What does Confucius use to distinguish between a gentleman and a villain?

In the traditional culture of China, "gentleman" is the center and focus of Confucius' exposition. In order to distinguish the image of "gentleman", Confucius often compares "gentleman" with "villain", and points out the fundamental difference between them from the aspects of moral cultivation, ideal personality, view of justice and benefit, and view of behavior.

First, the gentleman is figurative, and the villain is figurative.

It means that what a gentleman can understand is morality, and what a villain can understand is interest. The word "Yu" here means "understand" and "understand". The specific meaning is that gentlemen and villains have different value orientations. A gentleman should distinguish right from wrong when he is in trouble, and a villain should count his interests when he is in trouble. The so-called "profit" refers to material benefits such as money and wealth; The so-called "righteousness" refers to moral values such as morality and justice that transcend material interests. A gentleman acts with "righteousness as the quality", and what he does or does not do is made through "comparison of righteousness". The villain only pays attention to self-interest, measured by profit, and will give up morality for profit, thinking only about profitability or not.

A true gentleman must be someone who pursues a noble spirit. Confucius said, "If you listen to Tao, you will die in the evening", "A gentleman seeks Tao without seeking food" and "Worry about Tao without worrying about poverty". He praised student Yan Hui: "Good, back! A spoonful of food, a spoonful of drink, in a dirty alley. If people can't bear it, they will be worried. If they return, they will not change their fun. " Confucius himself also said, "Eat and drink water, bend your arms and pillow it, and have fun." For a noble gentleman, happiness lies not in material enjoyment, but in the pursuit of spiritual realm, and in the happiness of being integrated into the Tao. A gentleman can spend his whole life and enjoy it. Confucius said, "Lan Zhi was born in the deep mountains and forests, and he is not without people." Xiu De, a gentleman, did not change his religion for poverty. "

Confucius believes that the cultivation of a gentleman is based on "Tao", which conforms to "Tao" and can be expensive or rich, but it is absolutely impossible if it violates "Tao". A gentleman should "distinguish right from wrong". He compared ill-gotten wealth to floating clouds and said, "wealth of ill-gotten gains is like floating clouds to me."

Confucius pursued the truth all his life and led his students to travel around the world. Once, in the state of Chen, Confucius said, "A gentleman is poor, but a villain is poor." It means that even if a gentleman is in trouble, he still has to stick to his ambition and pursue. When a villain is in trouble, he is unscrupulous. His student Luz said: "In troubled times like ours, it is really difficult to spread the word!" Confucius said: "since we want to be broad-minded, we must always uphold morality in our hearts." Whatever happens, we can't get rid of it. Just like those pines and cypresses, no matter how cold the weather is, no matter how fierce the frost and snow are, they are always evergreen. "

Second, the gentleman is harmonious but different, and the villain is not harmonious.

Here Confucius regards harmony as the standard to distinguish between gentlemen and villains. "Harmony without difference" pursues internal harmony and unity, not external uniformity. The spirit of "harmony" is based on the premise of recognizing the differences and diversity of things, and it is an insistence on diversity. Different things or factors coexist and blend, complement each other and interact with each other, making everything endless. On the contrary, "harmony without difference" is not the case. The purpose is to exclude dissidents and eliminate differences. This single tendency will inevitably lead to the stagnation of things until they die. For example, five-tone harmony is the law. If they are all one tone, people will not listen.

The concept of "harmony but difference" is: gentlemen meet each other, have the magnanimity to tolerate others and stick to their own integrity, learn from each other's strengths, do not follow the trend, and do not collude with the dark forces. When villains meet, they have the same interests, cling to power, and each harms their own private ambitions. On the surface, they will stick to the same, and when they turn their backs, they will attack each other, so they will not agree. A friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, but a friendship between villains is as sweet as cucumber. A gentleman does not pursue sameness, nor does he ask others to keep their own characteristics like himself. Treating friends is an attitude of listening and respecting, a pure communication without any utilitarian color, so it looks dull as water, but it is actually a kind of spiritual communication.

Confucius said that a gentleman is "proud but not contending, and a group is not a party." In other words, a gentleman is very solemn in his heart, gets along well with others, and does not seek personal gain by gangs. A villain is always the opposite of a gentleman. Confucius agreed with everything, and people who don't speak morality are called "homesickness". He criticized that "homesickness is also a thief of virtue" and pointed out that villains and hypocrites must be spurned by everyone. He said that judging a person's virtue "should not be based on everyone's likes and dislikes, but on the moral standards of good and evil." A gentleman will never compromise on the principle of right and wrong at any time.

Third, be open-minded, a petty man is anxious and worried..

A gentleman is aboveboard, not worried or afraid, and his mind is always bright and cool, like a spring breeze blowing, refreshing and smooth; Such as autumn moon, bright and bright. Keep this state of mind and be kind to others, and you will be "open-minded". As for the villain? Always be swayed by considerations of gain and loss, don't feel that others are sorry for you, or something is not good for you, busy with calculation, driven by various interests, and often fall into fear, so it is always "better to have long-term pain than short-term pain."

Confucius advised a gentleman to be honest. Sincerity is heaven, and saints are integrated with heaven and earth, so as to be selfish, honest, disloyal and persistent. "A gentleman is ashamed of words, not just deeds", that is, a gentleman should abide by loyalty, which shows the sincerity of a gentleman's personality and shows that a hypocritical hypocrite is despised by Confucianism.

A gentleman dares to adhere to the principle of the right path and correct other people's immoral practices, instead of following others' advice. The mind and vision of a gentleman and a villain are self-evident. Confucius said, "Of the three scholars, the benevolent is not worried, the learned are not confused, and the brave are not afraid." He praised Yan Hui's peace and happiness, Zi Gong's intelligence and sincerity, Lutz's simple and honest courage, Zeng Shen's loyalty and generosity.

Fourth, a gentleman seeks for himself, while a villain seeks for others.

It means that a gentleman demands himself and a villain demands others. When encountering contradictions, gentlemen look for reasons from themselves, while villains only look for reasons from others.

Confucius emphasized that a gentleman has the virtue of being a gentleman, and "benevolence" and "righteousness" are the qualities that a gentleman must possess. Only by persistently pursuing benevolence can we reach the realm of "benevolence". Yan Hui asked how to be "benevolent", and Confucius said, "If you can overcome your selfish desires and return to justice, then everyone in the world will praise you as a benevolent." As a virtue of a gentleman, benevolence and righteousness are beyond the reach of a villain. A gentleman is improving in virtue, while a villain is sinking in lust.

Confucius said that a gentleman can "introspect without regret" and "be too late to change". A gentleman can constantly reflect on himself, improve his self-cultivation and sharpen his character through self-cultivation. Little people always blame others or whitewash their mistakes and can't face their own shortcomings. When Confucius and his disciples talk about learning Tao and practicing, they often think from the relationship between themselves and the people around them. He praised Yan Hui for "never taking it out on others and never making mistakes", which meant that Yan Hui would not take it out on others and would not make the same mistake again. Zi Gong said: "A gentleman is mistaken as the food of the sun and the moon. Too many, everyone has seen it; What's more, everyone is very admired. " Zeng Shen said: "I save three times a day: are you unfaithful to others?" Don't believe in making friends? Can't you learn? "That is to say, you have to reflect several times every day, so that you can never slack off on the road of pursuing your ideal personality.

On one occasion, Song suffered a flood, and Lu sent people to mourn. Song Guojun responded: "I am heartless, because I am dishonest in fasting and the corvee disturbs the people, so this disaster has come from heaven, which has added to your worries, and your husband has bothered to come." Confucius said, "It seems that the Kingdom of Song will have great potential." When the students asked why, Confucius said, "At first, Jie and Zhou were at fault, but they didn't admit it, but they soon died. Shang Tang and Zhou Wenwang, knowing to admit their mistakes, soon prospered. If you can change it, the gentleman's way is good. " Song later became a rich and powerful country.

Fifth, the beauty of a gentleman as an adult is not the evil of an adult; The villain is the opposite.

It means that a gentleman fulfills the good deeds of others and does not encourage the bad deeds of others, while a villain is just the opposite. As a gentleman, he will put himself in the other's shoes, be intimate and be there, "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" and "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you."

Confucius said that treating people with things should start from being a man. Treating people with things is not an end, but to make people reach a higher level and belong to heaven. A gentleman is strict with himself and lenient with others. Only when he can really control himself can he face the world with kindness, care for others, care for life and care for everything in the world, achieve the goodness of "giving to the people and helping others" and become the practitioner of the ideal of "being sage inside and king outside". The will of a gentleman is not only fearless and fearless, but also determined to shoulder heavy responsibilities. "You can trust six-foot orphans, and you can send a hundred miles of life. You can't take away the big festival." In addition to evil spirits, it can help the world and the people. All actions are to show morality and be a model for the people. They are moral practitioners and models of self-denial. Villains only care about immediate interests, like to collude for personal gain, and do whatever it takes to satisfy their personal desires.

Six, the gentleman's virtue, the villain's virtue, and the wind on the grass will be suppressed.

It means that a gentleman's virtue is like the wind and a villain's character is like grass. When the wind blows over the grass, the grass will definitely fall to one side. Confucius believes that a gentleman has the social responsibility to educate the people, is the backbone of society shouldering heavy responsibilities, and aims to serve the people through achievements. This spirit of responsibility is also called "taking the world as one's duty" in Confucian personality. Zeng Shen also said: "Scholars have a long way to go to strive for self-improvement."

When Confucius traveled around the world, he wanted to live in Jiuyi. Someone said, "How can you live in this place with bad customs?" Confucius said, "Where does a gentleman live? What's the point? "

Zaimi Zijian of Fu Shan County is a student of Confucius. When Confucius passed by the single father, he heard the sound of playing the piano and reciting poems from the city. Confucius smiled at ask m Zijian: "Is it civilized to govern counties?" Mi Zijian replied: "You tell us that a gentleman learns to love others. Since I have learned some enlightenment methods such as rites and music from you, I will definitely put them into practice. I treat the elderly with the courtesy of my father, treat my children with my heart, help the poor and help the needy, and recruit talents. People can live in harmony. " Confucius happily praised and said, "Zi Jie is really a gentleman! Obey destiny, serve people with virtue, rule the world with propriety and music, the people will take refuge in you, and the gods will help you secretly. Although the place you govern is not big, your method of governance is fair. You can govern the world, let alone a county? " Mi later became a famous figure in the history of "benevolent education", making virtue happy for the people and making the people cheap, which was called "governing the country with the piano" in history.

Seven, the gentleman has three fears: fear of destiny, fear of adults, fear of the words of saints. I don't know my fate, but I'm not afraid of it. I despise adults and saints.

Confucius said that a gentleman has three kinds of awe: "fear of fate, fear of people with high status, and fear of the words of saints." I don't know my destiny, I don't know my awe, I don't respect people with high status and virtue, and I despise the words of saints. "The fate of Confucius and his students lies in inheriting the tradition, inheriting the eternal context and strengthening the' Dao Ji Tian Xia'. He believes that this is the responsibility given to them by God, so it must be completed. In the social environment where the ceremony broke down and the music broke down, although I was displaced from place to place and encountered many difficulties, my determination was made.

Once, Confucius took his students to Song State and taught them to practice etiquette under a big tree. Sima Huan threatened Confucius to stop him from spreading Taoism and sent someone to pull up the tree. His students were very worried about the teacher's safety, so they asked Confucius to leave Song State as soon as possible. Confucius said, "If you were born with virtue, why not give it to him!" Confucius thought that his virtue was given by heaven, but what could Huan Xuan do? This fully embodies his firm belief in heaven and the fearless spirit of benevolent people.

Once, Jia Ceng, a doctor of Wei, asked Confucius, "What is more attractive than Austria?" Confucius said, "Otherwise! I am a sin, and there is nothing to pray for. " Confucius asked the king about flattering the God of Austria and the God of Kitchen, and told him that it was useless to pray if a person was convicted of violating heaven and justice. Confucius stressed that it is extremely important to respect and know life, saying, "I don't know my fate, I don't think I am a gentleman."

As the old saying goes: "Heaven is healthy, and gentlemen are constantly striving for self-improvement; The terrain is Kun, and the gentleman carries things with morality. " Confucius marked the gentleman as the embodiment of ideal personality. Traditional culture endowed him with all the virtues, taught him to be a gentleman instead of a villain, made him think about the dignity value of human nature and conscience, and always humbly pursued the truth. Gentleman has become a model that people in the past dynasties especially admire. There are countless people with lofty ideals in history who adhere to moral integrity. Today, however, some people violate the Heaven and destroy traditional culture and people's beliefs.

Alas, alas!