At the beginning, "the gentleman said: you can't learn." This is not only the first sentence of the article "Encouraging Learning", but also the first sentence of Xunzi's whole work. Xunzi believes that human nature is "evil" and must be corrected by courtesy, so he attaches great importance to learning. The theory of evil nature is the starting point of Xunzi's social and political thought. In his book, he first proposed that learning should not stop, just to grasp the key and solve the fundamental problem. Because he attached great importance to this issue, he put forward his own views through the mouth of a "gentleman" to show his solemnity. The central argument was put forward at the beginning, and the language was concise and profound, which naturally led to the following discussion. Take "green", take it from blue, and green is blue; Ice, water is for it, but it is colder than water ",which means that anyone can make progress by studying hard." Today, I can surpass yesterday, and students can surpass teachers. These two metaphors greatly inspire and inspire learners. However, to achieve "shine on you is better than blue" and "cold comes from water" is by no means "study today and drop out tomorrow". Keep learning, which means "optics is not enough". Therefore, these two metaphors profoundly and powerfully clarify the central argument and inspire people to forge ahead. Then, the article further sets up a metaphor to fundamentally clarify this truth: "The wood is straight in the rope, thinking it is a wheel, and its curve is in the rules. Although there are storms, those who are no longer righteous are naturally. " Greater encouragement to learners. After emphasizing the important role of learning, the article draws a conclusion by metaphor: "Therefore, if you have a rope, you will be straight, and if you have a sharp gold, you will benefit. If a gentleman saves himself with knowledge, he will know clearly without fault. " Wood will straighten when measured with chalk lines, and a metal sword will sharpen when placed on a grindstone. This is like a gentleman who reads widely and checks himself every day, so he will be well-read and have no mistakes in his behavior. It is more convincing to draw a conclusion through metaphor. The word "day" in the judgment sentence closely echoes the word "already" in the opening sentence, which highlights that if you want to "know clearly and act correctly", you must keep learning, thus effectively clarifying the central argument.
The opening is the first paragraph. This passage shows the great significance of learning in changing people's quality and improving people's intelligence. Learning is of great significance. Xunzi believes that learning can't just sit in the room and think hard, but must use external things to learn from reality. Therefore, the second paragraph first explains: "I have been thinking about it all day, so it is better to learn it in an instant." Through personal experience, Xunzi compared "thinking all the time" with "learning in an instant" and emphasized that learning is not as good as dreaming. The word "learning" as opposed to fantasy is self-evident, that is, using external things to learn from reality. This view of learning was also put forward by Xunzi based on his epistemology.
Xunzi denied Mencius' view that people have innate "conscience" and "goodness", so he emphasized learning from external practical things. The concept of "learning" put forward by him here has materialistic factors. Then, with five metaphors, Xunzi started with his own life experience: standing on a high place can see more than standing on tiptoe; Climb up and wave, shout with the wind, the arm is not long, the voice is not big, but people can see and hear clearly from a distance; It can be seen that the utilization of high places and downwind is of great significance. By extension, people who "fake horses" and "fake boats" are not good at walking or swimming, but they can "walk Wan Li Road" and "cross the river". Because the examples used in metaphor are very common in daily life, it feels not only kind but also credible. With the constant metaphor, the truth expounded goes deeper and deeper into the reader's mind, and it will naturally come to the conclusion that "gentlemen are the same, and good and evil are also things". That is to say, gentlemen are more talented than ordinary people because they are good at using foreign things to study hard. It can be inferred that if a person is good at using foreign things and studies hard, he can also become a gentleman with talent and virtue. This is consistent with the first paragraph "Shine on you, ice is cooler than water, and straight wood can be used as a wheel", with the same meaning and dark structure. In addition, Xunzi linked "what he learned" with "being good and being false to things". "This means that the purpose of learning is to understand the laws of objective things and use these laws to transform the objective world." (Quoted from Yan Beiying's explanation of "encouraging learning") This is also related to his thought of "dominating fate".
At this point, the second paragraph ends. This paragraph shows that learning must be good at using foreign things. However, there are still some things that need attention when learning practical things outside, so the third paragraph makes a further explanation. Firstly, the article sets up two metaphors to lead to the argument: "Accumulated soil makes mountains, and wind and rain flourish;" The water drops merged into the ocean and the dragon was born; Accumulate goodness into virtue, the gods are complacent, and the sacred heart is prepared. "This shows that learning should focus on accumulation. Xunzi doesn't recognize the saying that "a born saint" at all. He pointed out that as long as people study hard and "accumulate good deeds", they can have the idea of saints. Sages are also constantly learning, just as he said in the chapter "On Evil Nature": "There is no end to the accumulation of goodness" and "People who paint can be found". He fully emphasized the role of "accumulating goodness", which is also in line with the "learning is impossible" proposed at the beginning.
In brushwork, metaphor leads to arguments, which strengthens the linguistic potential of arguments and makes them convincing as soon as they appear. Then, the article complained: "So, if you don't accumulate steps, you will take Wan Li Road;" If you don't accumulate small streams, you can't become rivers and seas. "This is a negative metaphor to illustrate the importance of accumulation. After a positive and a negative metaphor, the reason that learning pays attention to accumulation has been preliminarily clarified, but in order to explain it in depth, the article repeatedly compares "you can't take ten steps in one leap" with "Ma Xu pushes ten times and never gives up", and then compares "perseverance, perseverance, carving a stone". Of course, if you want to "give up" and keep accumulating, you must be single-minded and not impetuous.
Therefore, the article compares "the earthworm has no advantage of its claws and strong bones and muscles" with "the crab kneels six times and pinches twice", which means that it can "eat the earth and drink the yellow mud", but "it is not a snake's den that has no sustenance", indicating that learning must be absorbed and not sloppy. These two metaphors emphasize that learning must be persistent and take care of the above-mentioned discussions. The third paragraph ends here. Through this metaphor, we can clearly understand that learning must be persistent. At this point, the central argument of "learning can't" put forward at the beginning has been thoroughly expounded and fully proved.
The syllogism of "encouraging learning" states the importance of learning and points out the attitudes and methods that should be adopted in learning. Although Xunzi's theory of learning is based on the idealistic theory of evil nature, it has played a positive critical role in Mencius' theory of innate morality. Due to the limitation of historical conditions, Xunzi could not understand the class nature of human beings. He regards propriety and righteousness as the morality that everyone should have, and calls the behavior that conforms to the feudal ethical norms "good" and the behavior that does not conform to it "evil". In fact, the purpose of his persuasion is to cultivate talents who meet the moral standards of the feudal ruling class, which is essentially different from our learning purpose today. However, it is of progressive significance in the historical period when the emerging landlord class stepped onto the political stage and the whole country moved towards reunification. As for paying attention to learning, the view that learning must be "good at fraud", accumulate gradually and persevere, even today, it still has certain enlightenment and reference significance for us.
Except for a few places that directly explain the truth, they are almost all metaphors. Explaining the truth and proving arguments through metaphor is a major feature of this article. Because of the high skill of creating metaphors, these metaphors are alert and moving. For example, "green" comes from blue, and green is blue "(shining on you is better than blue) and" no accumulation, no miles; If you don't accumulate small streams, you won't be able to make rivers and seas. ""Perseverance, rotten wood can't be folded; Perseverance, the stone can be engraved ". , are cited as the motto to guide learning. At the same time, the ways and means of using metaphor are also flexible and diverse, expounding a layer of meaning, some alone and some continuous; Some are positive metaphors, some are back metaphors; Some use metaphors to compare with each other, and some use metaphors to compare. This step by step, up and down echo, so that their expressive metaphor, more fully play a role, so as to explain the truth very thoroughly. In addition, due to the use of metaphor, the language of the article appears concrete and concise. Moreover, with the continuous use of Bi Xing and the change of techniques, neat and changeable sentence patterns have been formed, resulting in a sonorous rhythm, which shows Xunzi's exhortation passion. Therefore, this is not only an excellent paper on ancient education, but also a literary work. This paper uses a large number of metaphors that are common in life, which makes the abstract truth clear, concrete and vivid and easy for readers to accept. There are various forms of metaphor, sometimes using similar things to set metaphors, explaining problems from the same angle repeatedly and emphasizing the author's point of view. For example, climb high, call with the wind, fake horses, fake boats, accumulate soil into mountains, and water droplets merge into oceans. Sometimes two opposite situations are organized together to form a sharp contrast, so that readers can understand the truth. For example, compare Miracle to Ma Xu, and compare rotten wood to epigraphy. Sometimes the metaphor is reversed, and sometimes it is reversed. The content is different, the sentence patterns are diverse, and readers have no sense of stagnation. Some metaphors are just metaphors, which imply truth and make readers think. Such as "shine on you" and "ice is cooler than water". Some set metaphors first, and then lead to the truth, such as "climbing the mountain, the arm is not lengthened, and the person who sees it is far away", "You can't swim in a fake boat, you can't cross the river". Some set metaphors first, and then further demonstrate with other metaphors. For example, the analogy of "water drops make a sea" first leads to the truth that "accumulating goodness into virtue, the gods are complacent, and the sacred heart is prepared", and then further demonstrates it with "not accumulating steps" and "not accumulating trickle".
The paragraphs in "Encouraging Learning" are very clear, and basically each paragraph expounds a specific problem. And always make a clear explanation at the beginning and end of the article. For example, the first sentence of the article reads: "A gentleman says: You can't learn." This is not only a central topic of the full text, but also the content to be elaborated in the first paragraph. At the end of the paragraph, it is summarized as follows: "A gentleman is knowledgeable and cares about himself, so knowing it is not a mistake." This clearly and effectively takes care of the first sentence, wraps up the above content and clearly points out the central idea of the paragraph. For example, in the second paragraph, "I've been thinking about it all day, so it's better to learn it all at once" to explain that meditation alone is far less beneficial than learning. After enumerating several very common and convincing metaphors in life, such as "Climbing high and looking far", "Calling with the wind", "Fake horse" and "Fake boat", I strongly conclude that "a gentleman's life (sex) is the same, and good and fake are also in things." Here, starting from his "theory of evil nature", Xunzi pointed out that a gentleman's nature is also evil, and the reason why he is different from others is that he is good at learning from good teachers and friends to change his bad habits. The word "thing" has changed from "boat" and "horse" to the content of learning, and its writing has gradually deepened. The two examples cited here are taken care of from beginning to end. Some paragraphs only reveal the center of the paragraph at the beginning, or just make a proper summary at the end. In short, the purpose is the same, but the way is not rigid. Philosophical papers of pre-Qin philosophers are generally difficult to read. Xunzi's rigorous and simple writing method is very effective in helping readers master the basic content of each paragraph.
In reasoning articles, a large number of metaphors are skillfully used in discussion, which is another very prominent feature of persuasion. Sometimes there are many parallel metaphors in the set, which explain the problem repeatedly from the same angle. This technique is called "metaphor" in rhetoric, but it is usually used to assist the description of scenery. The metaphors in Xunzi's works are all used to illustrate things.
Sometimes the author uses the method of contrast to organize two opposing situations together to form a sharp contrast to enhance the persuasiveness of the text. For example, when he stressed that learning must be persistent and single-minded, he not only used some parallel metaphors, but also used many metaphors that complement each other. He listed "one leap can't take ten steps" and "you can't give up your job even if you take ten steps"; "Perseverance, rotten wood cannot be carved"; Earthworms "have no advantages of claws and strong bones and muscles" and can come and go freely underground, while crabs with six knees and two claws can't even dig a small hole and live. This shows that the effects of "product" and "non-product" are completely opposite. In Xunzi's philosophy, the word "quality" is an important point. Xunzi believes that if you want to learn successfully, you must persist in accumulation. A person who tills the fields for a long time ("accumulated cultivation") will become a farmer, and a long-term cutting ("accumulated cultivation") will become a craftsman; Selling goods for a long time ("accumulating goods") will become a merchant; Long-term study of etiquette ("accumulation of etiquette") will make you a gentleman; Saints are just "human products". Just like An Xia, a Xia (Central Plains) native, habit becomes nature. Knowing the significance of Xunzi's thought, it is not difficult for us to understand why he spent so much effort, chose so many metaphors and took pains to teach readers.
Most notably, the author is also good at gradually deepening the discussion through metaphor. If we ignore this feature, we will be dazzled by many metaphors and confuse the context of the text.
Take the first paragraph as an example. Except for an argumentative essay at the beginning and end, the whole paragraph is composed of metaphors. The author first uses the metaphors of "shine on you" and "ice is colder than water" to illustrate that the influence of the day after tomorrow can change the essence of things and make them develop. Next, another metaphor is put forward: the straight wood of the middle rope, after transformation, has become the "wheel of its curve"; Even if it dries up and withers in the future, it is impossible to return to the "straight" state. This shows that the acquired influence plays a decisive role in changing the nature of things. In this way, the interpretation of the truth is a step forward. Then, using the two metaphors of "when tying rope, the wood is straight" and "when benefiting from time, the golden point", the importance of "being knowledgeable when participating in Japan and saving yourself" is introduced. This passage is based on metaphor, and it is very logical from asking questions to summing up.
Take the word "product" mentioned earlier as an example.
"Accumulated soil makes mountains, and wind and rain make prosperity" and "Water drops converge into the sea, making a dragon's land" are both metaphors. The correct meaning is "accumulate goodness into virtue, the gods are complacent, and the sacred heart is prepared". For a person, "accumulating goodness" must reach the realm of "becoming a virtue" in order to change his temperament and have the thoughts and feelings of a saint. According to this conclusion, we see four groups of metaphors, which explain two meanings of continuity. The first three groups discussed the importance of the word "product": "If you don't accumulate one step, you will be thousands of miles away; If you don't accumulate small streams, you can't become rivers and seas. " On the positive side, nothing can be achieved without "accumulation"; The comparative metaphors of "Miracle" and "Ma Xu", "deadwood" and "Jinshi" emphasize that "accumulation" and "non-accumulation" will inevitably produce two different results. The former group focuses on the analysis of subjective conditions, while the latter group focuses on the analysis of objective conditions. The combination of the three groups of metaphors makes the truth very clear. The other group in the second half, taking the comparison between earthworm and crab as a metaphor, points out that "specificity" is the key to "product" and further guides the discussion. At this point, the basic content of the word "product" has been clearly discussed, so the author closely follows the summary of "specificity".
Xunzi's metaphorical reasoning is also rare in other pre-Qin prose, which should be said to be his original creation.
The third important feature of "Encouraging Learning" is that the sentence pattern is neat and catchy. However, the author also pays attention to the proper insertion of loose sentences in parallelism, so that the style is smooth and not rigid.