I often hear people say who is how eloquent. Walking down the street, you often catch a glimpse of elocution training classes, and in bookstores, there are many tutorial books about eloquence. Is eloquence really that important?
It is recorded in the Analects that some people say: Ran Yong has benevolence, but no eloquence. Confucius disagreed, saying: Why should we have eloquence? Arguing with people with a sharp tongue is often annoying. I don't know if Yong can be called a benevolent person, but why should he be eloquent?
Wang Xizhi's three sons went to visit Xie An together, Wang Huizhi and Wang Caozhi talked about worldly things, and Wang Xianzhi only said a few words of greeting. After they bid farewell, the guests present asked Xie An, "Which of the three sages you just left, which one do you think is the best?" Xie An said, "The little one is the best." The guest said, "Why do you say that?" Xie An said: "The words of the well-known people are few and refined, and the words of the impetuous people are many and mixed." Extrapolating from this. ”
Yuan Yue in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was eloquent, both good at lobbying and expounding incisive theories. At first, he gave Xie Xuandang to join the army, and he was very highly valued. When he returned to Kyoto after his parents' funeral, he brought with him only one copy of the Warring States Policy. He said to people: "When I was young, I read the Analects and Lao Tzu, and later I read Zhuangzi and Zhou Yi, and these books are all about small things. The only important thing in the world is the Warring States Policy. After arriving in the capital, he went to lobby Sima Daozi, the king of hui, and was treated favorably. He once provoked the relationship between Wang Gong and Wang Chen, resulting in a discord between the two. Yuan Yue persuaded Sima Daozi to monopolize the power of the dynasty, and Daozi Po Naqi said that Yuan Yue was soon killed by Emperor Xiaowu.
It is true that eloquence is like a person's appearance, and if eloquence is good, it will give others a good first impression. At the same time, good eloquence is also conducive to interpersonal communication to deal with things. But eloquence is the cloak, and knowledge, cultivation, and morality are its connotations. If you are not committed to improving your knowledge and moral cultivation, but simply pursuing eloquence, you can only sacrifice your roots and end the end. Because there is no rich and noble connotation as the foundation, even the most gorgeous eloquence is shallow, can only be, one psychological quality is not shy and timid, the second is the ability to organize the language on the spot - these two, do not necessarily rely on learning to obtain, some people are born strong, or after professional training and exercise, master the stereotyped strain routine-—— that's all. What else could there be? It's just rhetoric and clichés.
The Divine Anomaly Records a Youkai called the Beast of Evil, which grew up in the southwest wilderness, has a human-like face, looks like a rabbit, can speak the Tao, but does not tell much truth, and likes to deceive people. "Talk east and west, speak evil and good". Its meat is delicious, but after people eat it, they can't tell the truth. Yuan Yue paid too much attention to eloquence, and only saw the sophistry and cunning side of the "Warring States Policy", that is, eating but not transforming, just like eating a blackmail beast. The Warring States Policy is not a magic book, and eloquence is not a curse, only that he is too extreme. If there is insufficient faith, there will be more words, and if there is insufficient reason, there will be more arguments. Isn't what the ancients summed up profoundly?