Someone just doesn’t want to expose you? A gentleman must not be trapped. "The Analects of Confucius 6.26 of My Commentary on the Six Classics"

Original text

Zaiwo asked: "A benevolent person, even if he tells him: 'There is benevolence in the well,' how can he follow it?" The Master said: "Why is this so? ? A gentleman can die, but cannot be trapped; he can be deceived, but cannot be ignored."

Bingxue Translation

Zai Wo asked Confucius: "For a benevolent person, even you. If you pretend to tell him, "There is someone in the well, save him quickly," will he jump in?" Confucius said: "How is it possible? A gentleman can have a benevolent heart and rush to save people, but he will not be framed inadvertently; he can be deceived. , but he will not be blinded by being cute all the time.”

Zaimei has a flamboyant and rebellious personality, and always likes to ask a lot of reverse thinking questions to the teacher. Confucius warned him: If a gentleman is so easy to be deceived and framed, and does not have appropriate wisdom, how can he still be called a gentleman? Master Qian Mu said: "When a benevolent person hears what others tell him, he can be deceived into looking at it, and he will not be confused and throw himself into the well." There are some things. Sometimes, a gentleman has a broad mind and a far-sighted vision. It is natural benevolence to save fire and water without mercy. Just the heart. Zhu Zi also said: Although a benevolent person is eager to save others without selfishness, he should not be so stupid.

"A benevolent person must be knowledgeable, and a knowledgeable person does not need to be benevolent." There is a story in "Mencius? Chapter 1" - the disciples thought that the big leader Zichan was easy to bully, and they secretly laughed at him. He is not as divine and wise as everyone thinks.

"Mencius? Ten Thousand Chapters Part 1":

(The full text is as follows, if you don't like ancient Chinese, please skip it and read the translation directly)

In the past, there was a feeding fish In Zheng Zichan, Zichan made the school a pond for people and animals. When the school staff cooked it, he counter-instructed him and said: "I just threw it away, and then it was sloppy, and it passed away leisurely."

Zi Chan said: "You have found the right place! You have found the right place!"

< p> The schoolmaster came out and said: "Who said that you are born with wisdom? After I cooked it and ate it, I said: 'You have got what you want! You have got what you want!'"

Therefore, a gentleman can deceive him in a way, but it is difficult to ignore him and blame him. road.

Ice and Snow Translation

Someone once gave lively fresh fish to Zheng Guo's politician and thinker Zichan. Zichan sent his steward to put the fish in the pond and raise it. It turned out that the butler and his team were gourmets, but they secretly cooked and ate the fish. They came back and said (what a beautifully crafted lie, like peach blossoms smiling in the spring breeze):

"When I first released the fish, the fish was very tired. It stopped swimming, but after a while, it swam away happily, disappearing into the ripples leisurely."

Zichan said: "We have arrived where we should go! It’s time to go!”

The self-righteous butler came out and said, “Who said Zichan was smart? I had cooked the fish and eaten it, but he still said: ‘It’s time to go. We have reached the place where we should go! '"

Therefore, a gentleman can deceive them with reasonable methods, but it is difficult to deceive them with illogical methods. A gentleman is as sincere as a god, he can predict things in advance and cannot tell the truth. Liu Zongzhou said: A gentleman must respect his body as the body of all things in heaven and earth, and then he can take the place of heaven and earth and educate all things in order to achieve his benevolence. "To be benevolent but not to learn is to be blind and stupid", that is to say, it is often used in daily life. How can it be said that the world is so big?

"A gentleman can deceive someone in his own way, but it is difficult for him to ignore the wrong way."

"Fang" is different from "Dao" - Fang, with small tricks, sometimes can't be deceived. In life, the skills are different, so it doesn't hurt to deceive others. Tao is the creed and truth to be followed in life, and it will not be changed by the influence of others or the environment at any time or anywhere. A gentleman has lofty principles of life. No matter how bad the environment is, he will persevere to the end. He has the strong self-confidence of "a saint is clothed in brown but has jade in his arms" and the sentiment of "Although there are thousands of people, I am willing to go!" I will never give up and never give up. Indelible.

Appendix Literature Reference

"Analects of Confucius" says: This chapter reveals the heart of a benevolent person.

Zhu Zi said: I am not faithful in my faith, and I am worried that I will be framed by benevolence, so I ask this question. If you put the lid on the well, you can save the people in the well; if you put the lid on the well, you can no longer save them. This principle is very clear, and it is easy for people to understand. Although a benevolent person is eager to save others without selfishness, he should not be so stupid.

"The Analects of Justice" says: Mencius also said: "A gentleman can bully his way, but it is difficult to ignore his way." "Fang" means righteousness. If you rebuke a gentleman with righteousness, he will believe it and follow it. However, if it is not the way, it is difficult to ignore it.

Those who can be deceived are benevolent; those who cannot be ignored are those who know.

Chen Minzhao said: This question of mine has won Master’s heart. Master, if you see someone falling into a well, you can definitely jump down and rescue him. However, this cannot be done by saints and cannot be passed on to others. Therefore, the Master answered it with a way that can be continued and passed down. Just like the great Shun, he could only dredge the well and listen to his parents to cover it up, because he had a way out; if he was an ordinary filial son, he would accept the small stick and walk away with the big stick.

Liu Zongzhou said: A gentleman must respect his body as the body of heaven and earth and all things, and then he can be in heaven and earth, educate all things, and become benevolent. Being benevolent but not imitating is also foolish, that is, it is often used in daily life. How can it be said that the world is so big? Therefore, the sages have proved this. Zhong You's miner (hǎi) and Guishan's coming out are all about rescuing people from the well. Hearing the call of Gongshan and Foji (xī), he wanted to go, but he refused to go. It was clear that he could pass away and cannot be trapped. . If you ask me a question, I'm afraid Mr. Shang is in trouble.

Chen Xiangdao said: A gentleman treats things with sincerity and does not cheat, so he can be deceived; he uses clear principles without concealment, so he cannot ignore them. Those who deceive others regard falsehood as truth, and those who are ignorant regard nothing as existence. If falsehood is regarded as truth, it will be credible; if nothingness is regarded as existence, it will be ignored by others. Therefore, Xiang Shun did not doubt the fakeness of Xiang; when the schoolmaster cooked fish, he did not doubt his reluctance to give birth to his son. This is why it is credible. Fang Qi regarded Zhu as enlightenment, Yao regarded lawsuits as yín, and workers regarded huān as meritorious service. Yao regarded quiet words as meaningless and ignored others.

Song Xiangfeng said: When the Buddha of Gongshan passed away, Nanzi’s view can be passed away and can be deceived; "grinding does not lead to phosphorus, nirvana does not lead to death", which cannot be trapped or ignored. also.

Su said: Saving someone is what a benevolent person must do; killing his body is of no benefit to others, so a benevolent person must not do it. But if the king and father are in danger, then the ministers will have a way to follow. However, I still hold his tools and don't just follow him. When things are pressing and you don’t have the tools, you can just follow them. The rest are to be rescued by others, and they must be done with all their strength.

Qian Mu said: There are fools, loyal people, and filial piety in the world, but there is no such thing as foolish benevolence. Loyalty and filial piety can sometimes be foolish with just one heart; benevolence comes from the heart and becomes virtuous, and virtue does not involve foolishness. Therefore, it is said: "A benevolent person must have knowledge, and a knowledgeable person does not need to be benevolent." This shows the high degree of benevolence.

"The Interpretation of the Four Books" says: This chapter of the book is about benevolence and understanding. A husband who helps others and benefits from things shows a benevolent heart; a husband who helps others and makes things right is a wise thing. There is no gentleman in the world who is not benevolent, and there is no benevolent person who is not wise. Therefore, those who love benevolence must be eager to learn, and then they will not lose their stupidity.

Bibliography of this chapter

"The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius" and "New Interpretations of the Analects of Confucius" "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Analects of Confucius". "Four Books Dialectical Analysis".