as follows

FYI

[Problem solving process]

As a China native who knows a little about the history of China, I think that in the long history of thousands of years, few works have had such a profound impact on the history of China as The Analects. It is precisely because of this that my attitude towards The Analects of Confucius has always been to look up and dare not touch it. Even if I read it in bits and pieces before, I never dared to comment casually. After all, my understanding of it is far from enough to comment on its historical position or nature. This semester, I assigned reading notes to The Analects of Confucius as my usual homework, so I had to bite the bullet and write some of my own ideas. There must be many mistakes, please correct them.

According to middle school history textbooks, from Dong Zhongshu's ousting of hundreds of schools and his exclusive respect for Confucianism to the late Qing Dynasty, The Analects of Confucius, as one of the core works of Confucianism and officially recognized orthodoxy, ruled China's ideological circle for two thousand years. In fact, in these two thousand years, the government promoted the Analects more as a tool of rule. Because the Analects of Confucius stresses "courtesy" and "benevolence"; Speak "loyalty" and "filial piety"; Perhaps it is also because the Analects of Confucius said that "people can make it happen, but not make it known" (I have some reservations about this sentence, see below). If all people are benevolent, loyal and filial, they will naturally not commit crimes. If they do not commit crimes, there will be no rebellion, let alone rebellion. A Confucius said: "They are also filial to their younger brothers, but few people are prone to crime;" People who are not good at making mistakes and are good at making trouble are not there. " Xu Zhigang P 1, The Analects of Confucius by People's Literature Publishing House. If we want to overthrow feudal rule, we must first overthrow its ideological shackles. The Analects of Confucius naturally bears the brunt. So I think, in this sense, it is very correct for the May 4th Movement to overthrow Kongjiadian. Well played.

Some people say that my remarks are obliterating the excellent culture of ancient China. Actually, it is not. What I advocate overthrowing is the Analects of Confucius, which is the shackles of thought and the Analects of Confucius that imprisons people's thoughts with so-called "benevolence, righteousness and morality" (Lu Xun's language). Knocking it down will help us understand the Analects from a new angle.

So I advocate reading The Analects like this: treat it as a book and read it without historical prejudice.

Reading this way, I think the Analects itself is not a moral norm. This is a lively life.

First of all, The Analects originated from life. Unlike many western moral and ethical works, he did not discuss a certain issue in depth and in detail. He is just a fragment of his own life, and the characters don't realize that their words will be recorded. So it looks natural.

I think in terms of morality, the East pays more attention to practice than theory. Lao Tzu said, "saints teach no words." Morality is not used to talk more, nor can it be said. Therefore, the word "benevolence" in The Analects can be found in 109 (The Analects, People's Literature Publishing House, Xu Zhigang, preface P3), but the whole article is inconclusive. Confucius always teaches his disciples by example and teaches them in accordance with their aptitude. Only in this way can disciples truly understand what "benevolence" is. Maybe later Confucius died and his disciples got old. In order to let future generations get the guidance of their teachers, they cut out fragments from the life of their former teachers and compiled an Analects of Confucius. Of course, this is purely my imagination, without any basis.

It is precisely because the Analects of Confucius comes from life and is a vivid representation of life that we should read it in a unique way. Personally, a book with a more similar style is Shi Shuo Xin Yu in Jin Dynasty. How do we read Shi Shuo Xin Yu? I think, if it is not for academic purposes (such as writing papers and reading reports), most people will not analyze the center of a paragraph, and will not analyze how a paragraph twists and turns to express a profound academic theory-most of us regard it as a record of life and read it leisurely. I think, in fact, the mood of chatting is the most suitable for reading this kind of books. When I read my meaning, I clapped my hands and smiled, naturally understanding what he wanted to express. Maybe this is better than box-by-box analysis and decomposition. Of course, this is the high realm of reading. I can't do it.

If we want to sum up what the Analects of Confucius said in one sentence, I think it should be "how to be a man". Being a man is different from studying. Learning may be an armchair strategist, but being a man can only be done in life. Reading books that teach people to be human naturally requires reading in life, not just on paper, but looking for answers to questions in a pile of old paper.

All this talk is empty talk without examples. So I will give some examples to illustrate some principles and methods of reading The Analects.

In The Analects of Confucius, Confucius' evaluation of The Book of Songs was recorded. "Confucius said,' There are 300 poems, in a word, I am innocent'" (The Analects of Confucius II). If you want to ask me, after reading The Analects, how can I sum up what I have read in one sentence? I think what I'm looking at is: how to be a man. If you add a few more words to make it more detailed, that is: the doctrine of the mean.

I don't know what you think of the word "golden mean". Maybe it contains some derogatory elements in modern Chinese. But the doctrine of the mean in the Analects of Confucius, or what I mean here, doesn't mean that. Confucius said, "The Doctrine of the Mean is also a virtue, even worse! The people are fresh for a long time. " The Analects of Confucius is also the sixth. Among them, the doctrine of the mean means "taking an impartial, harmonious and eclectic attitude towards people." Personally, I think it can be extended to explain the doctrine of the mean: don't go to extremes and find a balance between the two sides of the contradiction. It should be said that this is an important idea that runs through the Analects. We might as well look at a few examples.

Look at the most obvious one first: Zi Gong asked, "Which is better, a teacher or a businessman?" Confucius said, "The teacher has passed, but the business is inferior." Confucius said, "Too much is too late." (advanced eleven)

Zi Gong asked, "Which is more virtuous, a teacher or a businessman?" Confucius replied, "Teachers do too much, but business is not enough." Zigong said, "So the teacher is better?" Confucius said, "Doing too much is as bad as not doing enough".

Indeed, a person's life is a life of dealing with various contradictions. It is not easy to properly grasp these contradictions, neither "over" nor "under". The Analects of Confucius lists many such contradictions.

Ji Wenzi thinks twice before you act. Hearing this, Zi said, "Here we go again, not bad." (Fifth Governor)

What should I do if I encounter something? Here "determination" and "caution" are a pair of contradictions. Too "decisive" will be arbitrary, too "cautious" will be indecisive, no matter which extreme. Do what you hear, be too arbitrary and easy to make mistakes, and think twice and be too indecisive. Therefore, in the face of Ji Wenzi, think twice before acting, and Confucius said: Think again, it will be fine.

It corresponds to the previous paragraph. Let's take a look at this well-known saying in The Analects:

Lutz asked, "Where's Sven?" Confucius said, "With my father and brother around, how can I smell and act?" You Ran asked, "Where is Sven?" Confucius said, "Si Wen must do it." Gong Xihua said, "You asked again,' Si Wen travels around the world', and Confucius said,' Father and brother'; Asked again' Si Wen Zhu Xing', Confucius said' Si Wen Xing Zhi'. Red is also confused and dares to ask. " Confucius said, "Seek to retreat, so advance; Because I am also a person, I retired. " (advanced eleven)

The above is a frequently quoted example of Confucius teaching students in accordance with their aptitude. But I wonder if you have noticed Confucius' handling of contradictions reflected in it? Jean valjean was hesitant, but impatient ("Lutz smells, but he can't do it, lest he smells." (The Fifth Magistrate of The Analects of Confucius). Whether it is "retiring" or "taking a part-time job" (how many people can get excited at once), they are all extreme. So Confucius gave the opposite answer to the same question to You Ran and Lutz. The purpose, of course, is to bring them back to the balance of contradictions.

Speaking of which, let's say a few words. Because Confucius taught his disciples to teach students in accordance with their aptitude, what he said to his disciples was often aimed at their prejudice or shortcomings. We can't take one or two sentences as Confucius' views on a certain issue, or even grasp Confucius' different views on the same issue in several chapters to draw the conclusion that the Analects of Confucius is contradictory, but we should grasp it in connection with the whole and life. We should believe that the whole Analects of Confucius should be unified. Especially for chapters with unclear background or context, don't make exegesis articles out of context.

We might as well look at the Analects of Confucius above. As we know, The Analects of Confucius was compiled by later generations. For example, later generations omitted the paragraphs behind Gongxi Huayue, and divided Luzi and Youranwen into two sections and put them in two chapters. What conclusion will we draw? Is the Analects inconsistent, or is Confucius teaching students in accordance with their aptitude? I think most people may come to the conclusion that the former is more likely. I think this example can better illustrate the necessity of "connecting with the whole and grasping the place of life" I said earlier.

I think if we grasp the above principles, we may solve the understanding problems of many chapters. Let's look at a few more examples.

Confucius said, "If a gentleman is not heavy, he will be unable to do his job and learn. Lord is faithful. A man without friends is worse than himself. Don't change it after it. " (The First Study of The Analects of Confucius)

Many books (such as The Analects of Confucius by Xu Zhigang P4 People's Literature Publishing House, which I refer to when writing this article) have translated the sentence "People without friends are not as good as themselves" into "Don't make friends with people who are not as good as yourself", which is unacceptable, at least for me. In The Analects of Confucius, Mr. nan huaijin translated it like this: No friend is inferior to himself in every respect. I think we should be able to judge which translation is more correct by feeling. So why did the former translation appear? Obviously, there is no overall grasp.

So I think there may be two interpretations of this sentence: 1, which lacks context. This sentence may just be a sigh of something. 2. Interpret "you" as "doing" and "knowing" as "knowing". In this way, the sentence becomes: it can make people behave like gentlemen, not just recite those great truths. (See The Origin of Confucius, Han Yongxian, International Culture Press).

Let's take a look at a passage that once served as a reason to criticize Confucius:

Meng Wenxiao. Confucius said, "No violation." Fan Chi imperial, son told yue; "Sun Meng is filial to me, and I said' no violation'." Fan Chi said, "What is it?" Confucius said, "People are born with courtesy; When you die, you will be buried and sacrificed. "

If we look at the word "non-violation" in isolation without looking at the context, it is easy to misunderstand Confucius' explanation of filial piety as blind obedience. In fact, with a little attention, it is easy to find that "no violation" here means "no violation of etiquette" That is, "life, things with courtesy; When you die, you will be buried and sacrificed. "

Having said that, it is still necessary to clarify the principle of "connecting with the whole and grasping with life". Let's go back to our unfinished topic. As mentioned earlier, The Analects of Confucius has the characteristics of paying attention to the balance of contradictions. This is a very important issue, which should be illustrated by several more examples.

Confucius said, "Learning without thinking is useless, and thinking without learning is dangerous." ("The Analects of Confucius Zheng Er")

What I'm talking about here is how to reconcile the contradiction between learning and thinking. As a science student, I think my understanding of this problem is profound. Learning without thinking is useless, it is not easy to find other people's mistakes, and it is not easy to have your own thoughts. Just like reading of the analects of confucius, he bought a book and read it after a few strokes. Even though I will never forget it, I have learned something from others. Thinking without learning is slow, and it is easy to walk into a dead end and can't get out. At this time, if we can refer to people's views on the same issue in the past, we are likely to feel suddenly enlightened. Xunzi also said: "I often think about it all the time, so I might as well study later." So Confucius told his disciples to grasp the contradiction between "learning" and "thinking" in learning.

No classes for fishing, no shooting for cruising. (The Analects of Confucius, Seventh)

According to the dictionary, the "outline" in the above picture refers to the main rope of the net; "One" refers to shooting birds with arrows with ropes. So, what he said was: Confucius fished, but he didn't fish with a net; Shoot birds with arrows, but don't shoot birds that have returned to their nests. Some people say this is hypocrisy. Since you want to fish, what's the difference between fishing with a net and fishing with a fishing rod? I think, in fact, it is the same problem as the "text" and "quality" mentioned above "Fishing without outline, cruising without lodging" seems to be some cliché rules, but in fact it is the expression of "Wen". Even hunting is temperate and principled. I don't believe that a person who believes in killing creatures without any sympathy in his heart can have any good "quality"

The Analects of Confucius comes from life and should return to life. That is to understand it and practice it in life.