"Zhongni Chapter" uses the first two words of the article as the title, which has nothing to do with the content.
The first two paragraphs say that the overlord naturally has his own way of immortality, and he will inevitably decorate his performance with courtesy;
Only kings can truly devote themselves to using sages to strengthen the country.
He also said that courtiers are kings and courtesy.
This is what Xunzi said, how does Confucius look at the Spring and Autumn Five Tyrants, Xunzi borrowed Confucius to say his thoughts.
Under Confucius, even a five-foot-tall boy was ashamed to talk about the Spring and Autumn Five Tyrants. Why is that?
This is because they think that the Spring and Autumn Five Tyrants are indeed not commendable.
Duke Huan of Qi was the most prestigious of the five tyrants, but in the past, in order to compete for the power of the country, he killed his elder brother; now, within the family, there are seven aunts, sisters, and sisters who are not married, and in the court, he is even more indulgent and extravagant, and half of the income of Qi is not enough for him to consume; externally, he deceives the state of Di, attacks the state of Ju, and annexes thirty-five countries.
He did such a sinister, dirty, arrogant and extravagant manner, so how could he be praised by Confucius's disciples?
"Duke Qi Huan is like this, the Qi State did not perish but dominated the princes, why is this?"
He replied: "Oh! Then Qi Huan Gong has mastered the important key to governing the world, who can destroy him?"
He had no doubt about Guan Zhong's talent, and he firmly entrusted the country to him, which was the greatest wisdom in the world.
After settling down, he forgot his anger when he was in danger, forgot that Guan Zhong had shot an arrow at himself, and finally called Guan Zhongzun the middle father, which was the biggest decision in the world.
He called Guan Zhongzun the middle father, so that no one in the domestic relatives would dare to envy him; he was given the honorable status of the Gao clan and the Guo clan, so that no one in the court dared to resent him; he was given a fief of the Three Hundred Society, and no one in the rich dared to be his enemy; the noble, the lowly, the old, and the young were all very orderly to follow the Duke of Qi Huan to respect him; these were all important keys to governing the world.
As long as the princes master a key like this, no one can destroy him, not to mention that the Duke of Qi Huan has mastered all these keys, how can he be destroyed?
It is natural for him to dominate the princes, not by chance, this is a certain reason.
"But the disciples of Confucius, even the five-foot-tall boys, are ashamed to talk about the five tyrants. Why is that?"
Because the five tyrants do not regard political education as the foundation of governing the country, and do not do their best to promote etiquette and educate the people, they cannot make the people happy and convinced; they only pay attention to methods and strategies, rationally arrange work and rest, enable the people to accumulate property, strengthen war preparedness, and thus defeat their enemies, they rely on scheming to win, cover up contention with humility, and pursue practical interests in the name of benevolence, they are the best among the villains, how can such people be praised by the people of Confucius?"
This is not the case with the kings: they themselves are extremely virtuous and able to help unvirtuous kings, they are extremely strong and tolerant of weak countries, they are bound to be able to perish the other side in the event of war, but they are ashamed to fight with those countries, and if they proclaim a complete system of legislation to the world, the violent country will naturally be transformed, and if there is still a misfortune to the country and the people, and if there is a wrongdoer and perverseness, then condemn and punish him.
So there are very few countries that the Holy King has destroyed. King Wen of Zhou only crusaded against four countries, while King Wu of Zhou only destroyed two countries, and the Duke of Zhou completed the great cause of the Zhou Dynasty to reign in the world, and by the time of King Zhou Cheng, there were no countries to destroy.
Couldn't the way of propriety and righteousness be practiced? King Wen practiced the way of propriety and righteousness, and although he only occupied a hundred miles of land, he unified the whole world; Xia Wei, the king of Shang, abandoned the way of propriety and righteousness, and although he was so powerful that he grasped the power to rule the world, he could not get the end of his life like the common people.
Therefore, if you are good at using the way of governance, a country with a square distance of 100 miles can also be independent of the world, and if you are not good at using the way of governance, you will be like the state of Chu, even if the land is vast, it will be served by the state of Qin. Therefore, the monarch is not committed to mastering the way of statecraft, but only seeks to extend his power, which is why he is in danger. ”
The ways to maintain respect, hold official positions, and not be rejected for life are:
If the monarch respects you, you will be respectful and humble, if the monarch trusts and loves you, you will be cautious and humble, if the monarch is dedicated to himself, you will be prudent in his duties and know the law, if the monarch is close to him, you will be obedient and not evil, if the monarch is alienated from you, you should remain single-minded and not betrayal, if the monarch rejects himself, you are afraid but not resentful, and if you are noble, you are not extravagant, the monarch trusts and does not forget to avoid suspicion, and bears heavy responsibilities and does not act arbitrarily, when financial gain comes, and your own merits are not enough to enjoy it, you must resign before accepting it, when happiness comes, you deal with it appropriately, when disaster comes, you calmly deal with it, and when you are rich, you apply favors extensivelyIf you are poor, you can save money, you can be expensive, you can be cheap, you can be rich, you can be poor, you can kill yourself but you can't do bad things, this is the way to maintain respect, stay in an official position, and not be rejected by others for life.
Even in a situation of poverty and isolation, one can do so in this way, and in this way one can be called an auspicious person.
The Book of Songs says: "The people love King Wu and can conform to the virtues of their ancestors." Always have a heart of loyalty and filial piety, inherit your father's business and cultivate more!"
The way to seek to be in a position of great power, to be able to have the grace of a monarch alone in a great country without any trouble, is to:
It is better to be of one heart and one mind with the monarch, to bring in wise men, to extend favors, to eliminate resentment, and not to harm others. If you are not able to perform this position, and you are afraid that you will lose the favor of the monarch as a result, it is better to be of the same heart and mind as soon as possible, recommend a virtuous man, and give up the position to a capable person, while you yourself willingly follow behind. If so, it will be glorious to receive the favor of the monarch, and there will certainly be no sin in losing the favor of the monarch.
This is the magic weapon of the monarch, and it is also the method of no trouble.
Therefore, smart people do things, do things with insufficient consideration when they are successful, consider difficulties when they are successful, consider dangers when they are safe, and prepare in many ways, and still be afraid of disasters, so that even if they do a lot of things, they will not make mistakes.
Confucius said: "If you are witty and obey the law, you will be able to do just right, if you are brave and good at cooperating with others, you will be victorious, and if you are knowledgeable and humble, you will be virtuous." That's what I'm talking about.
Foolish people are the opposite: they hold positions of power, they like to act arbitrarily, they are jealous of merit, they suppress those who have merit, they exclude the guilty, they are proud and complacent, they despise those with whom they have old grudges.
Is it possible for a person who is stingy and unable to show favor to others, who is not in danger in order to exalt himself to the detriment of others?
Therefore, such a person will be in danger of being noble, and he will be removed from power if he is powerful, and he will be disgraced even though he is favored, which can come immediately, and it will not take a meal. Why? Because there are many who destroy him, there are few who support him.
What works everywhere in the world will definitely be accessible if it is used to serve the monarch, and it will definitely be holy if it is used to be a human being.
Establish the law of propriety as the highest norm without half-heartedness, then guide it with respect, direct it with faithfulness, exercise it with care, protect it with integrity and honesty, obey it if it encounters difficulties, and emphasize it repeatedly, even if the monarch does not understand it, does not resent it, does not boast of himself even if it is a great merit, asks less and does more merit, and always loves the monarch. If you serve the monarch in this way, you will inevitably be able to reach it, and if you use it to be a human being, you will definitely be holy, which is called the common method in the world.
It is a universal principle in the world for the young to serve the old, for the lowly to serve the noble, and for the unvirtuous to serve the virtuous. There are those who are not above others, but are ashamed of being under others, which is the thinking of wicked people.
If you don't have the idea of getting rid of evil in your thoughts, and you don't have a way to get rid of evil in your actions, but you want to gain the reputation of a gentleman and a saint, it's like lying on the ground and licking the sky, and trying to save someone who hangs yourself but pulling his feet, which will definitely not work, and will go further and further.
Therefore, a gentleman should be patient when he needs to be patient, and he should be patient when he is allowed to exercise his ambitions.
To sum up:
The gate of Zhongni, the five-foot shaft, is ashamed to call the five uncles. What is it?
If it does not die, it is a tyrant, why not?
Less things are long, cheap things are expensive, and not good things are virtuous, which is the common meaning of the world. Some people are not on people, but ashamed of people, and they are traitors.
The will is inevitably treacherous, and the action is inevitably treacherous, and seeking the name of a gentleman and a saint is to refute it, It is still lying in the sky and soaking the sky, saving the scriptures and leading its feet. It will not work, Yu Wu and Yu Yuan.
Therefore, when a gentleman is in charge, he is in charge, and when he is extended, he is also extended.