"Old and not dead, is a thief" This phrase is often heard in daily life, and the context used is quite simple, and my simple and crude interpretation is: old thief!
Of course, there is also a more elegant explanation, that is: old and not dead, what a pest. Neither of these explanations is a good word.
So the question is, Confucius, as a thinker and educator in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, must be recorded, what did he mean when he said such a curse?
Is it to be different? I think Confucius probably didn't have that kind of idle time.
So what did Confucius mean when he said this? In real life, few people really know it.
To be old and not to die is to be a thief, where does it come from?
This sentence is recorded in the Analects:
The original soil is degraded. Zi said: "Young but not grandchildren, long and unspoken, old and not dead is a thief." Knock him on the shin with his staff.
It can be understood from the literal meaning that the original sitting posture was indecent, and Confucius came to him with such a passage, saying this remark that "being old and not dying is a thief", and also knocked his calf with a cane.
Chinese teachers often tell us that if we want to understand the meaning of a sentence, we must read it in a specific context in order to understand the true meaning.
If someone still doesn't understand, please refer to what your girlfriend said "don't".
When she gave her Hermes bag, she said no, it was definitely "yes", and when she asked her girlfriend to help with the work, she said "no", which was really no.
Therefore, the same "don't", the context is different, the tone is different, and the meaning of the expression is very different.
Under what circumstances did Confucius say this?
Confucius said this sentence to the Lu people Yuanyang, this buddy and Confucius are fellow countrymen, and they are still old friends. There's a good saying:
"Friendship with wicked people is like abalone, and you don't feel its smell for a long time."
As a well-known celebrity in the cultural circle, Confucius must have paid great attention to making friends. When his mother died, Confucius had to help "Mu Chun".
Zilu didn't look down on Yuan Yang, and once advised Confucius not to go, and Confucius immediately said: There are funerals in ordinary people's homes, and they have to help them, not to mention my old friend?
It can be seen from this that the original soil has a very high status in the mind of Confucius. The relationship between the two should not be "plastic brothers". Such an iron buddy, Confucius would "curse" just because his sitting posture was not elegant?
Why is it disliked to sit in a sitting?
The reason why so many people agree with Confucius's view that this sentence is "scolding" is because "sitting on the rocks" was indeed very lethal in ancient times.
Keiju refers to a sitting posture in which a person sits on the ground with his feet spread and his knees slightly bent, shaped like a dustpan.
Now, this is really not a problem, why did the ancients care so much?
For example, if you're wearing jeans, there's no problem sitting like that. But what if you're wearing a skirt?
People in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, they did not wear underwear. In order to avoid the spring light, they often adopt a kneeling posture, which became the mainstream sitting posture for a certain period.
And sitting in the face of people, there will be a phenomenon of spring. No matter what gender the other party is, it is difficult to call it "Ya" in public.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was "etiquette" that was emphasized, so it was not surprising that Confucius saw Yuan Yang sitting like this and said such a thing.
Who is Yuanyang, Confucius does not know
Since the two are fellow villagers and old friends, Confucius must know the tone of the original soil very well. While Confucius laughed and scolded Yuanyang, I also felt another layer of meaning, that is, a little sour.
For example, a friend of yours looks very unreliable in doing things every day, but he still succeeds with this style.
In addition to laughing and scolding, will you still be a little sour?
Confucius's Confucianism was not respected during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the Legalist doctrine was more popular at that time. Although the code of conduct does not match the values of Confucius, the original soil is really good.
"Thief" also means very, special. For example, people in the Northeast often say: There are many thieves in this thing. The thief here refers to the very.
So, Confucius said to him with a sour feeling: You guy, you can, when you were a child, you didn't follow the order of the elders and the young, and when you grew up, you always played a little wild way, but now you can grow old and not die, it's really very okay.
By the way, he also knocked the calf of the original soil with a cane. It's not like joking with old friends, but by the way, he expressed his "sour" psychology, and then knocked on each other, and wanted to hear the other party talk briefly, this kind of relaxed and natural feeling should exist between friends.
postscript
To sum up, Confucius expressed his feelings through the above actions, and Yuan Yang, a dissolute and unruly person, also achieved good results in the way of "deviance" in the eyes of Confucianism.
As for Confucius, he couldn't figure it out, and he couldn't figure out what was going on in that era. So, he took the opportunity to find some clues from the original soil.
In this context, it is incorrect and biased to simply regard "old and immortal as a thief" as a derogatory term. On more levels, Confucius used this phrase to express his "sour" psychology and his dissatisfaction with the situation at that time.