Feeling:
"Encouraging Learning" is the opening work of Xunzi, which is worth chewing repeatedly.
Xunzi believes that human nature is evil, and it is necessary to correct evil by etiquette, so he pays special attention to learning the day after tomorrow. The theory of "evil nature" is the starting point of Xunzi's social and political thought, which begins with "Confucius said:' Always learn without being bad!' Xunzi claimed to be a descendant of Confucius, and his works were also designed to encourage students. On the surface, he just inherited the Confucian tradition of encouraging students, but in fact, his emphasis is obviously different. Because in Confucius' view, "those who are born with knowledge are superior, and those who learn and know are inferior." (The Analects of Confucius Ji Shi). Xunzi, on the other hand, believes that etiquette, morality, knowledge and wisdom can only be acquired by learning the day after tomorrow. This simple materialistic thought made him stand on the basis of a new epistemology, developed the tradition of coward persuasion, and raised the importance of learning to a new height. Because human nature is evil, it will become as straight as wood and as sharp as a sword. People with evil human nature will only become knowledgeable. Learning can change people's quality. It is of great significance to improve people's intelligence, far from the "joy" of those who "know it by nature".
Based on the premise that human nature is evil, Xunzi attaches great importance to "merit" in his study. In order to rely on the merits of reading, we first advocate "good deeds" and practice external work well. Xunzi denied Mencius' view that people were born with "conscience" and "goodness", so he emphasized learning from practical things outside and from skilled people. In Xunzi's view, it is better to study all the time than to think hard and worry about nothing. A good scholar must be a "good and false thing." With the help of foreign things, just like standing on the shoulders of giants, it is easy to get the effect of climbing high and seeing it quickly. Use other people's "horses" to make up for the shortcomings of "non-profit" and achieve the goal of "reaching a thousand miles"; Borrowing a "boat" from the outside world can save yourself from "incompetent water" and achieve the effect of "intercepting rivers". Even people with ordinary qualifications and endowments, if they can learn from others and master everything, can they become noble gentlemen or even saints the day after tomorrow without "evil"?
This kind of "work" cannot rely solely on external factors. In order to keep the school's effect stable for a long time, we should also pay attention to methods and practice internal strength.
Xunzi denied the saying that "a natural saint". Only through one's own efforts and study the day after tomorrow can one become a saint. There is no other way. Accumulated soil can make mountains and storms, dripping water can make dragons, step by step can make thousands of miles, and trickle can make rivers and seas. In this kung fu, you must cultivate internal strength first, and then you can achieve great success in the end, gain great wisdom by accumulating scattered knowledge, and gain great virtue by accumulating small kindness. If you practice your internal skills well, you can "enjoy yourself and be prepared." Second, we should persevere and practice our internal strength. If you don't learn to be a horse, you should learn from Ma Xu and never give up. With this tenacity, you won't give up halfway. Walking a hundred miles won't discourage you. Third, we must persist and practice our internal strength. If you don't learn to kneel six times and claw two times, the crabs that are "impatient" will even end up with a sad end of "there is no place for the snake pit"; We should learn from earthworms with strong bones and muscles without the benefits of minions, and fully enjoy the fun of "eating soil and drinking yellow mud". Learning to be a saint is like freezing for three feet in a day. Stay away from the impetuousness of being eager to do things and cultivate concentration. If you have both external and internal skills, you are not afraid that the person who "paints" repeatedly through "violence" can be Yu. " ("Xunzi, Sexual Evil")
In fact, life is like a blank sheet of paper, and good and evil are subjective transcendental theories. However, Xunzi's persuasion based on the theory of evil nature not only played a positive role in criticizing Mencius' theory of innate morality, but also surpassed his predecessor Confucius in persuasion intensity and depth, which cannot be said to be a great fortune in misfortune.
Xunzi's literary talent is remarkable, which is inseparable from his good use of metaphor and image reasoning. Its metaphor is ingenious, alert and moving, and even makes the chapters and sentences in the article evolve into idioms, such as "shine on you is better than blue" and "perseverance"; Or applause is quoted as a motto, such as "no accumulated steps, no miles;" If you don't accumulate small streams, you can't become rivers and seas. " "Perseverance, no loss, no loss; Perseverance, a stone can be carved "and so on. Its skill is ingenious, mainly in three aspects:
For example, nearby. What are the reasons for indigo "from blue, shine on you", ice "water is colder than water" and wood bent straight by rope? The wheels in the corner have sharpened. Isn't the sword very common? Climb high and see far, and hear clearly with the wind; Isn't it obvious to all that a fake horse travels thousands of miles and a fake boat drowns in the river? Which of those subtle metaphors in "encouraging learning" is not familiar common sense? But it is this common sense that has received the effect of "small names and big categories" (Wen Xin Diao Long Bi Xing).
Metaphor is in many ways. Some separate metaphors: for example, the straight wood in the rope has become the wheel of "the rule in its song". Although there is a natural phenomenon that the storm is no longer good, this is a metaphor that shows that people can change their qualifications and talents through learning the day after tomorrow. Some metaphors are used one after another: for example, a mountain of soil can cause a storm, and a drop of water can give birth to a dragon; For example, a gentleman can be made by accumulating goodness, and great wisdom can be made by accumulating scattered knowledge. Some positive metaphors: for example, earthworm, which has no sharp claws and strong fitness bones, can "eat the earth and drink the yellow earth", which is a metaphor for a scholar with poor qualifications but single-minded, and can even achieve unexpected results. Some negative metaphors are used: for example, a crab with six knees and two claws looks fierce, but it needs to borrow a snake hole to support its body, which is used to describe a student with excellent qualifications who is impetuous and ultimately achieves nothing. The two forms positive and negative metaphors, which are in sharp contrast and profoundly reveal the different effects of specificity and floating sound. Some comprehensive metaphors, such as the continuous metaphor of jumping without taking ten steps, the continuous metaphor of driving without giving up ten times, and the comparative metaphor of persistent craftsmen who can carve energy stones, constitute the continuous metaphor from horses to people. This kind of promotion, echoing up and down, can make the expressive metaphor play a role beyond the level, and achieve the performance of "stunning the world and looking back" (Wen Xin Diao Long Bi Xing) and "not attending classes often".
Integration and decentralization. Multiple metaphors not only make the language of "exhortation to learn" concrete, concise and tasteful, but also with the continuity of metaphors, the change of techniques and the revelation of the finishing touch, scattered and changeable sentence patterns are formed, and the rhythm is sonorous, showing Xunzi's passion for exhortation to learn. Some short sentences. Have a meal; Some long sentences, in one go; In the meantime, it is double and extremely subtle; Clever use of contrast. Incisive and thorough; The four-character arrangement is unstoppable; After a long time, participation will be dispersed; Integration and decentralization. Charming. "Encouraging Learning" is not only an excellent ancient educational paper, but also a literary work. The predecessor's evaluation is "ancient and modern persuasion, this is the first", which is really a classic theory.
About the author:
Xunzi (about 365438 BC+03 BC-238 BC), whose real name was Qing (called Qing when he said it), was a native of Zhao at the end of the Warring States Period, and was called "Sun Qing" in the Han Dynasty because he avoided the name of Emperor Gaozu. He was a famous thinker, philosopher and educator in the pre-Qin period, a representative of Confucianism and a master of a hundred schools of thought contending.
Xunzi served as the wine sacrifice of Jixia Xuegong in the State of Qi for three times and the order of Chu Lanling for two times. In his later years, he lived in Lanling County, wrote a book saying that he was taught by his disciples and died in Sri Lanka, which was called "Housheng". Xunzi critically accepted and creatively developed Confucian orthodoxy and theory, and advocated "both etiquette and law"; Put forward the view that people who "master their destiny and use it" will conquer nature; Oppose superstition of ghosts and gods; Put forward the theory of evil nature, attach importance to the influence of customs and education on people, and emphasize the application of what you have learned; His thoughts are reflected in Xunzi. Xunzi also sorted out and passed on Confucian classics such as The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Li, Yue, Yi and Chunqiu, and made great contributions to the spread and preservation of Confucian ideology and culture.
Xunzi summed up hundred schools of thought's theoretical achievements and his own academic thoughts, and founded a complete simple materialist philosophy system in the pre-Qin period. His thoughts had a subtle influence on the development of feudal society for more than two thousand years.