The so-called idea is true, that is, don't deceive yourself. It's like hating bad smells and liking beautiful women just to satisfy yourself. So a gentleman must be careful when he is alone. Little people can do anything bad at home. When they see a gentleman, they will hide their bad behavior and pretend to be kind and obedient on the surface. Others look at you as thoroughly as they look at your heart. What's the good of pretending?

This is what the heart looks like, and it will be revealed on the outside. So a gentleman must be careful when he is alone. Ceng Zi said: "It's terrible that a person is accused by everyone!" Wealth can make houses gorgeous, and virtue can make people noble, broad-minded and comfortable, so a gentleman should have sincere ideas.

Source: Ceng Zi's Book of Rites University in the Late Spring and Autumn Period.

Extended data:

Introduction to the work:

"University" is an essay on the Confucian thought of self-cultivation and governing the country. Originally the 42nd article of The Book of Rites of Little Dai, it is said that it was written by. In fact, it is a Confucian work in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it is an important work for China to discuss educational theory in ancient times. After being highly praised by Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhu in the Southern Song Dynasty wrote "University Chapters and Sentences", which was finally called "Four Books" together with The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, "Da Xue" became the official textbook of the school and the required reading of the imperial examination, which had a great influence on the ancient education in China.

The full text of "Da Xue" is concise, profound and far-reaching. This paper mainly summarizes the pre-Qin Confucian moral cultivation theory, as well as the basic principles and methods of moral cultivation, and also systematically discusses the Confucian political philosophy, which has profound enlightenment for being a man, doing things and governing the country.

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