Confucius said: words must be done, and actions must be fruitful. Those are shallow and stubborn thugs.

Many times, we like to take things out of context, cut off the words of the ancients and understand them according to our own ideas. But I don't know, it has changed the original meaning.

For example, "My life is limited, but so is my knowledge", which is often used to motivate myself. Life is limited and knowledge is infinite, so we should work harder to pursue knowledge. However, behind Zhuangzi's original text is: "With the limit, there is no limit, and it is almost the same!" Zhuangzi's original intention is to pursue infinite knowledge with limited life, which will only make him very tired.

Zhuangzi originally advocated not to pursue infinite knowledge with limited life, but now he is regarded as the motto of working hard to seize the day. If Zhuangzi knows what happened under the spring, I wonder if he will live angrily.

This is another example. Confucius said in the original text: "I must keep my words and bear my responsibilities. I am a villain."

Qiao Ran means shallow and stubborn, and the whole meaning of this sentence is: "A man who keeps his word and acts wisely" is actually a shallow and stubborn villain, which is not desirable. The villain here is not a contemptible person with low personality as mentioned today. In ancient times, villains had many meanings, sometimes referring to children. For example, "it is difficult to raise a female villain. If you are near, you are inferior, and if you are far away, you will complain." Little people refer to children. Sometimes it also refers to short people. And the villain here should be someone who says "a little knowledge"

Our descendants often regard the first half of this sentence as an example of Confucius advocating honesty and trustworthiness. Confucius said that "words must be done, actions must be fruitful" and encouraged us to be such people. Others take this sentence as their motto, and others write it down and stick it on the wall. But it turns out that this is a big joke. Confucius not only did not advocate it, but also called such people villains, which is worthy of contempt.

But did Confucius really despise honest and trustworthy people and encourage people to lie?

We can't say that, we should look at the specific environment in which Confucius said these words in context. The original text is like this: Zi Gong asked, "What is such a person?" Confucius said, "Be ashamed of your actions, and make you travel everywhere." He said, "Dare to ask second." He said: "The clan calls it filial piety, and the township party calls it brother." He said, "Dare to ask second." He said: "you will keep your promise, you will do what you should do, and you will be a villain!" Suppression can also be a second time. " Yue: "What about today's politicians?" Confucius said, "Hey! A man who is fighting, what is enough? "

Zi Gong asked Confucius, "How can I be called a scholar?" Confucius said: "Being sent abroad with a sense of shame can fulfill the monarch's mission well. Such a person can be called a scholar. " Zi Gong said, "Who is next?" Confucius said, "The clan praised him for being filial to his parents, while the villagers praised him for respecting his brother." Zi Gong said, "It's second class." Confucius said, "Keep your word and you will get results. What a shallow and stubborn little man! Maybe it can be regarded as a first-class taxi again. " Blablabla is in the back. .......

The core of this passage is that Confucius explained to Zi Gong what kind of people can be called "scholars".

Confucius said: "Being sent abroad can fulfill the monarch's mission well. Such a person can be called a scholar. " It can be seen from this sentence that Confucius is actually a man who pursues practical value, not a pedantic old man in people's impression. "Can complete the mission of the monarch", such a person is a gentleman. The man who "keeps his word and keeps his promise" is, in Confucius' view, a shallow and stubborn villain. It's quite a bit like "those who achieve great things are informal".

Confucius thinks that it is a gentleman to fulfill the mission of the monarch. Filial piety to parents is second class. And the so-called "words must be done, actions must be fruitful" is only a third-class villain. Confucius encouraged things to be flexible and convenient, rather than sticking to methods. As long as you complete the task of the monarch, you are loyal to the monarch. This is a great morality, but in terms of specific means, you may not be perfect and need to lie and cheat. But Confucius didn't care. He keeps his promise. Honesty is more important than life, and life is only the pursuit of superficial villains.

Of course, Confucius did not encourage people to lie and do things by hook or by crook. Confucius advocated "flexibility".

Confucius was once trapped between Chen and Cai and didn't eat for more than ten days. At this time, his students stole pork and wine for him. Confucius didn't ask the origin of these things, but he just ate meat and drank wine generously. On another occasion, Confucius was detained and asked to promise not to go to Wei Jun, so he was released. Confucius agreed, but after he came out, he went straight to Wei Jun. His students said that you broke your promise. Confucius said, "If you want to form an alliance, God will not listen." . It means that this is an oath made under duress, and God will not pay attention to it.

Different from our inherent image. Confucius was not ashamed to eat stolen food at all. He swore to spank and refused to admit it. Because Confucius was an ambitious man, he was not bound by ordinary rules. "People with lofty ideals don't drink water from stolen springs, and honest people don't get their food." Finally, they starved to death. People who do this are poor and "little people". Confucius is not a poor man, but a saint. Shang Jun's book says: "A wise man creates laws and regulations, while a stupid man is punished by laws and regulations. Sages reform the ritual system, and mediocrity is bound by the ritual system. "

A saint is a person who makes rules. And mediocrity and villains are people who obey the rules.

Mediocre people have a sense of security when they have rules. Without rules, they don't know what they should do. The more pedantic a person is, the more inseparable he is from the rules, and the more he can't stand people who break them. Therefore, we can see that those who punch in and out on time every day, those who break their legs in order to be punctual, usually don't do much, because their energy is spent on obeying the rules and their thoughts are confined to the rules.

Once upon a time, Confucius was such a living person, but he was shaped into a rigid puppet by later generations. Because the ruling class needs obedient people, people are taught to be rigid and disciplined. The glorious part of Confucius' thought was castrated, forming the benevolence and ceremony we see today.

Recently, I participated in a punch-in activity, made my own daily plan every morning, and punched in the system before nine o'clock. But there is something wrong with the system in recent days, and it is often impossible to punch in on time. I summed up a method-how to operate, refresh a few times more, and you can finish punching.

I shared my method with QQ group, but one person said to me, "It's not good to do something when you have time. Integral and punching are just incentive mechanisms. It is good to have a plan. "

I was shocked in an instant. Up to today, I have kept punching in for nearly 180 days, and I am deeply proud that I have never missed punching in. I will never be late, and I will never stand up. I don't make promises easily, but my promises to others are more important than anything else. But I finally found out that I am really superficial. The result of doing this is just to make yourself an ordinary person. My life lacks elasticity and flexibility. Stick to our original wishes and remember our mission. I lost myself in the process of punching in and forgot what I wanted to pursue.

Vision and knowledge determine a person's level. I believe that Confucius didn't teach us to lie or cheat by saying such things. Just remind us that it is good to keep promises and stick to principles, but don't take principles as an end. Don't forget that your initiative is the first thing to do Remember what your goal is, and everything serves around it. Principles are actually formulated by people, but don't let them turn into things that bind our thoughts. I also hope that people who read this article can also liberate their hearts with me. Take the sage as a teacher, make your mind flexible and make your thinking full of flexibility and creativity.