Part 3 (1/2)
The Master replied, ”Know others.”
Fan Chi still did not understand, so the Master elaborated: ”Raise up the straight and apply them to the crooked, and the crooked will be made straight.”
Fan Chi retired from the Master's presence. Seeing Zixia, he said, ”Just before I asked the Master about wisdom, and he replied, 'Raise up the straight and apply them to the crooked, and the crooked will be made straight.' What did he mean by that?”
Zixia answered, ”What a wealth of instruction you have received! When Shun ruled the world, he selected from amongst the mult.i.tude, raising up Gao Yao, and those who were not Good then kept their distance. When Tang ruled the world, he selected from amongst the mult.i.tude, raising up Yi Yin, and those who were not Good then kept their distance.”
12.24 Master Zeng said, ”The gentleman acquires friends by means of cultural refinement, and then relies upon his friends for support in becoming Good.”
Book Thirteen.
13.3 Zilu asked, ”If the Duke of Wei112 were to employ you to serve in the government of his state, what would be your first priority?”
The Master answered, ”It would, of course, be the rectification of names.”113 Zilu said, ”Could you, Master, really be so far off the mark? Why worry about rectifying names?”
The Master replied, ”How boorish you are, Zilu! When it comes to matters that he does not understand, the gentleman should remain silent. If names are not rectified, speech will not accord [with reality]; when speech does not accord [with reality], things will not be successfully accomplished. When things are not successfully accomplished, ritual practice and music will fail to flourish; when ritual and music fail to flourish, punishments and penalties will miss the mark. And when punishments and penalties miss the mark, the common people will be at a loss as to what to do with themselves. This is why the gentleman only applies names that can be properly spoken, and a.s.sures that what he says can be properly put into action. The gentleman simply guards against arbitrariness in his speech. That is all there is to it.”
13.4 Fan Chi asked to learn about plowing and growing grain [from Kongzi].
The Master said, ”When it comes to that, any old farmer would be a better teacher than I.”
He asked to learn about growing fruits and vegetables.
The Master said, ”When it comes to that, any old gardener would be a better teacher than I.”
Fan Chi then left. The Master remarked, ”What a common fellow that Fan Chi is! When a ruler loves ritual propriety, then none among his people will dare to be disrespectful. When a ruler loves rightness, then none among his people will dare to not obey. When a ruler loves trustworthiness, then none of his people will dare to not be honest. The mere existence of such a ruler would cause the common people throughout the world to bundle their children on their backs and seek him out. Of what use, then, is the study of agriculture?”
13.5 The Master said, ”Imagine a person who can recite the three hundred Odes by heart but, when delegated a governmental task, is unable to carry it out, or when sent abroad as an envoy, is unable to engage in repartee. No matter how many Odes he might have memorized, what good are they to him?”114 13.6 The Master said, ”When the ruler is correct, his will is put into effect without the need for official orders. When the ruler's person is not correct, he will not be obeyed no matter how many orders he issues.”
13.12 The Master said, ”If a true king were to arise, we would certainly see a return to Goodness after a single generation.”115 13.16 The Duke of She asked about governing.
The Master said, ”[Act so that] those near to you are pleased, and those who are far from you are drawn closer.”
13.18 The Duke of She said to Kongzi, ”Among my people there is one we call 'Upright Gong.' When his father stole a sheep, he reported him to the authorities.”
Kongzi replied, ”Among my people, those who we consider 'upright' are different from this: fathers cover up for their sons, and sons cover up for their fathers. 'Uprightness' is to be found in this.”116 13.20 Zigong asked, ”What does a person have to be like before he could be called a true scholar-official?”
The Master said, ”Conducting himself with a sense of shame, and not dishonoring his ruler's mandate when sent abroad as a diplomat-such a person could be called a scholar-official.”
”May I ask what the next best type of person is like?”
”His lineage and clan consider him filial, and his fellow villagers consider him respectful to his elders.”
”And the next best?”
”In his speech he insists on being trustworthy, and with regard to his actions, he insists that they bear fruit. What a narrow, rigid little man he is! And yet he might still be considered the next best.”
”How about those who today are involved in government?”
The Master exclaimed, ”Oh! Those petty functionaries are not even worth considering.”
13.21 The Master said, ”If you cannot manage to find a person of perfectly balanced conduct to a.s.sociate with, I suppose you must settle for the wild or the fastidious. In their pursuit of the Way, the wild plunge right in, while the fastidious are always careful not to get their hands dirty.”117 13.24 Zigong asked, ”What would you make of a person whom everyone in the village likes?”
The Master said, ”I would not know what to make of him.”
”What about someone whom everyone in the village hates?”
”I would still not know. Better this way: those in the village who are good like him, and those who are not good hate him.”
Book Fourteen.
14.1 Yuan Si asked about shame.
The Master said, ”When the state has the Way, accept a salary; when the state is without the Way, to accept a salary is shameful.”
” To refrain from compet.i.tiveness, boastfulness, envy, and greed-can this be considered Goodness?”
The Master said, ”This can be considered difficult, but as for its being Good, that I do not know.”
14.4 The Master said, ”Those who possess Virtue will inevitably have something to say, whereas those who have something to say do not necessarily possess Virtue. Those who are Good will necessarily display courage, but those who display courage are not necessarily Good.
14.5 Nangong Kuo118 said to Kongzi, ”Yi was a skillful archer, and Ao was a powerful naval commander, and yet neither of them met a natural death. Yu and Hou Ji, on the other hand, did nothing but personally tend to the land, and yet they both ended up with possession of the world.”119 The Master did not answer.
After Nangong Kuo left, the Master sighed, ”What a gentlemanly person that man is! How he reveres Virtue!”120 14.12 Zilu asked about the complete person.
The Master said, ”Take a person as wise as Zang Wuzhong, as free of desire as Gongchuo, as courageous as Zhuangzi of Bian, and as accomplished in the arts as Ran Qiu, and then acculturate them by means of ritual and music-such a man might be called a complete person.”121 He then continued: ”But must a complete person today be exactly like this? When seeing a chance for profit he thinks of what is right; when confronting danger he is ready to take his life into his own hands; when enduring an extended period of hards.h.i.+p, he does not forget what he had professed in more fortunate times-such a man might also be called a complete person.”
14.13 The Master asked Gongming Jia about Gongshu Wenzi, saying, ”Is it really true that your Master did not speak, did not laugh, and did not take?”122 Gongming Jia answered, ”Whoever told you that was exaggerating. My master only spoke when the time was right, and so people never grew impatient listening to him. He only laughed when he was genuinely full of joy, and so people never tired of hearing him laugh. He only took what was rightfully his, and so people never resented his taking of things.”
The Master said, ”Was he really that good? Could he really have been that good?”
14.24 The Master said, ”In ancient times scholars learned for their own sake; these days they learn for the sake of others.”
14.25 Qu Boyu123 sent a messenger to Kongzi. Kongzi sat down beside him and asked, ”How are things with your Master?”
The messenger replied, ”My Master wishes to reduce his faults, but has not yet been able to do so.”
After the messenger left, the Master said, ”Now that is a messenger! That is a messenger!”124 14.27 The Master said, ”The gentleman is ashamed to have his words exceed his actions.”
14.29 Zigong was given to criticizing others.
The Master remarked sarcastically, ”What a worthy man that Zigong must be! As for me, I hardly have the time for this.”125 14.30 The Master said, ”Do not worry that you are not recognized by others; worry rather that you yourself lack ability.”
14.34 Someone asked, ”What do you think of the saying, 'Requite injury with kindness'?”126 The Master replied, ”With what, then, would one requite kindness? Requite injury with uprightness, and kindness with kindness.”
14.35 The Master sighed, ”No one understands me-do they?”
Zigong replied, ”How can you say that no one understands you, Master?”
”I am not bitter toward Heaven, nor do I blame others. I study what is below in order to comprehend what is above. If there is anyone who could understand me, perhaps it is Heaven.”