A gentleman is ashamed of not repairing, and is not ashamed of seeing pollution; Be ashamed of unbelief, be ashamed of unbelief; Shame can't be used. Therefore, a husband is called a true gentleman if he does not seek fame and fortune, is not afraid of slander, and sets an example by being honest and impartial to himself. (non-twelve sons)
Appreciate this is Xunzi's "shame" theory.
It should be said that Confucianism attaches great importance to "shame". "Learning is close to knowledge, doing is close to benevolence, and knowing shame is close to courage." (The Book of Rites, The Doctrine of the Mean) "Rites are close to rites, far from shame." ("The Analects of Confucius") Tao is the government, and punishment is used to punish the people. Tao is virtue, courtesy, shame and dignity. "("The Analects of Confucius for Politics ")" A gentleman is ashamed to smell it. " (Mencius Li Lou) "People can't be ashamed of * * *, * *, * *" (Mencius) such remarks about "shame" are almost everywhere in Confucian classics.
So, what is shame? Shame should be a sense of humiliation that rises from the bottom of my heart. Seeing pollution, disbelief and uselessness are three common shames in Xunzi's era. At that time, if a person can keep these three kinds of "shame" in mind, it should be said that it is already very rare, "knowing shame is almost brave."
But the real gentleman "shame" is not here. Compared with the external experience of "seeing dirt", "disbelief" and "not using", a gentleman is ashamed of "not repairing", "disbelief" and "not being able" and prefers the internal psychological experience. Internal psychological experience is the foundation, and external life experience is the purpose; Shame can't adhere to this internal "foundation", but it can get an external "end", which is Confucius' "sin of introspection" (The Analects of Confucius, Yan Yuan).
However, this does not mean that a gentleman should, as Dong Zhongshu said in the Han Dynasty, "take honesty as a friend without seeking profit, and take Ming as the way without seeking merit", regardless of external utility. For a real gentleman, any change in the foreign minister can't interfere with the overall situation in his mind ("not tempted by fame and fortune, not afraid of slander"). Just like a national chess player, every chess game should consider the general trend of the whole game, so a real gentleman has established an "inner time and space" of life in a dull life. Whenever a foreign minister becomes popular, he first does not make a simple value judgment for the foreign minister, but finds a suitable position for it in the "inner space and time" of his life. Whether it is fame or ruin, it will not focus, no matter how powerful, it will eventually fall in the most suitable position in the heart. And I just "lead the way, be a man" and be a "self-respecting bodhisattva" on this unique land.
It is certainly not easy to reach this state. The real difficulty here is not the external "other reputation" and "other destruction", but the "self-reputation" and "self-destruction" caused by this "other reputation" and "other destruction". No matter how powerful the power of "others' reputation" and "others' destruction" is, it only exists at the moment of handover with others, but the related "self-reputation", "self-destruction" and various prejudices will haunt every moment of life. This is the real "thing", and this is the real "thief in the heart" (Wang Yangming's language). In the face of this extremely powerful "thief in the heart", can we be "impartial"?
Being a super-moral "honest gentleman" is more difficult than being a moralist.
What shall we do? Mencius said, "Keep your word." After all, the word "shame" comes from recognized social norms. Why not try to transform it and make it a part of "inner space-time"? In this process, we must first be ashamed of not practicing, not believing and not being able to do it, and then we can finally qualify for being ashamed of seeing pollution, not believing and being useless. To tell the truth, if you don't have the psychological experience of "being ashamed of not repairing", "being ashamed of not believing" and "being ashamed of not being able to", it's really a bit "* *" to insist on saying "not ashamed of seeing pollution", "not ashamed of not believing" and "not ashamed of not using it". "The shame of * * * is gone." The decline of China culture after the Song Dynasty was related to this noble attitude.
It is difficult to learn Confucianism all the way, but it is probably the only way for China's cultural development and China scholars to mature.