and is strong but not fierce." Zhang Zishuo: "What do you mean you can benefit without spending money?"

Confucius said, "Isn't it a boon to benefit the people? You can choose to work hard, and who complains? How can you be greedy if you want benevolence and get benevolence? A gentleman is neither too small nor too slow. Isn't it great that he is arrogant? A gentleman wears clothes, respects his foresight, and seems to be afraid. Is it not awesome but not fierce? "

Translation:

Zhang Zi asked Confucius, "How can we govern politics?" Confucius said, "Respect five virtues, eliminate four evils, and govern political affairs." Zhang Zi asked, "What are the five virtues?" Confucius said: "A gentleman is not for himself, but for the people; Let people work without making them resentful; To pursue benevolence, not greed for money; Solemn but not arrogant; Majestic but not fierce. "

Zhang Zishuo: "How can we do the people a favor without spending money on ourselves?" Confucius said: "Let the people do what is good for them, which is good for the people and does not cost money!" " ! Choose the time and things that can make people work and let people do it. Who would hate this? If you pursue benevolence, you will get benevolence. What else is there to be greedy for?

A gentleman doesn't neglect people, no matter how many people there are. Isn't that solemn and arrogant? A gentleman's clothes, else, make people look daunting. Isn't this majestic and not fierce? "

Comments:

This is the key point for Zhang Zi to ask Confucius about official politics. Confucius talked about "five beauties and four evils", which is the basic point of Confucius' political proposition, which contains rich people-oriented ideas, such as "benefiting others" and "doing others' work", and opposing the autocratic politics of "killing without teaching" and "not retreating after seeing merit". It can be seen that Confucius has his own unique thoughts on governing the country by virtue and courtesy, which still have its important reference value today.

Extended data:

About the author:

Confucius (from September 28th, 55 BC1year to April, 479 BC1year) took Kong as his surname and the word Zhong Ni. The second child, Han nationality, was from Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius was a great thinker and educator in ancient China, the founder of Confucianism and one of the most famous cultural celebrities in the world. China's first chronological history book, Chunqiu, was compiled.

According to relevant records, Confucius was born in Changping Township, Joy, Lu State (now Luyuan Village, Nanxin Town, Qufu City, Shandong Province). Confucius died at the age of 73 and was buried in Surabaya, north of Qufu, where Kong Lin is now located. Confucius' thoughts on words and deeds are mainly contained in the prose collections "The Analects of Confucius" and "Historical Records of Confucius' Family" preserved in the pre-Qin and Qin and Han Dynasties.

Confucius lost his father in his early years and his family declined. Confucius once said: "I am cheap because I am few, so I can despise." When I was young, I worked as a Commissioner (managing granaries) and a farmer (managing livestock). Although Confucius lived in poverty, he was eager to learn from others. He once said: "If you are a threesome, you must have a teacher. Choose good and follow it, but change it if it is not good. "

Confucius began to give lectures because of his profound knowledge. He was a pioneer of private lectures, which broke the tradition of official learning, further promoted the downward movement of learning and made great contributions to the development of education in China. Zhao Pu, a politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, once said that "the Analects of Confucius governs the world". It reflects the great role and influence of this book in ancient China society from one side.