Japanese Metaphor (Su Shi)
People who grow seedlings don't know the sun, but ask its people with their eyes. Or tell him, "The sun is like a copper coin." Pull the plate and listen to its sound. He smells the clock every day, thinking it is also a day. Or tell them, "sunlight is like a candle." Get its shape by touching the candle. Think tomorrow is tomorrow.
Tao is more difficult to see than the sun, and people are embarrassed if they can't reach it. The Sovereign told us that although there are clever examples and good guidance, there is no need to use candles excessively. Since the plate and the clock, since the clock and Lin Yueru, mutual turn, is there both? Those who preached in the past, or were named after what they saw, or did not understand, were all too seeking Tao.
But, you can't ask for it? Perilla said, "The Tao can not be sought." What is the reason? Sun Wu said: "A good soldier arouses people, not others." Xia Zi said, "One hundred workers live in four places to make it happen; A gentleman who learns and is excellent is an official. " There is no water in the south, and the sun lives on water. At the age of seven, you can swim, at the age of ten, you can float, but at the age of fifteen, you can't. If you don't have a husband, how can it be miserable? There must be a way to get water. Living in the sun and water, at the age of fifteen, you get the Tao; If you don't know water, you will be afraid to see the boat. So the brave in the north asked why no one, no one, was not submerged in the river of words. Therefore, those who seek the Tao without learning are those who learn from the North.
In the past, scholars chose scholars by temperament, and scholars learned miscellaneous things without feeling the Tao; In this world, scholars are elected, and scholars seek the Tao without learning. Wu Junyan of Bohai Sea was interested in learning, so he asked the Ministry of Rites to write Japanese Metaphor to inform him.
Translation:
A person born blind doesn't know the sun. Ask a person with eyes what the sun looks like. Someone told him, "The sun looks like a copper coin." Knock on the coin and you will hear it. One day (he) heard the bell and took the ringing bell as the sun. Someone told him, "The light of the sun is like a candle." You can know the shape of a candle by touching it with your hand. One day, he came up with a musical instrument shaped like a candle and regarded it as the sun. The difference between the sun and the ringing of the bell and the bouncing of the moon is too far, but people who are born blind don't know that there is a big difference between them, because they don't see it with their own eyes but ask others for knowledge about the sun.
Abstract "Tao" (truth, law, etc. It is more difficult to understand than the sun. People who are not familiar with the Tao are no different from blind people who were born to know the sun. Knowledgeable people told him that even with clever metaphors and good inspiration, they could not make these metaphors or teaching methods better than explaining the sun with copper plates and candles. From comparing the sun to a copper plate to treating a copper bell as the sun, from treating a copper bell as the sun to treating a musical instrument Yuefu as the sun, is it finished? Therefore, some people in the world who talk about "Tao" explain it according to their own understanding, and some speculate subjectively without understanding it, which are all disadvantages of learning Tao.
In this case, is it impossible to find this "Tao" in the end? Mr. Su said: "Tao can come naturally step by step through its own modest learning, but it cannot be forced without learning." What is "want"? Sun Wu said: "Generals who can fight can attract the enemy without being attracted by the enemy (in a passive position)." Xia Zi said: "Artisans from all walks of life sit in shops and workshops to complete their business of manufacturing and selling products;" Talented people study hard and let that road come naturally. "Not forced, but let it come by itself. This is "Chi"! There are many people who can dive in the south. They live with water every day. At the age of seven, they can wade across the river. At the age of ten, they can swim on the water. At the age of ten, they can dive into the water. Divers can dive into the water for a long time, how can they be sloppy? It must be understood through the law of water activity. If you live with water every day, you can master its laws at the age of fifteen. Born ignorant of water, he was afraid of water even when he met a boat in his prime. So the warriors in the north asked the divers in the south for diving skills and tried them in the river according to what they said. There is no one who hasn't drowned. Therefore, instead of studying hard honestly, those who insist on it are people who learn diving in the north. In the past, the selection of talents was about the rhythm of poetry and fu, so scholars combined Confucianism and Mohism and became famous legalists instead of seeking Confucianism. Nowadays, talents are selected by learning, so scholars only know how to stick to righteousness and don't know how to study hard. Wu, a Bohai native, is interested in studying Confucian classics in a down-to-earth manner. He is about to go to Beijing to take the Jinshi exam headed by the Ministry of Rites. I wrote a Japanese metaphor to encourage him.