Confucius said: When I was lecturing to Yan Hui, he never raised opposing opinions and questions, just like a stupid person. After he stepped down, I examined his private remarks and found that what he said to me had been played, which showed that Yan Hui was not stupid. In fact, to understand a person, we should look at the motives of his words and deeds, observe the path he takes, and examine what he is doing with peace of mind, so that the person can no longer be hidden. When a person is studying, he can have new experiences and new discoveries while reviewing old knowledge, and such a person can be a teacher. A gentleman is not like a utensil, which only serves in one aspect.

Zigong asked Confucius what to do to become a gentleman, and Confucius told him; For what you want to say, do it first and then say it, so that you can say that you are a gentleman. The gentleman is gregarious and does not collude with others, and the villain colludes with others and does not fit in. Confucius said: If you only read and study without thinking about problems, you will be ignorant and have no gain; On the other hand, if you only dream and do not read and study, you will be confused and uncertain. Attack those who speak incorrectly, and the scourge can be removed. When Confucius taught Zilu, he said: Zilu, do you understand what I taught you how to do? To know is to know, not to know is not to know, this is wisdom!

Zizhang asked Confucius for a way to obtain an official position, and Confucius told him to listen more, put aside the doubts first and do not bring them up, and say the rest carefully if they are sure, so that they can make fewer mistakes; Look more, put aside the doubts and don't do the rest of the doubts, and do the rest carefully, so that you can reduce regrets; Speak less negligently, do things less regretfully, and the official position is there. Lu Aigong asked Confucius: What should the king do to make the people obey? Confucius replied: If you exalt the upright and selfless, and put aside the evil and unrighteous people, the common people will naturally obey; If you promote the wicked and unrighteous and put the upright and selfless people aside, the common people will naturally disobey.

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius: If you want the people to respect the people in power and work loyally and hard, what should the politicians do? Confucius replied: If you treat the people with a dignified attitude, the people will naturally respect you; If you are filial to your parents and kind to your children, the people will naturally be loyal to you. If you choose good people to take on great responsibilities and educate people with poor ability, the people will naturally encourage each other and redouble their efforts. Someone asked Confucius: Why don't you go into politics? Confucius replied: "Shangshu" says that filial piety is to honor one's parents, and to love one's brothers; If you do this filial piety well in an orderly manner, that is, you are engaged in politics, what do you need to do in order to be truly engaged in politics?

It is simply impossible for a person not to be creditworthy, just like the big car has no live pin to maintain balance, and the small car has no most important pin, what does it rely on to walk? Zizhang asked Confucius: Master, I want to know the etiquette system of the 10th generation in the future, can I know this in advance? After hearing this, Confucius replied: The Shang Dynasty inherited the etiquette system of the Xia Dynasty, and the reduced and increased content can be known; The Zhou Dynasty inherited the ceremonial system of the Shang Dynasty, and the reduced and increased content can also be known; The future dynasty will inherit the Zhou dynasty, not to mention the tenth generation, even the situation after the hundred generations can be known in advance. Confucius said: If you don't worship ghosts and gods that you should worship, this is flattery; When you see something you should stand by, you sit idly by, that's cowardice.

(3) "Eight Hundred Chapters" (yì)

The third part of the Analects focuses on the question of how to maintain rituals, and consists of 26 chapters. The main content of this article involves various regulations for maintaining etiquette in terms of system and etiquette; Confucius put forward the proposition of "painting the aftermath", which means that there is a white background first, and then painting, which is a metaphor for having a good texture, in order to carry out the icing on the cake; It expresses Confucius's ethical thoughts and the political and moral proposition that "the king should conform to the norms of etiquette when appointing his courtiers, and the courtiers should be loyal when serving the monarch".

Confucius once talked about Ji when he spoke: Ji used sixty-four people to play music and dance in his courtyard, and he even did such a thing ruthlessly, what else could not be ruthlessly done? (It needs to be explained here that the ranks and numbers of people in the music and dance are a sign used to indicate a person's social status, and the music and dance are arranged in a row of eight people.) According to the regulations of the Zhou rites, only the Son of Heaven could use six columns of sixty-four people, the princes used six columns of forty-eight people, the secretary doctor used four columns of thirty-two people, and the scholar doctor used two columns of sixteen people. Ji is Zhengqing, and he can only use four columns of thirty-two people, but he uses eight columns of sixty-four people. Confucius was extremely dissatisfied with Ji's transgression that undermined the Zhou rite hierarchy, so he criticized him when discussing him. Mengsun's family, Shusun's family, and Jisun's family, they are all descendants of Lu Huan, so the world calls them "Sanhuan", they hold the real power of Lu, and Jisun's is the head of the "Three Huan". ）

After the three families of Mengsun, Shusun, and Jisun finished worshipping their ancestors, when they removed the sacrifices, they also ordered the musicians to sing the poem "Yong"; Seeing this, Confucius said: "The two sentences in the poem "Yong" "It is the princes who assist in the sacrifice, and the Son of Heaven is there to preside over the sacrifice solemnly and quietly", how can such a meaning be used in the temples of your three families? Confucius said: If a person does not have benevolence, he cannot practice etiquette; If a person does not have benevolence, he will not be able to use happiness. Lin Fang asked Confucius what is the root of etiquette, and Confucius replied: The question you asked is of great significance, let's put it this way! As far as the general case of ceremonial rituals is concerned, it is better to be frugal than extravagant; As far as the funeral is concerned, it is better to have a real grief in the heart than to prepare for the ceremony. Confucius said: Although the culturally backward Yidi tribe has a monarch, the situation there is not as good as that of some countries in the Central Plains that do not have monarchs.

Sacrificing Mount Tai is a gift for the princes of the Son of Heaven, and the Ji family also went to sacrifice Mount Tai with his courtiers, which is not in line with the courtesy; Ran You was a disciple of Confucius, and he was an official in Ji Sun's place at that time, and Confucius asked Ran You: Can't you stop him from worshipping Mount Tai? Ran You replied: I stopped it, but I couldn't stop it. Confucius said, "Alas! Could it be that the god of Mount Tai is not as good as Lin Fangzhili? The god of Mount Tai will not accept indecent worship. (Lin Fang was a disciple of Confucius, and he studied etiquette under Confucius, and he was also known for his etiquette among Confucius's disciples.) The reason why Confucius said this was because he was disappointed in Ji Sun, and at the same time, he was largely blaming Ran You for not being able to prevent Ji Sun's transgressive behavior well. ）