The next sentence of "People with different paths should not work together" is "Everyone should follow his own will."

"People with different moral views cannot plan things together, and each can only act according to his or her own will."

It comes from "Historical Records·Biography of Boyi" written by Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty.

Excerpt from the original text:

Confucius said: "If the ways are different, we should not seek each other's will." Each one should follow his own will. Therefore, he said: "If wealth and honor can be sought, even if you are a man with a whip, I will do it. If you can't seek it, do what I like." "When the years are cold, you will know that the pines and cypresses will wither." The world is turbid, but the pure people can see it. How can it be as heavy as that and as light as this?

Translation:

Confucius said: "People with different moral opinions cannot plan things together." They can only act according to their own wishes. So he said: "If I can pursue wealth and wealth, then even if I am asked to hold a whip and be a groom, I will be willing to do it. If I can't pursue it, let's do what I like. When the years come to the cold season, I realize that the pines and cypresses are The last to wither."

When the whole world is turbid, only those with noble character will emerge. Is it because they take morality too seriously, or take wealth too lightly?

Extended information

"The Biography of Boyi" is a classical Chinese article written by Sima Qian and is included in "Historical Records Volume 61: The First Biography of Boyi". This chapter is a joint biography of Boyi and Shuqi, ranking first among the biographies in "Historical Records". In this biography, the author uses the principle of "testing the six arts and compromise on Confucius" to process historical materials, and narrates the brief deeds of Boyi and Shuqi among a large number of comments and praises.

First they refused to accept the throne and let the country flee; when King Wu attacked Zhou, they knocked on their horses and remonstrated with benevolence and righteousness; when the world became emperor, they ate Zhou millet in shame, picked weavers, ate them, and wrote songs to clarify their aspirations. , so he starved to death on Shouyang Mountain. The author vigorously praises their noble character of benevolence, clean conduct, and integrity, and expresses many of the author's emotions.

The article compares the good deeds of Yi and Qi with the so-called violent and cruel thieves who run rampant in the world; compares those who behave badly and violate laws and regulations with those who are cautious and have a high sense of justice to point out the evil Those who live in comfort and enjoyment, are rich and generous for generations to come, while those who are good will encounter countless disasters.

Thus, it expresses the reality that the way of heaven is inconsistent with human affairs, effectively criticizes the lie that "the way of heaven has no relation and always associates with good people", and raises bold doubts about the theory of retribution that heaven rewards good and punishes evil. It fully expresses the author's atheistic point of view.

"Different ways do not lead to mutual conspiracy." The original sentence in the Analects refers to the difference between a gentleman and a villain. This is Confucius's understanding of the behavior of a gentleman: the great road is different, and the gentleman will not deliberately choose to pursue it. This is a kind of open-minded and noble spirit of doing whatever you want to do.

It means that people who are on different paths cannot plan together, and people with different interests cannot work together. The modern meaning of this sentence mostly means that people have different values ??in life and cannot follow the same path.

Allusions

1. Guan Ning and Hua Xin cut ties

"Shishuoxinyu·Dexingpian" records such a short story: Guan Ning , Hua Xin once studied together under Chen Qiu, so the two are classmates. The reason why Guan Ning cut off his seat was apparently because of two small things: Hua Xin picked up gold and watched the carriages and horses of high-ranking officials. But Guan Ning saw from these two incidents Hua Xin's pursuit of fame and fortune, which conflicted with Guan Ning's own values ??of being indifferent to fame and fortune, so Guan Ning resolutely cut off his position.

Whether it is Guan Ning's indifference to fame and fortune or Hua Xin's pursuit of fame and fortune, there is no distinction between them. Any society must have both calm gentlemen to set moral examples and progressive scholars to establish worldly achievements. In the final analysis, Guan and Hua broke off their diplomatic relations because of their different ways.

2. Ji Kang and Shan Tao broke off their friendship

Ji Kang and Shan Tao are both characters in the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove". There are two main reasons why they broke off their friendship. , firstly, the two have different ideological tendencies, and secondly, the two have different political stances.

Ji Kang advocated the learning of Lao and Zhuangzi, "transgressing the famous teachings and letting nature take over", "not Tang Wu but weak Zhou Kong"; Shan Tao favored Lao Zhuang and mixed it with Confucianism, and still had in his mind to join the world and make contributions. heart. Ji Kang was the son-in-law of the Wei clan, so he was very dissatisfied with the Sima Group that was in power at that time. Shan Tao first served as an official in Wei, and later became an important member of the Sima regime.

Although the two have these differences, they basically adhere to the attitude of "gentlemen are harmonious but different", so they have been at peace with each other for a long time. Later, when Shan Tao wanted to recommend Ji Kang to replace him, he immediately irritated Ji Kang. As a clan member of the Wei family, it was impossible for Ji Kang to defect to the Sima regime. As a friend, Shan Tao should know and understand this.

It was against this background that Ji Kang wrote this letter of renunciation to Shan Tao. In the letter of cessation of diplomatic relations, Ji Kang listed the reasons why he could not serve as an official. The so-called "seven reasons are absolutely unbearable, and two are extremely unbearable." To sum it up, it actually means that I don’t want to lose my original intention, and I hope Shantao can understand him and not force others to make things difficult for him.

Baidu Encyclopedia--Biography of Boyi