Original text:
Everything is prepared, and if it is not prepared, it will be wasted. Make rules before speaking, make rules before doing, make rules before doing, and make rules before doing.
Translation:
No matter what you do, you can succeed if you are prepared in advance, otherwise you will fail. Everything can be successful if it is prepared in advance, and it will fail if it is not prepared; If you are ready to speak, you won't be unable to stand up; If you are prepared in advance, you will not encounter difficulties and setbacks; Make up your mind to act again, and there will be no mistakes and regrets.
Source: The Book of Rites, The Doctrine of the Mean and Zi Si in the Warring States Period.
Extended data
The doctrine of the mean comes from the Book of Rites, which was originally Article 3 1 in Article 49 of the Book of Rites. It was compiled by Dai Sheng in Xuan Di era according to a batch of anonymous Confucian works left over from history.
There are more than 3,500 words in The Doctrine of the Mean, which is divided into 33 chapters and 4 parts according to Zhu's classification. It is a biography of Confucianism since the ancient times, which involves many aspects such as the way to treat others, the standard of virtue, and the way to learn. The contents from the first chapter to the nineteenth chapter focus on the universality and importance of the golden mean from many angles.
Chapter 20 starts with Lu Aigong's inquiry to Confucius about how to handle government affairs, and points out the close relationship between the implementation of government affairs and strengthening people's self-cultivation, and further expounds five ethical relations, three virtues and nine principles of governing the country.
At the end of this chapter, the core of the second half of this book is "sincerity", which emphasizes five specific aspects of "sincerity". Chapters 2 1 to 33 are all about honesty.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-the golden mean
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Everything is established in advance, and it will be abolished if it is not planned.