"He who loves benevolence but does not learn well will be ignorant" Original text and translation:
1 Original text Confucius said: "Those who are born knowing are the best; those who know by learning are the second best" "Learning when you are tired is the next best thing; if you don't learn when you are tired, the people will be inferior."
Translation: Confucius said: "Those who know from birth are superior people; they only know after learning." Those who continue to learn when encountering difficulties are second-class people; those who do not learn when encountering difficulties are inferior people. ”
Commentary Analysis Although Confucius said that there are "people who are born knowing", he did not admit that he was such a person, nor did he see such a person. He said he only knew it after studying. He hoped that people would be diligent and eager to learn, and not wait until they encounter difficulties before learning. As the saying goes: When the book is used, it will be less regretful. This is the truth. As for not learning when you encounter difficulties, it is not enough as a lesson.
2 The original text Confucius said: "I was not born with knowledge. I love the ancients and am keen to pursue them."
The translation Confucius said: "I was not born with knowledge. People are people who love ancient things and seek knowledge diligently and quickly."
Commentary: In Confucius's concept, "supreme wisdom" is "one who is born to know", but he denied it. He who is born knowing. The reason why he became a learned man was that he loved ancient laws, regulations and documents, and was diligent and quick-thinking. This is the main feature of his summary of his study and cultivation. He said this to encourage his students to work hard and become useful talents in all aspects.
3 In the original text, Confucius said: "In a town with ten households, there must be someone as loyal and trustworthy as Qiu, who is not as studious as Qiu."
Translation Confucius said: "Even if there are only ten households In this small village, there must be people like me who are loyal and trustworthy, but they are not as studious as me."
Analysis Confucius was a very straightforward person, and he believed that his loyalty was not the most outstanding. , because in a small village with only 10 households, there are people like him who value loyalty. But he admitted that he was very studious, indicating that he admitted that his virtues and talents were learned and were not "born with knowledge." This gave us an understanding of the basic spirit of Confucius from one perspective.
4 The original text of the Confucius said: "Yuye, is it true that the six words and six words that a woman hears are covered by it?" The answer is: "Weiye." "Ju (1), I speak of women. She loves benevolence but does not want to learn. Being blind is also stupid (2); if you like knowledge but not learning, you are also blind (3); if you are fond of faith but not learning, your hiding is also a thief (4); if you are straight but not learning, your hiding is also twisted (5); if you are brave but not learning , its shielding is also chaotic; it is rigid and hard to learn, and its shielding is also crazy."
Notes (1) Sitting: Sitting. (2) Stupid: Being fooled. (3) licentiousness. So high and far-reaching but without foundation. (4) Thief: harm. (5) Jiao: speaking sharply.
Translation Confucius said: "Ye, have you heard of the six virtues and the six vices?" Zilu replied: "No." Confucius said: "Sit down and I will tell you. Hobbies If you like virtue but don't like learning, the disadvantage is being fooled; if you like wisdom but don't like learning, the disadvantage is licentious behavior; if you like honesty but don't like learning, the disadvantage is harming your loved ones; if you like straightforwardness but don't like learning, the disadvantage is harming your loved ones; if you like honesty but don't like learning, the disadvantage is harming your loved ones. Its shortcoming is harsh words; its shortcoming is that it likes bravery but does not like learning; its shortcoming is that it loves being strong but does not like learning; its shortcoming is arrogance. Being respectful but rude will lead to fatigue (1), being cautious but rude will lead to chaos (2), being brave but rude will lead to chaos (3). If a gentleman is loyal to relatives (4), the people will thrive on benevolence. , so if the old (5) is not left behind, the people will not steal (6)."
Notes (1) Labor: hard work. (2)踸: The sound is xǐ, reserved and fearful. (3) Hanging: sharp words and hurtful words. (4) Du: kindness and sincerity. (5) Old friends: old friends. (6) Steal: thin.
Translation Confucius said: "To be respectful without being guided by etiquette will be in vain; to be cautious without being guided by etiquette will be timid; to be brave without being guided by etiquette will be... Speak sharply.
If those in high positions treat their relatives favorably, a culture of benevolence will arise among the people; if a gentleman does not abandon his old friends, the people will not be indifferent to others. ”
Commentary on the virtues of “Gong”, “Prudence”, “Courage” and “Straight” do not exist in isolation and must be guided by “Li”. Only under the guidance of “Li” can these virtues The implementation of moral purposes can comply with the principles of moderation, otherwise there will be "labor", "sickness", "chaos", and "wronging", and it will be impossible to achieve the purpose of cultivating one's moral character.
6 Original text by Zixia (1). ) said: "Xianxian (2) changes color; he can do his best to serve his parents; he can do his best to serve his king (4); he can keep his word when making friends. Although I say I haven’t learned yet, I will definitely call it learning. ”
Notes (1) Zixia: surnamed Bu, given name Shang, courtesy name Zixia, a student of Confucius, 44 years younger than Confucius, born in 507 BC. After Confucius died, he lived in the state of Wei Promote the ideas of Confucius. (2) Xianxian: The first word "Xian" is used as a verb, which means to respect the wise. (3) Yi: There are two interpretations. One is the meaning of change. This sentence means to respect the virtuous and change the lustful heart; the second is to despise, that is, to value the virtuous and despise the women. (4) Zhiqishen: Zhi means "to offer" and "to do one's best". Dedicate your life to the monarch.
Translation Zixia said: "A person can value virtue and not focus on women; he can do his best to serve his parents; he can devote his life to serving his monarch; When making friends, speak honestly and keep your word. For such a person, even though he himself says that he has not studied, I must say that he has studied. ”
Comments on the sentence “If you have spare capacity for action, learn literature”. What Zixia said in this chapter is actually a further development of the previous chapter. Zixia believes that a Whether a person is knowledgeable or not, the quality of his knowledge does not mainly depend on his cultural knowledge, but on whether he can practice traditional ethics such as "filial piety", "loyalty" and "faithfulness" as long as he achieves the following points. , even though he said that he has not studied, he is already a morally cultivated person. Therefore, by reading and analyzing this chapter in conjunction with the previous chapter, we can see the basic characteristics of Confucius’ education that focuses on virtue.
7 Original Wenzi said: "A gentleman has nothing to eat and nothing to live in. He is sensitive to things and cautious in speaking. He is (1) Taoist (2) and upright (3). He can be said to be eager to learn." already. ”
Notes (1) Just: approach, align. (2) Youdao: refers to a moral person. (3) Zheng: correct, upright.
Translation Confucius said: “A gentleman does not seek to satisfy his needs in food and comfort, and does not seek comfort in his residence. He is diligent and quick in his work, but cautious in his speech. He goes to the wise people to correct himself. This can be said to be a good scholar. ”
Commentary This chapter focuses on the moral requirements for a gentleman. Confucius believed that a moral person should not pay too much attention to his diet and residence. He should be diligent, agile and cautious at work. Be careful and review yourself frequently, and ask moral people to correct your words and deeds. As a gentleman, you should restrain your desire for material enjoyment and focus on shaping your moral character. This is worth learning from.
8 Original text Ai Gong asked: "Which of my disciples is eager to learn?" Confucius replied: "Those who have good appearance are eager to learn, do not express their anger (1), and do not make mistakes (2). Unfortunately, they will live a short life and die (3). Today, it is also dead (4), and there are no good scholars. ”
Notes (1) Don’t vent your anger on this person: Don’t vent your anger on that person. (2) Don’t commit two offenses: “Er” means repetition. This means not committing the same offense again and again. (3) Short-lived and dead: Yan Hui was only 31 years old when he died.
Translation: Duke Ai of Lu asked Confucius: "Who is the best among your students?" Where is the one who loves to learn?" Confucius replied: "There is a student named Yan Hui who loves to learn. He never takes his anger out on others and never makes the same mistake again. Unfortunately he died short-lived. There is no such person now. I have never heard of anyone who is eager to learn.
”
Commentary here, Confucius highly praised his favorite disciple Yan Hui, thinking that he was eager to learn and make progress. Since Yan Hui’s death, there has been no such a studious person. In Confucius’ evaluation of Yan Hui, he In particular, when talking about the two points of not being angry and not being guilty, it can be seen that Confucius's emphasis on educating students is to cultivate their moral sentiments.
9 The original text of Confucius said: “In ancient times, scholars were for themselves, but today’s scholars are for others. ”
Translation Confucius said: “People in ancient times studied to improve themselves, but people today study to show others.” ”
10 The original text says: “When a disciple (1) enters (2), he is filial; when he leaves (3), he is a younger brother; when he is sincere (4), he is trustworthy; when he is general (5), he loves others and is benevolent ( 6), if you have enough energy to do (7), then study literature (8). "
Notes (1) Disciple: generally has two meanings, one is a younger person who is a disciple or a son; the other is a student. Here we use "disciple" in one sense. (2) Entering: In ancient times, father and son lived in different residences, and they studied outside. "Book of Rites: Nei Principles": "From the Mingshi level onwards, father and son all live in different palaces." Entering means entering the father's palace. Father's residence, or at home. (3) Chu: relative to "in", it means going out to study with a teacher. "Go out to be a disciple" means to treat the teacher as a disciple, and it can also generally refer to people who are older than you (4). ) Jin: being taciturn is called sincerity. (5) Pan: The same sound as fàn, with a broad meaning. (6) Ren: Ren is a benevolent person. Have free time. (8) Text: Ancient literature, mainly including poetry, books, rituals, music and other cultural knowledge.
Translation Confucius said: "Disciples should be filial to their parents when they are in front of them; when they are away from home, they should be filial to their parents. We must obey our teachers, be cautious in our words and deeds, be honest and trustworthy, be taciturn, love others broadly, and be close to those who are kind. After practicing in this way, if you still have enough energy, you can study literature knowledge. ”
Comments on the issue of filial piety and brotherhood mentioned in the second chapter of this article, and this issue is mentioned again in this chapter. Confucius required his disciples to first be committed to filial piety and brotherhood, sincerity, love for others, kindness, and cultivate good If you still have leisure time and energy, you can use it to study ancient classics and increase cultural knowledge. This shows that Confucius’ education is centered on moral education and focuses on cultivating students’ moral cultivation, and not on books. The learning of knowledge comes second.
Confucius put the cultivation of students' moral values ??first, while cultural learning was only second. Regardless of class, whether it is the slave-owning class, the landlord class, or the bourgeoisie, education serves its politics. It pays special attention to students’ moral conduct and political performance, and ranks “morality” before “knowledge.” This is the need of the class. . They want to cultivate talents in all aspects that meet the requirements of this class. 11 Original text Chen Kang (1) asked Yu Boyu: "Is there anything wrong with you (2)?" He replied: " Weiye. Taste independence, carps tend to cross the court. He said: "Are you studying poetry?" He said to him: "Weiye". ‘If you don’t learn poetry, you won’t be able to express it. ’ The carp retreated and studied poetry. One day he will be independent again, and the carps will flock to the court. He said: ‘Do you want to learn etiquette?’ He said to him: ‘Not yet’. ‘If you don’t learn etiquette, you can’t stand up. ’ The carp retreated and learned etiquette. Wensi both. Chen Kang retreated and said happily: "Ask one and get three." Hearing poems, hearing etiquette, and hearing how far a gentleman is (3) his son. ”
Notes (1) Chen Kang: Kang, pronounced gāng, that is, Chen Ziqin. (2) Weiwen: This refers to content different from what is taught to other students. (3) Yuan: pronounced yuàn , no closeness, no preference.
Translation Chen Kang asked Boyu: "Have you heard any special teachings from the teacher?" Boyu replied: "No. Once he was standing alone in the hall, and I walked quickly through the court. He said, "Have you studied "Poetry"?" I replied, "No." ’ He said: ‘If you don’t learn poetry, you won’t know how to speak. ’ I went back and studied Poetry. Another day, he was standing alone in the hall again, and I walked quickly through the court. He said, "Have you learned the etiquette?" I replied, "No." ’ He said: ‘If you don’t learn etiquette, you won’t know how to stand upright. ’ I will learn etiquette when I go back. Those are the two things I've heard.
"Chen Kang went back and said happily: "I asked a question and got three benefits. I heard the truth about "Poetry", the truth about etiquette, and the truth about a gentleman not preferring his own son. ”