When Zigong asked Confucius for a question, he said, "Master, who do you think is better, Zizhang or Zixia?" Confucius replied: Zizhang is excessive, Zixia is insufficient. Zigong then asked: So is Zizhang better? Confucius replied: Excess and deficiency are the same. Once Confucius and his disciples were talking about employing people, he looked at Yan Hui and said: If you use me, I will do it; I don't need me, I'll hide, only me and Yan Hui can do this! Zilu asked Confucius: Master, if you were to command the three armies to fight, who would you be willing to work with? Confucius replied: I will not work with a man who fights with a tiger with his bare hands, and crosses the river directly without a boat. The people I would like to work with are the kind of people who become fearful and cautious when faced with tasks, who are good at scheming and can eventually get the job done.

Confucius commented on Yan Hui: Yan Hui is a person, he never involves his anger on others, and he never makes the same mistakes, his mind can not leave benevolence for a long time, and the rest of the students can only adhere to benevolence for a short time. Yan Hui's quality is noble, a spoonful of rice, a scoop of water, living in a simple house, others can't bear this kind of poverty and hardship, but he has never changed the joy of learning, how noble is Yan Hui's quality!

Lu Aigong asked me: What kind of wood do you think the god of the land should use to make it? Zai replied: The Xia Dynasty used pine trees, the Shang Dynasty used cypress trees, and the Zhou Dynasty used chestnut trees. The use of chestnut trees means to make the common people tremble. When Confucius heard this, he said to me: Don't mention what has already been done, don't dissuade what has already been done, and don't pursue what has already passed. When Confucius saw it, he said helplessly: "The rotten wood can no longer be used for carving, and the walls made of dung can no longer be painted. At first, my view of man was that I listened to what he said and believed his deeds. Now my view of man is to listen to what he says, and to observe his behavior. In Zaime, I changed the way I observed people.

(11) Regarding the words and deeds of Confucian disciples. Youzi said: It is rare for a person who is usually filial to his parents and obedient to his brother at home to come out as an official and like to offend the upper-class rulers; People who don't like to offend the upper echelons of rulers, but don't like to rebel. When a gentleman concentrates on fundamental affairs, the foundation is established, and the principle of governing the country and being a man is also established. Filial piety to parents and obedience to elder brothers, this is the foundation of benevolence! The application of etiquette should be based on harmony; The ancient monarch's method of governing the country is precious; But no matter how big or small, just follow the harmonious method, sometimes it doesn't work; This is because, harmony for the sake of harmony, without courtesy to temperate harmony, will not work.

Youzi also said: To be a man, the credit should conform to the standard of righteousness, and only those who meet the standard of righteousness can be practiced; Treat others respectfully and in accordance with the standard of propriety, so as to stay away from shame; Those who rely on are reliable people, so they are worthy of respect. Zeng Zi said: I will reflect on myself many times a day, have I done my best when doing things for others? Are you being honest and trustworthy when interacting with friends? Did the teacher teach me to review my studies on time? Treating the death of parents cautiously and remembering their ancestors will naturally make the common people more loyal and honest. The bird is dying, and its cry is mournful; When a man is dying, his words are kind.

Zeng Tzu said: I have talent but ask people who have no talent, I have more knowledge but ask people with less knowledge, and I have knowledge but it is like no knowledge; Knowledge is abundant, but it still seems to be empty; I never cared about being violated by someone, and I used to have a friend like that. A gentleman can also be explained from this point of view: he can entrust the young monarch to him, he can entrust the power of the country to him, and he will not waver and give in in the face of the emergency of life and death, such a person can be called a gentleman. A soldier must not be ambitious and strong-willed, because he has a heavy burden on his shoulders and a long way to go. Taking the practice of benevolence as one's own task is a very important matter, and it requires scholars to struggle all their lives, and they can only stop after they die, which is a very long road.

Zeng Tzu also said: A gentleman uses articles and knowledge to make friends, and relies on friends to help him cultivate benevolence. The questions that a gentleman thinks about will never go beyond the scope of his position. When Yang Fu was a prison officer, he once asked Zeng Zi about how to be an official; Zengzi told him: If the people in the higher positions have left the right path, the people will have long since turned away from morality, and if you can figure out their situation, you should have pity on them, not be complacent. Zixia said: A person who values virtue and does not value women, who can do his best when serving his parents, who can give his life when serving the monarch, and who speaks honestly and faithfully when he associates with friends, I must say that he has studied, even though he himself says that he has not studied.

Zixia said: I have heard a saying, called "life and death are fate, wealth is in the sky". As long as a gentleman treats what he does seriously, does not make mistakes, and is usually respectful and courteous to others, then everyone in the world will become his own brothers, so why worry that he has no brothers? Sub-lobbying: A person who is too tedious in serving the monarch will be insulted; If you are too fussy with your friends, you will be alienated. Zigong said: The fault of a gentleman is like a solar and lunar eclipse, and when he makes a mistake, people can see it; He corrected his mistakes, and people looked up to him. Zizhang said: A gentleman not only respects the virtuous, but also accommodates all people, can praise the good, and can sympathize with the incompetent.

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The above is our classification and explanation of the content of the Analects, which are mainly divided into: life, the personality of a gentleman, governing the country, morality, cultivation, life, teaching, poetry, etiquette and music, and some remarks of Confucius's disciples. Confucius did not write about it in his life, which made the Analects famous for centuries; Lao Tzu's life of quiet and inaction made the Tao Te Ching reach the pinnacle of Chinese philosophy. It can be seen that the real good things are simple and do not need to be analyzed and extended too much. Because there are too many extensions, it will inevitably become one-sided, and the truth will deviate.

Even sages like Confucius only had an elaborative attitude towards the wisdom of the ancient sages, and never added their own interpretations; So what is the best and most profound way for us to study the Analects? My personal opinion is that it is better not to add too much about "I", otherwise there will be a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand readers, and a thousand copies of the Analects in the eyes of a thousand people. Because the truth exists objectively, it is tried and tested wherever it is placed. If we understand the Analects in light of our own cognition and the reality of our lives, the truth we realize must be correct, but it must be incomplete. Because we will continue to improve, as we experience more and more, we will also realize more and more truths, but the source of the avenue is still the source of the avenue. Regard the Analects as an objectively existing truth and use its spirit to guide our daily lives; If we do, we will gradually find out that it is actually a very happy thing.