Seek a wise teacher and do things, and choose a good friend and friend

Although people are beautiful in nature and have a good mind, they will seek a wise teacher and do things, and choose a good friend and friend. ("Evil Nature")

Appreciating Xunzi's view: "People are evil in nature, and their goodness is also false." In fact, human nature, such as "hunger for satiety, cold for warmth, and fatigue for rest" (ibid.), doesn't matter whether it is good or evil, but if we just let it go, it will inevitably lead to evil, and the reason why people show kindness is because of the result of learning etiquette and righteousness the day after tomorrow. Xunzi's "falsehood" here does not mean "hypocrisy", but an artificial interpretation. Even if a person has excellent talent and understanding, he must seek a wise teacher and serve him, and choose a good friend and get close to him. It is precisely because human nature needs to be guided by courtesy and education that Xunzi pays special attention to the role of environment and emphasizes the importance of learning and choosing good teachers and good friends. "Persuade to Learn" article: "A gentleman must choose his hometown when he lives, and he must be a scholar when he travels, so he is also close to the righteousness against evil." Environment plays a very important role in a person's growth. In the past, Meng Mu moved three times in order to create a good living and learning environment for little Mencius.

so what is the standard of a wise teacher? Xunzi believes that among the qualities that a wise teacher should possess, it is not enough to be knowledgeable, but to have knowledge literacy is only a necessary and insufficient condition. He believes that the four most important factors that a wise teacher should possess are dignity, prestige, rich experience and trust, being good at observing what the teacher said when reading and explaining classics, and being able to talk about subtle knowledge. Xunzi attaches great importance to the teacher's moral character, and puts a hundred virtues first. If there is something wrong with the teacher's moral character, how can he become a moral model for students?

Confucius said, "There are three friends who benefit and three friends who lose. Friends are straightforward, friends forgive, and friends hear more, which is beneficial. Friends will be open, friendly and soft, and friends will be ruined and damaged. " ("The Analects of Confucius Ji's") Yiyou does not just affirm us blindly. Xunzi said in the article "Self-cultivation": "Those who are not me are also my teachers; It's me, my friend. " Proper criticism and affirmation will make us grow and progress, and exaggerated flattery will blind our hearts and make us unable to know ourselves correctly. Therefore, you should not be careless in choosing a teacher or a friend. People are social animals, easily influenced by others, and easily assimilated by the environment. The so-called "in the bitter fleabane, you don't help but go straight; White sands are in nirvana, and they are all black "("Persuade to Learn "). Especially in the complicated modern society, it is very important to choose your own beneficial teachers and friends. A friendship between gentlemen is as light as water. A true friend may not give us much help materially, but he can give us spiritual and spiritual support and give us advice when we are faced with a choice. When we are facing a wrong path, we will pull us with a strong arm; Never give up when we are frustrated, and silently bless when we succeed.

"A teacher and friend is also a source of learning." The teacher's words and deeds, and the mutual learning between friends can all increase our knowledge. However, knowledge and skills can be expressed in words, but noble moral cultivation can not be passed on to students by language alone. A wise teacher shows the virtue of being a noble man in his gestures, so "learning from Mo is close to his person" (Persuade Learning), and approaching and serving a wise teacher is the shortcut to learning. As Wang Su said in Confucius' Family Language: "Living with kindness is like entering the room of Zhilan, and if you don't smell its fragrance for a long time, you will melt with it;" If you don't live well with people, you will be like a abalone. If you don't smell it for a long time, you will melt with it. "