From the Analects of Confucius, it can be concluded that Confucius' view of speech is: be cautious, know what he says, use what he says, and oppose "clever words to make color."
Caution means being careful what you say. Confucius opposed boasting and repeatedly mentioned that a gentleman should be "sensitive to things but cautious to words", "a gentleman is cautious to words but sensitive to deeds", "keep his word", "speak first" and "a gentleman is ashamed to do what he says". In short, a gentleman should do more and talk less, do it first and then say it, act quickly, be careful in his words, be honest in his words, and be ashamed of exaggeration.
Knowing words includes two aspects: one is knowing when to speak, and the other is being good at analyzing other people's languages. "Confucius said: you can speak without words, and you lose people; Don't talk to it in words, it's rude. The knower does not lose people, nor does he lose words. " It means that if you talk to him without talking to him, you will lose talent. If you don't talk to him, you will waste your language. Smart people will neither lose their talents nor waste their language. Wen Zi, the great grandfather of the patriotic doctor, was praised as a saint by Confucius. Others commented on him as "a master never tires of talking", that is to say, he didn't speak until it was his turn to speak, so people didn't hate what he said. "Confucius said: three things to serve: impetuousness if you don't say it, concealment if you don't say it, color if you don't see it, and embarrassment." It means to be good at figuring out the words and feelings when talking to the monarch. Generally speaking, people are prone to make three kinds of mistakes. They shouldn't speak first. It's called impatience. It's his turn to say nothing and call it hiding. Speaking without looking at the monarch's face is called blindness. When Confucius talked with Zhang Zi about how scholars do things wisely, he said, "Honesty and uprightness, observing words and feelings" means being honest in quality, being reasonable in doing things, being good at analyzing other people's languages and observing other people's faces. Confucius also said: "If you don't know what you say, you can't know who you are." It means that you can't understand people's languages unless you know how to distinguish them.
Using words is to communicate with language and achieve the purpose of solving problems. This is the most important application of language. "Confucius said: recite 300 poems and give them to the political power. If they fail to meet the standards, they will be used in all directions, and they cannot be immune to it. Even if there are many poems, do you think it is ridiculous? " It means that even if you are familiar with the Book of Songs, you can't hand it over to him politically, and you can't negotiate independently abroad. Even if you read a lot of books of songs, what's the use? In ancient times, because there were no modern means of transportation and communication, they only accepted tasks. As for how to deal with it, they can only improvise and act independently, that is, "they are ordered not to resign." "Make it extend in all directions without humiliating life", and complete the negotiation task entrusted by the monarch, all by personal diplomatic means and negotiation ability. Yan Ying of Qi was praised by the world for his superb language skills, and left many well-known stories in history, such as "Yan Zi made Chu".
Confucius said that "words are not enough", that is to say, words can express meaning. Some people say that ran yong, a student of Confucius, is "gentle, courteous and frugal", that is to say, ran yong has benevolence but no eloquence. Confucius said, "Why do you have eloquence? Arguing eloquently with others is often annoying. I don't know if ran yong has kindness, why must he talk eloquently? " . Confucius has always opposed rhetoric. Confucius said: "Gorgeous words make you look good, which means that a person who is eloquent and hypocritical will lack kindness." In our daily communication with people, of course, we should be kind to people, but those who are hypocritical and rhetoric may be duplicitous and dishonest, so we should be more careful. The most terrible thing is not the real bad guys, but the fake good guys. Many of us have learned a profound lesson.
There are 3,000 disciples of Confucius, and the best students in the language department are Zaiming and Zigong. In addition to his outstanding business ability and eloquence, Zi Gong was appreciated by Confucius. When Confucius traveled around the world with his disciples, he heard that the fields of Qi often attacked Lu, and Lu was about to be defeated. Although Confucius was driven out of the country by Lu Jun and Ji Shi, he still cared about the motherland all the time. He said to his disciples, "Lu is the country of our fathers and the place where our ancestral graves are located. The country is in such a crisis that we can't sit idly by." In order to persuade Tian Chang to give up attacking Lu, Confucius sent Zi Gong to Qi. When Zi Gong arrived in Qi State, he often said to Tian: "The wall of Lu State is low, the monarch and ministers are stupid, the poor are weak, and the people hate war. The walls of Wu are strong, the soldiers are well trained, the weapons are excellent, and there is plenty of food and grass. You should not crusade against Lu, but against Wu. " Tian Chang said angrily, "I thought you beat me." Zi Gong replied: "I heard that you have been promoted many times without success, because some ministers did not agree. Those who suffer at home will attack powerful countries, while those who suffer abroad will attack weak countries. Now that your worries are at home, you should crusade against Wu. If Wu is invincible, the country will be empty, so there will be no strong ministers fighting with you in the imperial court, and no one will accuse you below. There is only a lonely monarch, and you are the only one who controls Qi. " Tian Chang often said, "But I have already sent troops to Lu, and I left Lu to crusade against Wu. My teacher is unknown, and I doubt me. What should I do? " Zi Gong said, "Don't move. I invite you to go to Wu and ask him to rescue Lu and attack Qi, so that you can take the opportunity to lead the troops to fight. " Tian Chang agreed. When Zi Gong arrived in the State of Wu, he said to Fu Cha, the king of Wu, "When Qi defeats Lu, the country will be strong and will compete with Wu in the future. Your army defeated Qi, which not only contained Qi, but also saved Lu. It is famous for upholding justice. " . The prince of Wu agreed to send troops to cut Qi, but at this time he was preparing to attack Yue, and Zi Gong went to Yue again. Knowing the interests of the King of Yue, he persuaded the King of Yue to put aside his feud with the State of Wu for a while and sent troops to attack the State of Qi with the State of Wu. Zi Gong expected that Qi would be defeated. After the King of Wu won, he wanted to attack the State of Jin, so he went to the State of Jin and told the King of Jin to prepare for a decisive battle with the State of Wu. The development of the situation is in line with Zigong's expectation. After Wu defeated Qi, he attacked Jin, and Jin was ready to wait for him. After defeating Wu, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, took the opportunity to send troops to attack Wu and killed Fu Cha, the king of Wu. In this way, through his own lobbying, Zi Gong kept the state of Lu, disturbed the state of Qi, and attacked the state of Wu, making the state of Jin strong and the state of Yue hegemonic. Zi Gong's extraordinary eloquence and outstanding military diplomacy ability can be seen from this.
? Zai Feng (Zi Zihe, formerly known as Zai Feng) is the first disciple of Confucius in speech, and his eloquence is above Zi Gong. He was sent to many countries in the process of traveling around the world, but his moral level was not praised by Confucius. In The Analects of Confucius, the name Zai I appeared once, and another * * * appeared four times, three of which were criticized by Confucius. I suggest that the mourning time for parents should be changed from three years to one year. Confucius criticized him for being "inhuman"; The famous teacher scolded the students that "rotten wood can't be carved, and the wall of dung can't be carved". This is what Confucius said to me, which means that rotten wood can't be carved, and the wall made of mud can't be erased. Confucius said that people used to "listen to what they say and believe what they do", but since killing me, they have changed and started to "listen to what they say and watch what they do". According to Records of Historical Records and Biography of Zhong Ni, I once asked Confucius about the virtues of the Five Emperors, and Confucius said, "You are not the one to ask such questions." The implication is that your virtues are not worthy of learning such knowledge. Later, he killed me in Qi and Tianchang, and was later exterminated. "Confucius is ashamed of this" means that Confucius is ashamed of him.
Language is a tool for interpersonal communication. Mastering the art of language can make us communicate with people more fully and make suggestions no longer unpleasant. But in the process of cultivating our own character, noble behavior is the first. "Clever words can only please people temporarily, and" quick decision "is a gentleman's behavior advocated by Confucius.
Zhang Hongshan
? June 2022 Weifang Business School.