The original text is "it is not really good to be a good person and want to be seen by others;" Fear of being known is a great evil, which means that you have done a good thing to let others see it, not to be a really good person. If you do something bad and you are afraid that others will know, then you are really wicked.
How can it be true that you want to let the world know about doing good deeds on the pretext of doing good deeds? On the contrary, if you do something wrong, you don't dare to face it calmly and bear the consequences. Instead, you try your best to cover up the crime. That is the great evil of adding mistakes to mistakes. The expression of good should not be publicized, and the meaning of evil should not be concealed.
Extended data:
Family Instructions of Zhuzi, also known as Zhuzi's family instructions, is a masterpiece of family education. The book aims at "cultivating one's morality and keeping one's family in order" and combines the achievements of Confucianism in dealing with people, aiming at persuading people to be diligent in managing their families and keeping their position.
Its core is to make people become just, knowledgeable, self-disciplined, tolerant, kind and lofty. This is also the consistent pursuit of China culture, which is conducive to building a happy family and a harmonious society.
The book is catchy and easy to remember in an easy-to-understand and linguistic form. Since it came out, it has been widely circulated and honored as a "classic of family management" by scholars of past dynasties. It was once one of the required reading materials for children's enlightenment from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.
Zhu Bailu (1627- 1698) was originally named Zhu Yongchun, whose real name was Bailu, and he was from Kunshan County, Jiangsu Province in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. A famous philosopher and educator. Zhu Bailu devoted himself to study since he was a child. He is a scholar and devoted himself to his career. Clear entry, clear death, unintentional fame. He lived in the countryside to teach students, devoted himself to the study of Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism, and advocated that knowledge and practice go hand in hand, which was quite famous. He is the author of the Book of Changes, Notes on Four Books, Words of Advice, Poems of Shame on Farming Hall, Shame on Ne Ji and Innocence.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Zhuzi Family Instructions