Source of works
"Although the road is far, the trip will come; Although things are difficult, they must be done. " This sentence comes from Xunzi's "Cultivation" and is one of the Confucian classics in Xunzi's works.
But this sentence has actually changed. Its original sentence is "although the Tao is close, it cannot be done;" Although things are small, they are not impossible. " No matter how near the road is, if you don't take it, the road won't get there by yourself. No matter how simple it is, if you don't do it, you won't do it yourself. "
original work
Xunzi's Self-cultivation (Excerpt)
Xunzi [pre-Qin]?
If you are good, you will receive it, and if you repair it, you will protect yourself; If you don't look well, you must introspect when you are sad; Hello, be good to yourself; If you are not good at it, you are evil to yourself. So, either my people or my teachers; It's me, my friend; Those who flatter me are thieves. Therefore, a gentleman is a teacher and a friend, so that he hates his thief; If you are good but not satisfied, you can quit if you are admonished. Although you want not to advance, how can you get it? Villains, on the other hand, cause confusion, and the wicked are not themselves; Be corrupt, but be virtuous to others; My heart is like a tiger and a wolf, and I walk like an animal, but the thief of the wicked is also; Flatterers kiss, admonish those who are sparse, correct them with laughter, and be loyal to them with thieves. Although they want to survive, what do they get?
Good ancestors call it teaching, and good people call it obedience; Bad ancestors are called flattery, and bad others are called flattery. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Hurting a good man is called slander, and hurting a good man is called a thief. Yes, yes, no, no, no, no, no, no, the interests are impermanent, and Poly is disloyal and called a thief.
If you are determined to practice, you will be arrogant and rich, and your morality will be noble, and your princes will be light; Introspection is light. Chuan said, "A gentleman's thing is a villain's thing." This is called Yi. Work hard and feel at ease; Less and more righteousness, for it; Trouble is better than no trouble. Therefore, a good farmer is not drought, a good farmer is not poverty, and a gentleman is not poverty.
A husband travels thousands of miles a day, and he also has ten horses. Therefore, without stopping, the turtle is thousands of miles away; Tired of soil and ceaseless, Qiushan Chengchong; Tired of its source, open its blasphemy, rivers can be exhausted; One advance and one retreat, one left and one right, six horses don't come. The talent of the other party is similar to that of the princess. So what if six horses are lame? However, it was caused by a limping turtle, but Liuma didn't. There is no other reason, either for or not! Although the Tao is close, it cannot be done; Small as it is, nothing is impossible. He is also an idle person, and it is not far away.
Translation of works
When you see good behavior, you must compare yourself meticulously; When you see bad behavior, you must reflect on yourself with fear; Good conduct is in yourself, so love yourself unswervingly; If you are bad to yourself, you will hate yourself like a disaster. Therefore, the person who points out my shortcomings and criticizes me appropriately is my teacher; People who affirm and appreciate me appropriately are my friends; Those who flatter me are those who hurt me. Therefore, a gentleman respects his teacher, keeps close to his friend, and hates his flattering thief. The pursuit of goodness is never satisfied, and being persuaded can raise your vigilance, so even if you don't want to make progress, is it possible? The villain is extremely confused, but still hates others to point out their mistakes; I am extremely incompetent, but I want others to say that I am talented; My heart is like a tiger and a wolf, but I hate others for pointing out their sins. Get close to those who flatter themselves, stay away from those who advise them to correct their mistakes, treat kind and honest words as a sneer at themselves, and treat extremely loyal behavior as harm to themselves. Even if such a person wants to survive, is it possible?
Guide others to teach with kind words and deeds, and echo others to obey with kind words and deeds; Use bad words and deeds to guide others to call flattery, and use bad words and deeds to echo others to call flattery. Affirming the right (words and deeds) and denying the wrong (words and deeds) are called wisdom, and denying the right (words and deeds) and affirming the wrong (words and deeds) is called stupidity. Defaming a moral person is called slander, and framing a moral person is called mutilation. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. This is called integrity. Stealing property is called theft, concealing one's own behavior is called fraud, talking nonsense at will is called absurdity, there are no fixed rules for choosing, and treachery in order to protect interests is called thief.
Have a good ambition, you can be proud of wealth, value morality, and despise princes; If the mind is clear, then things outside are insignificant. The ancient book says, "gentlemen are enslaved by foreign things, and villains are enslaved by foreign things." That's what I said. If you are tired and feel at ease, do it; Do something with less interests and more morality; It is better to serve a troubled monarch than to serve a confused monarch and serve others with virtue. Therefore, excellent farmers will not stop farming because of floods and droughts, excellent businessmen will not stop trading because of losses, and people who are interested in practicing and learning will not ignore morality because of poverty and hardship.
A good horse can run thousands of miles a day, and a bad horse can walk for ten days. In this way, step by step, the limping tortoise can walk thousands of miles away; If the accumulation of soil is not interrupted, the heaped-up mountains will eventually be piled up; Block the water source and ditch, then the Yangtze River and the Yellow River will also dry up; Forward for a while, retreat for a while, turn left for a while, turn right for a while, even six good horses can't reach their destination. There is a big gap in everyone's qualifications. How can there be such a big gap between a limping tortoise and six good horses? However, a limping tortoise can reach it, but six good horses can't. There is no other reason, some do it, some don't! Even if the distance is very close, you can't get there without walking; Even if things are small, you can't succeed without doing them. People who live in the world and spend a lot of time hanging around will never go far, even if they can surpass others.
Annotation of works
Xiuran: It's tidied up. Save: check.
(qi o) ran: the look of fear.
Jieran: It looks solid.
Delayed: It means disaster. Idiocy is the same as "disaster".
Thief: Harm people.
And: echo, response.
Right, right, right, wrong: I can tell right from wrong. Yes, that's right. No, wrong. The first "yes" and "no" here are used as verbs to express positive and negative meanings.
We use words to frame and attack people.
Yi Yan: It's easy to talk, but it's reckless.
Fun House: Choice. Fun, pass "take".
Ambition: ambition. Xiu: a common language in Xunzi's books, meaning repair, repair and beauty.
Biography: It is said in ancient books. "Chuanyue" is often used to refer to ancient characters in pre-Qin classics.
Luan Jun: the king of riots in great powers.
Poor king: the embarrassing king of a small country. Shun: smooth. This refers to anterograde morality.
Discount: sell at a loss. Discount, loss. Reading and selling.
Stop: end point, purpose and end. In Confucian classics, the word "stop" has a special meaning, which refers to the goal pursued wholeheartedly, such as archery, and the target it shoots is "stop". The so-called "stop at perfection" and "stop at learning" can be understood in this sense.
Trail: Road.
Meaning: by "inhibiting" or.
Strong white, same difference: refers to the theory of Hui Shi and Gongsun Long, famous soldiers of the Warring States. There is a proposition that a hard stone is not a stone, a white horse is not a horse, the same person is different, and different people are equal. Is there thickness? It is also Hui Shi's theory, which talks about the infinity in space. This is a proposition put forward by Deng in the Spring and Autumn Period.
A grotesque trip. Thin, pronounced "odd". Lost, big.
"If you are late, stop" sentence: If there is any doubt here, let's explain it according to the general point of view. Learning, scholars say so. Stay late.
Worship: through "final", final.
Tired: I am full.
Blasphemy: ditches.
County: the same as "hanging", disparity.
Idle days: refers to laziness.
In and out: The meaning is hard to understand, which is interpreted by Wang Niansun as "going out to the people".
Creation background
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; Thought is reflected in Xunzi. 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.
works appreciation
This passage wants to tell us that whether we study or do things, we need to persevere. Only by making continuous progress can we reach the finish line, and only by making continuous efforts can we succeed. Xunzi's thought made an important contribution to Confucianism, emphasizing the influence of environment and education on people. Only on the right path and with unremitting efforts can we achieve our goal.
Self-cultivation is not an easy task. No matter a saint, a gentleman or a scholar, to achieve perfection, we must never stop. Knowing the true meaning of statutes is the basis of self-cultivation, and acting according to statutes can reflect the charm of self-cultivation
Brief introduction of the author
Xunzi (about 365438 BC+03-238 BC) was named Qing, Han nationality. It is also called "Xun" because it is taboo to announce the Emperor in the Western Han Dynasty, and because the two words "Xun" and "Sun" are homonyms. During the Warring States Period on weekends, Zhao people. A famous thinker, writer, politician and one of the representatives of Confucianism, he is known as "Xun Qing". He went to Gong Xue, Xia Ji, the State of Qi for three times, and was later ordered by Lan Ling of Chu (now Lan Ling of Shandong). Xunzi developed Confucianism and advocated the theory of evil nature, which is often compared with Mencius' theory of good nature. It has also made considerable contributions to the collation of Confucian classics.