Zaiyu (522 BC - 458 BC), also known as Ziwo, was a native of Lu in the late Spring and Autumn Period. He was a famous disciple of Confucius and one of the "Ten Philosophers of Confucius". The talented student who was admitted by Confucius to his "Speech" subject ranked in front of Zigong.
"Dacheng Tongzhi" records that Zaiyu Xiao Confucius was twenty-nine years old and was eloquent. He traveled around various countries from Confucius. During his travels, he was often sent by Confucius to Qi and Chu.
In the twenty-seventh year of Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty, Zaiyu was posthumously named "Marquis of Qi". In the second year of Xiangfu's reign (1009), Dazhong of the Song Dynasty, he was granted the title "Linzi Gong". In the third year of Xianchun in the Southern Song Dynasty (1267), he was further granted the title of "Qigong". In the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, he was renamed "Xianxian Zaiyu". Introduction
Jaeyu is active in thought, eager to learn and think deeply, and good at asking questions. He is the only Confucian disciple who has ever raised objections to Confucius' teachings. He pointed out that Confucius's "three-year mourning" system was undesirable, saying: "Three years of mourning have been long overdue. If a gentleman does not practice rituals for three years, the rituals will be ruined; if he does not practice music for three years, the music will collapse." Therefore, it was thought that it could be changed to "one year of mourning", which was criticized by Confucius as "unkind" (see "The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo"). He also asked Confucius a dilemma. He assumed a situation like this: If a benevolent person is told that another benevolent person has fallen into a well, should he jump to save it or should he not jump to save it? Because if you jump, you will die, if you don't jump, you will die without saving. Confucius' direct reply was that Zaiyu was fooling people and asked a bad question, saying: "Why is this so? A gentleman can pass away but cannot be trapped; he can be deceived but cannot be ignored." (The Analects of Confucius· Yong Ye") Zaiyu slept during the day and dozed off in class. Confucius described him as a "rotten tree" and a "wall of dung". Confucius believed that Zaiyu's words and deeds were inconsistent. He said that he "wins people with his words, but Zaiyu loses them." He also changed his past shortcomings from Zaiyu, saying: "I am like others, listening to their words and trusting their actions." "Now I am like a man, listening to his words and watching his actions." ("The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang") According to "Historical Records: Biography of Zhongni's Disciples", Zaiyu later became Lin Dafu. It is also said that he participated in Tian Chang's rebellion and was killed by Chen Heng. However, Sima Zhen of the Tang Dynasty doubted this theory and regarded Kan Zhi (also named Ziwo) as his prime minister. He was posthumously named "Marquis of Qi" during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, "Lingong" in the Song Dynasty, and later renamed "Gong of Qi". In the ninth year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, the name was changed to "Xian Xian Zaizi". Zaiyu takes a nap during the day. Original text
Zaiyu takes a nap during the day. The Master said: "Rotten wood cannot be carved, and a wall of dung soil cannot be built! Why should I punish you?" Confucius said: "In the beginning I was with others, listening to their words and believing in their deeds; now I am with others, Listen to his words and observe his actions. "
Notes
①嬬 (wū): refers to the tool used by plasterers to plaster walls. It is also used as a verb to refer to a handle. Smooth the walls. ②And: modal particle, the same as "椤", and "and" in "Yu Yu and Gaishi" below has the same meaning. ③Execute: blame. Translation
Jaeyu slept in broad daylight. Confucius said: "Rotten wood cannot be carved; walls made of dung cannot be painted! What else can be blamed for a person like Zaiyu?" He also said: "In the beginning, I believed in people after hearing what they said. Now I listen to what he says but still observe his behavior. This is because of what happened to Jae Yu." Interpretation
The student Jae Yu was sleeping in the daytime, and Confucius was nothing but a man. In addition to severely rebuking him as "rotten wood" and "dung soil", he also expressed emotion about getting to know a person. The tone was a bit similar to today's father scolding his son, "You're such a loser, I don't care if I don't tell you anything." There was a hint of hatred for his incompetence.
In ancient times, people generally believed that they should adjust their work and rest according to the rise and fall of the sun, so that they should work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Confucius believed that daytime is short and one should work hard. Therefore, he regarded Jaeyu's violation of his normal schedule of sleeping during the day as a sign of laziness and ignorance, and severely reprimanded him.
As for "listen to his words and observe his actions", it is as the Confucian master Zhu Xi reminded us by quoting Hu's words in Volume 3 of "Analects of Confucius": "How could the sage know how to listen now?" What do you mean by what you say and what you do? It’s not really because of Jaeyu that he has a distrustful attitude toward everyone. It’s just that he is using Jaeyu’s incident as an example to educate everyone and ask us to do more and speak less, and be consistent in our words and actions.” The reason why this is necessary is because there are indeed some people in this world who speak better than they sing.
Therefore, we must not only listen to what he says, but also keep our eyes open and observe what he does! Zaiyu and Confucius First meeting Zaiyu
When I was reading the Analects of Confucius when I was young, I was confused and indistinguishable from the names of the Confucius and his disciples, but Zaiyu was the only one I could always recognize clearly. Why? The Master is a loyal and loyal elder, and it is rare for a disciple to be harshly criticized by the Master at every turn, and Jaeyu is lucky enough to be one of them. The first time I got to know Zaiyu was from this passage in "Gongye Chang": "As soon as Zaiyu went to bed, the Master said: 'Rotten wood cannot be carved, and a wall of dung cannot be carved. How can I punish Yu Yu?'" I read at that time. At this point, Zaiyu is quite aggrieved - isn't he just sleeping in during the day, why do he suddenly say "rotten wood cannot be carved" and "a wall of dung cannot be built"? Is it because Master is too obsessed with "rituals"? Mr. Mingdao has a poem that goes: "I can take my time when I have nothing to do. I lie high in the east window and the sun is already red." Could it be that Zaiyu doesn't deserve this calmness? It's hard to say whether Zaiyu went to bed calmly or not, because there are insufficient documents to test it. After this record, there is a paragraph "Confucius said": "At first I was like people, listening to their words and trusting their actions. Now I am like people, listening to their words and observing their actions. I am trying to change it." This paragraph. It may be that the Master turned around and said to other disciples after "Why should I punish you?" or it may be what he said someday. "Listen to his words and believe his actions" is the duty of a loyal elder, but it has changed due to Jaeyu. It seems that Jaeyu has his own qualities that are impressive. Master Tsang said: "Smart words can make people look beautiful, and they are very benevolent!" Or is Zaiyu the kind of person who can "make people look good with words"? It seems not necessarily. The Master praised two of his disciples for their "words", and Zaiyu was one of them (the other was Zigong). Eloquent eloquence
"Historical Records" also calls Jaeyu "eloquent eloquence", but it is difficult to say that "eloquent eloquence" is the "elegant rhetoric" of "elegant words and attractiveness". "Clever words and flirtatious speech" are meant to please people, while "eloquent rhetoric" are more annoying. There is a kind of person in the world who is "a sharp tongue but a soft heart", and he is often disliked by others for a while, but being "eloquent" does not necessarily mean that he is "a sharp mouth but a soft heart". Most of the latter are talking without meaning, but Jaeyu has a kind of cleverness of his own. "Three years of mourning" is an ancient ritual, and the Master also introduced it. At that time, when the rituals were ruined and the music collapsed, there were many people who questioned it, and Jaeyu was one of them. Let’s take a look at Zaiyu’s “eloquent rhetoric”: “Three years of mourning have been over for a long time. If a gentleman does not practice rituals for three years, the rituals will be ruined; if he does not enjoy music for three years, the music will collapse. The old valley is gone, and the new valley is gone. "Sheng, drill the flint to change the fire, the time is over." Here you can see Zaiyu's "wisdom". "Three years of mourning" is originally a manifestation of the form of "rituals", but Zaiyu used Zi's spear to attack Zi's shield - "Three years of mourning" is enough to cause the collapse of "rituals" and "joy" . He is indeed eloquent. In fact, being eloquent and eloquent does not necessarily come from your intentions - if you have to advocate for or oppose something, it is often just for the sake of flattery. Master Tsang said: "People with lofty ideals and benevolence do not seek life to harm their benevolence, but kill themselves to achieve benevolence." So Zaiyu asked one day, "Although a benevolent person tells him, 'There is benevolence in a well,' how can he follow it?" Master replied He said: "Why is it so? A gentleman can pass away but cannot be trapped. He can be deceived but cannot be ignored." Reading till this point, I chuckle every time, "pass away" and "trap", "deceive" and "ignore". Although the difference in meaning is not clear yet, the expressions of Zaiyu Shiran and Master's indignation are clearly visible. If the disciple is like this, why should Master punish him? Master Kuang himself was "reticent in speaking", and the two things mentioned above did not really lead to a head-on confrontation between Master Kuang and Zaiyu. For example, after three years of mourning, Master just asked Zaiyu, "Is it okay for you to be mourned for three years?" Zaiyu replied "An", and the Master murmured, "I will do it if you An". Zaiyu left triumphantly, and the master said sadly, "You are not kind to me!" It is not known whether Zaiyu felt at ease or not, but he never said he was inferior to others. Another example is "How can there be benevolence in a well?" The Master replied "Why is it so?" Since he is talking about how a benevolent person can enter a well and follow benevolence! I even lamented, Jaeyu, how could you talk like this! I don’t know whether Master may have suffered a lot in arguing with Zai Wo? The above two things are difficult to argue with, but there is another thing that seems to be arguable but not arguable: "Ai Gong asked the community about Yu Zaiwo. Zaiwo replied: 'The people of the Xia Dynasty used pine, the people of Yin used cypress, and the people of Zhou used pine trees. Yili said: "It makes the people tremble." "Zi heard it and said: 'Don't tell when things are done, don't admonish them when they are done.'" I don't know if the saying of "making the people tremble" is a fabrication. of. Although it is difficult to say what is right and wrong, at least it can be argued. Zhuzi once argued: "In ancient times, when establishing a society, each tree was considered to be suitable for the soil. Trembling is a sign of fear. Zaiwo also said that Zhou used Li to plant trees. That’s what it means. How can you follow the ancients’ saying of killing people in society?” The Master just said, “Let bygones be bygones.” Even if it is true, it is past, and there should be no harsh punishment.
Watching this conversation between junior fellow students always reminds me of a saying: When a scholar meets a soldier, it is hard to explain why. The non-disciple Master had the same experience with Zaiyu, and Zhuangzi had the same experience with Hui Shi. However, Zhuangzi was not dull enough and could not help but talk too much. This is the famous debate about "the joy of fish": Hui Shi: "You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of fish?"
Zhuangzi: "You are not me, how can you know that I don't know the joy of fish?" ?"
Huishi: "I am not a son, so I don't know about you; I am not a fish, so I don't know about the joy of fish."
Zhuangzi: "Please! According to its origin: "You know the joy of fish." He said, "You know what I know, so you ask me." From the perspective of "bian", Huishi can be said to be "complete". The first half of the final answer is somewhat far-fetched in terms of "bian", but it can only be obtained by "I know it in Haoshangye", but it has nothing to do with debate. Without further ado, let’s return to Jaeyu. When talking about Jaeyu, everyone wants to hear a complete story. According to Zheng Xuan, Zaiyu was from Lu. This is also its source. Ending
What happened next? "Historical Records" arranged a very bad ending for him:
"I was killed as a Lin doctor, and Tian Chang caused trouble and barbarized his tribe. Confucius was ashamed." We have already found out that he was not a prime minister. Me, no more.
"Confucius' Family Sayings" also said that Zaiyu "served Qi as the official of Linzi, and was in trouble with Tianchang, and barbarized the other three tribes." Confucius felt ashamed and said: "It's not about benefit or harm, it's about Zaiyu." (from "Confucius' Family Sayings·Seventy-Two Disciples' Interpretation")
Master didn't necessarily have much regard for Zaiyu. Deep injustice, he once said with emotion in his memories: "Those who follow me from Chen and Cai are not as good as me. Virtue: Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ran Boniu, Zhong Gong; speech: Zaiwo, Zigong; political affairs: Ran You, Ji Lu; Literature: Ziyou, Zixia. "All these disciples had "one skill", and Yu Zaiyu never forgot it. It is quite unethical to write about seventy-two virtuous people and start with Zai Yu. I don’t know which one is the seventy-two virtuous people. By chance, I heard a story about the origin of the allusion of the Seventy-Two Sages: The Master and his disciples were trapped in Chen and Cai. The food was gone and only some salt was left. The disciples had to drink salt water to satisfy their hunger. The Master joked Said: "My disciples have all become salty people." This is where the code comes from. Since the standard for a "virtuous man" is to have drank salt water, and since Jaeyu was a master at Chen and Cai, he has naturally drank salt water, so he is naturally a virtuous person. Legendary story
Jaeyu, eloquent and eloquent, was a talented student in "speech" among Confucius' students. Jaeyu was a bit lazy and slept in class during the day, and was scolded by the teacher. In addition to being a bit lazy, Jaeyu often asked weird questions to embarrass the teacher, so Confucius often criticized him. However, although Confucius often criticized Jaeyu, criticism was criticism. After the criticism, he earnestly warned and loved Jaeyu as usual. Once, Zaiyu asked the teacher a question like this: "Teacher, a kind person, if someone tells him: 'There is someone in the well,' should he jump into the well?" Confucius took a look. Zaiyu told him: "Why do you do this? As a gentleman, he may be tempted, but he cannot be framed; he may be deceived, but he cannot be fooled." After a while, Zaiyu asked the teacher again: "Teacher, three years of mourning and observing filial piety is too long. As a gentleman, if you don't participate in ceremonial activities for three years, you will become unfamiliar with etiquette; if you don't practice music for three years, you will forget music. Eat the old food It's over, the new grain has been harvested, and the fire wood has been replaced once a year. Just keep filial piety, one year is enough."
Confucius did not answer Zaiyu directly. He asked him back: "My parents have passed away. If I eat new food and wear good clothes before the three-year filial piety period, are you at ease?" Zaiyu replied: "At ease." Confucius was very unhappy: "You are at ease. Just do this. When a gentleman is observing filial piety, he doesn't feel happy when he eats or sleeps. That's why you don't do this. Now that you feel at ease, just do this." After Jaeyu got up and walked out, Confucius shook his head sadly and sighed and said, "Jaiyu really has no heart of kindness. After a child is born, it takes three years to leave the arms of his parents. Three years of filial piety after the death of parents is what everyone in the world has to do. The rules that should be followed, haven’t Jaeyu received the protection of his parents for three years?"
Later, Duke Ai of Lu asked Jaeyu what kind of wood he used to become the god of the land, and Jaeyu replied: " Pine trees were used in the Xia Dynasty, cypress trees were used in the Yin Dynasty, and chestnut trees were used in the Zhou Dynasty. The meaning of chestnut trees was to make the people tremble with fear.
After Confucius heard this, he was very angry and said to Jaeyu: "There is no need to talk about what has been done; the accomplished fact is irreversible; since it is in the past, there is no need to pursue it anymore." "In the end, Zaiyu served as Lin's official and participated in Tian Chang's rebellion. He was beheaded and his clan was exterminated. Confucius felt very sorry for this. Character Comments Rotten wood cannot be carved
Popular broadcast not long ago The film "Confucius" made many disciples of Confucius appear on the screen, but among the main characters, there was no such person as Confucius. In this class of the homeroom teacher, Jaeyu, also called Zaiwo, is a poor student. One thing that dissatisfies Teacher Kong is that he often sleeps during the day, probably because he often takes naps too late and is late for class. Or even though he was sitting in class, he still couldn't stop taking a nap. The sage lost his temper and said something very serious: "Rotten wood cannot be carved, nor can a wall of dung be carved." "In particular, the phrase "Rotten wood cannot be carved" has become a common phrase used by all teachers and seniors to blame young people for their lack of success for thousands of years.
The words of the sage must be the most truthful sayings. From then on, Zaiyu's nature has been determined, and he has become a piece of rotten wood and a wall of dung. He has not been able to get justice for thousands of years. It is really unfair to think about it. There were people who fought for him. Wang Chong of the Han Dynasty wrote in "Lunheng". In the book, he reprimanded Confucius: "The evil of sleeping during the day is a small evil; rotten wood and dung, things destroyed and irreparable are great evils. How can you convince others by blaming small transgressions for big ones? Wang Chong also said, "Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals and did not disparage the small in favor of the large." "So on the small issue of Zaiyu sleeping in the daytime, you, old man, "use big evil and small details, contradictory words and words, how about convincing others?" "But who is Confucius? Wang Chong's refutation has no effect, and Yu has become a negative example throughout the ages. Three years of mourning
Zaiyu (522 BC-458 BC), a native of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius Disciple, one of the seventy-two wise men. This person is called "eloquent in argumentation" in "Historical Records". It seems that he is a student who is eager to learn and think deeply, is good at argument, and dares to question and ask questions. He is a bit of a arrogant person. Therefore, the most popular example of him being a disciple of Confucius is the view of "Three Years of Mourning".
Once, I was arguing with Confucius: "Three years of mourning have come a long way. If a gentleman does not practice propriety for three years, his etiquette will be ruined; if he does not practice happiness for three years, his happiness will collapse. The old valley has disappeared, the new valley has risen, and the drilling of flint has been transformed into fire. The period is over. "He believes that three years of mourning after the death of his parents is too long, and one year is enough. It is simply unreasonable for a person to mourn alone on his parents' graves and be disconnected from the entire social life for three years. . As we all know, Confucius was definitely very metaphysical in upholding moral principles and rules. Zaiyu's attack was also an ideological rebellion against the old man's "no change to the way of the ancestors" and his refusal to accept it in action. The old gentleman had nothing to do with his brave but not so respectful disciple, so he could only ask him feebly: "You eat that rice and wear those silk clothes less than three years after your parents died. Can you feel at ease?" "
Jaeyu was a bit anti-trend and answered confidently and calmly: "Why don't I feel at ease! ”
“If you feel at ease, just do it!” Confucius had no choice but to repeat it twice sourly. When he walked out of the room, the saint immediately shook his head and sighed: "It's over, it's over. This Jaeyu is too unkind!" "
The saint has advocated the word "benevolence" throughout his life, which is one of the grand purposes of Confucianism. He gave Jaeyu a political appraisal of "unbenevolence", which is equivalent to declaring that Jaeyu is irredeemable. Then At that time, it was probably not in the mood to be expelled from school, and he was not afraid of wearing small shoes when he was assigned to graduate in the future. Therefore, Jaeyu didn't seem to care much and continued to go his own way. Later, because of his eloquence, Confucius often sent him to stand in front of him when he was out. One of the Ten Philosophers of Confucius. Respectable and Awesome
In this world, you must not listen to the words of sages, but you must not listen to them all, especially those who think they are sages or are praised as sages. You do not need to take them as examples. . Because the times are advancing, society is developing, new things are constantly emerging, scientific civilization is changing with each passing day, and the waves behind the Yangtze River are pushing the waves ahead, and each generation is stronger than the other. Therefore, students like Jaeyu who can think independently and never follow blindly, like Yu, Students who are not submissive and full of sunshine represent a respectable and formidable future. Even if they sleep in or take a nap occasionally, they do not have to be killed.
If they were all good children, as Confucius stipulated in The Analects: "Don't look at anything that's not polite, don't hear anything that's not polite, don't say anything that's not polite, don't move anything that's not polite"; if everyone in this world grew up like sprouts, If this continues, will there be development and progress in the future?