——"Speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection" and other articles

■Interpretation

The most important thing in self-cultivation and moral cultivation is to seek good and avoid evil. "Seeing the good as if it is not enough" is to always cultivate the virtue of government. Adhere to the "three provinces of my body", adhere to the "always diligent wiping", always take the advanced as an example, take the model as the benchmark, find their own shortcomings, recognize their shortcomings, sweep away the weeds of the soul every day, and always cultivate the realm of morality. "Seeing that it is not good as exploring the soup" is to always have a sense of awe, not to be blind to small profits, not to rush for quick success and quick profit for the glory halo, to build a "firewall", to set a "tight spell", to set up a "high-voltage line", and always to "follow the party politically, not to stretch out hands economically, and not to be ugly in life", and to effectively train King Kong not to be bad. "Seeing the good as if it is not enough" and "seeing the bad as exploring the soup" are complementary to each other, seeking the good will avoid the evil, and avoiding the evil can also promote the good. The former is the moral realm that should be pursued, while the latter is the moral bottom line that should be kept. If there is no pursuit of a higher moral realm, it is difficult to obtain the internal motivation of self-cultivation and virtue; If we lack the adherence to the moral bottom line, we will break through the external constraints and go further and further down the wrong path.

■Original text

Zi said: "Seeing the good is like not being able to see the good, and seeing the bad is like exploring the soup." I see them, I hear them. Secluded in order to pursue his will, and righteous to achieve his way. I have heard his words, but I have not seen them. ”

——(Spring and Autumn) Confucius, "The Analects of Ji"

■Definition

"Seeing the good is like not being able to see the good, and seeing the bad is like exploring the soup." It means that when you see good deeds, you are afraid that you will not be able to achieve them. When you see an unkind behavior, it's like putting your hand in boiling water. Soup, in ancient times, meant hot water. Confucius used the vivid metaphor of "exploring the soup" to illustrate the attitude that a person should adopt when he sees something bad. Later generations often used this sentence to warn politicians to always cultivate the virtues of government, always think about the harm of greed, and always have a sense of awe.

In addition, in "The Biography of Han Poems", there is "high than so broad virtue, lower than so narrow line", that is, compared with people with high morals, there is a high goal of struggle, which will enhance virtue; Compared with those who are backward, the standards are lowered, and the virtue is diminished. "Zengguang Xianwen" also has: "Good is like flow, evil is like hatred." They are all similar to Confucius's "seeing the good is like not being able to see the good, and seeing the bad is like exploring the soup", and also show the consistency of the ancients in moral judgment.