Author | Lord of Manyodo
Source | Confucius old book network dynamics
The Ancient Literature Guanzhi is an anthology of ancient texts compiled by Wu Chucai and Wu Tiaohou's uncle and nephew in the Qing Dynasty, originally published in the thirty-fourth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1695), and more than 300 years have passed. This anthology of ancient texts compiled for schoolchildren at that time has been widely welcomed by people since its publication, and its influence is enormous. Mr. Lu Xun also had a high evaluation of this book, believing that his position in the history of literature could be compared with that of the Anthology.
Of course, the essence and the dross of this book coexist, and some scholars criticize the obvious ideological and literary deficiencies in some of the ancient texts selected in the book, and these opinions are undoubtedly correct, and the existence of defects is inevitable when measuring previous things with a modern eye. For ancient texts, I don't think we should care too much about the good or bad of the article, the key is to learn the vocabulary and grammar of the ancient text, understand the true meaning of each sentence of the article, so as to gradually master the ability to read the ancient text. When commenting on a writer's article, Li Ao said that he only had feelings and no knowledge. To the effect that I can't remember the original words. The feeling of not having knowledge can often only be superficial, and one of the major drawbacks of reading ancient texts is also to hope that the text is righteous, if you can't sort out the exact meaning of the article, just talk about the big truth that is crazy, it can only be empty talk.
There are no less than hundreds of annotated versions of the "Ancient Literature Guanzhi" that are popular in the market, of which there are countless errors in various annotations, and the one I want to point out below is coexisting in all versions, which can be said to be a common problem in the various annotated versions of the "Ancient Literature Guanzhi". The error comes from Han Yu's "Letter of the Nineteenth Day after the Resurrection of the Prime Minister", the article content is the second self-recommendation letter written by Han Yu to the Prime Minister in order to seek employment, I will list the original text and translation below, and then point out where the error is.
original:
On February 16, Han Yu, a former gongjin soldier, would like to say goodbye to His Excellency:
After the book and the articles written, those who are on standby for nine days out of ten shall not be killed. Fear does not dare to run away, does not know what to do, but dares to accept the curse of the unexpected, in order to fulfill his words, and ask for his life. The more he hears: The more he who does fire and water asks to be spared from man, not only the love of his fathers and brothers, but also the love of his fathers and brothers, and then he cries out. There will be those who are on their side, and though they hate them, and do not desire their dead, they will cry out loudly and look forward to their benevolence. He who is on his side hears his voice and sees his deeds, not only the love of his fathers and brothers and children, but also the whole thing. Although there is some hatred, if you do not want his dead, he will run wildly, soak up his hands and feet, scorch his hair, and save them without giving up. If so, why not? Its momentum is urgent and its sincerity is also sad. The stronger the stronger the learning practice has been years. Foolishness does not stop at the dangers of the Tao, and does not cease to do so, so that the water and fire of poverty and hunger are both dangerous and urgent, and they cry out loud and urgent. Your Excellency, what he has heard and seen, will he be the one who will go all the way? Or will it be safe and not saved? There is a saying to Your Excellency: "There is a way to save himself by drowning in water and burning from fire, and there is no salvation in the end." "Your Excellency, do you think it is benevolent?" Otherwise, if he is healed, he who is also a gentleman should be moved.
In the first five or six years, the prime minister recommended that there were still people who were smoked from cloth, and it was not the same as now? And now the emissaries of the festival, the envoys of observation, and the envoys of the defensive camps, etc., are still able to raise their own judges, and there are no ones who have not yet been appointed; in the case of the prime minister, those whom my king respects, and what is not to be done? The ancients entered the people, or took them from thieves, or held up in the pipe vault. Although the cloth is cheap, it is enough to do so. Affection is reticent, I don't know what to do, and I have little pity. Goodbye again.
Translation:
On February 16, Han Yu, a former gongjin soldier, respectfully once again extended a message to His Excellency:
I submitted a letter and an article the other day, and I have been waiting for your instructions for nineteen days and have not received a reply. I was afraid to leave, and I didn't know what to do. So I would rather receive an unexpected rebuke again to ask for my opinion and to ask you for advice. I have heard that a man who is caught in a fire and water asks for help to save him from disaster, and does not call out to him or count on him because he has the same loving feelings as his father and brothers. Rather, he hopes that the person next to him, even if he has a grudge against himself, as long as he does not want him to die, must shout loudly and quickly, hoping that he will perform benevolence. The man next to him, hearing his cry and seeing this, will not save his life because he has the same loving feelings as his father and brothers. Even if there is a grudge against him, as long as it is not enough to want him to die, he must run desperately to use all his strength, wet his hands and feet, burn his hair, and save him without hiding. What is the purpose of this? It was because the situation was truly critical, and his mood was truly pitiful. I've been studying hard and practicing it for years. I did not consider the difficulty and flatness of the road, and I never stopped moving forward, so that I was in the depths of poverty and hunger, and the situation was both dangerous and urgent, and I had shouted loudly and quickly, and your excellency probably heard and saw it, are you here to save me? Or do you sit still and don't come to the rescue? Someone says to you, "Someone saw a man who was flooded and burned, and although there was a way to save him, he never did." "Your Excellency, do you think he is a benevolent gentleman?" If you don't think so, then people like me, that is, gentlemen, should be moved to sympathize.
Someone said to me, "Your words are good, and the prime minister knows you, but what if the timing does not allow you?" "I privately thought that he was a man who did not understand the reason, and it was true that the talent of that person was not worthy of being promoted by our wise prime minister. As for the timing of the mention, it was originally caused by those in the upper position, and it was not arranged by Heaven. In the first five or six years, the prime minister recommended upwards, and there were still those who were promoted from among the commoners, is this different from today's timing? Moreover, officials of lower status, such as emissaries of moderation, observation and defense, and camp field envoys, were able to recommend judges themselves, without distinguishing whether he had already been an official or not. Besides, can the prime minister, a man whom our monarch respects, say "no"? In ancient times, talents were recommended, some were selected from thieves, and some were recommended from those who managed warehouses. Today, although I am a civilian of low status, I am still enough to compare with these people. My situation is embarrassing, my words are urgent, I don't know how to consider the appropriate ones, I only hope that you can give a little care to talents. Han Yu said goodbye. ）
The red line is where the comments go wrong, and in many versions, there are two ways to break sentences and corresponding interpretations:
(1) Or healing: "If the son speaks, the prime minister knows the son, if the time is not, what can not be done?" "The more he whispers, the more he does not know what he says, the more he is not enough to be a wise man. If the so-called time is fixed, the one who is fixed in the upper position is the ear, and it is not the work of heaven.
1. "I think privately that he can't speak, that his talent is really not enough to get the recommendation of our sages... (Zhonghua Bookstore)
2. "I privately thought that he was a man who did not know how to speak, and indeed that man's talents were not worthy of being elected by our wise prime minister... (Shanghai Ancient Books)
3. "I thought he was an unreasonable man. In fact, his talent is not worthy of our meritocracy... (Anhui Education)
4. "I say that those whose remarks are not understood and valued by the Prime Minister are indeed because their talents are not enough to be recommended by our wise Prime Minister... (Qilu Book Society)
5 "I think that those who do not know the truth, their talents are indeed not enough to be recommended by our wise prime minister... (Peking University) (II) or Yu: "If the son speaks, he knows the son, and if the time comes, why not?" "The more he steals, the more he does not know what to say. Sincerely, its material can not be enough to be a wise man. If the so-called time is fixed, the one who is fixed in the upper position is the ear, and it is not the work of heaven.
6. "I privately think he's a man who doesn't understand the situation." It is really my talent that cannot bear the recommendation of the prime minister, so forget it... (Yuelu Book Society) 7 "Han Yu I privately think that such a person really did not talk about the key points, that is just my talent is really not enough to get the recommendation of our wise prime minister... (China Development)
The above two kinds of broken sentences are wrong, and the interpretation is therefore mostly wrong, only the interpretation of Qilu Book Society is basically correct, but the broken sentence is also wrong. Peking University's interpretation of the broken sentence is correct, and it is wrong to interpret the "ignorant speaker" as an unclear person. Combining the two, the correct interpretation of this passage should be: I think that those whose remarks are not understood and valued by the prime minister are indeed because their talents are not enough to be recommended by our wise prime minister. The correct sentence I think should be done: . "The more it is whispered, the more it is said, the more it is said, the more it is said that it is not enough to be a virtuous person." If the so-called time is fixed, the one who is fixed in the upper position is the ear, and it is not the work of heaven.
One of the many editions of the Guwen Guanzhi interprets the "ignorant speaker" as the outsider who evaluates Han Yu in the text, saying that he does not understand the reason and is not worthy of the recommendation of the prime minister. This is very absurd logically speaking, first of all, this person affirmed Han Yu's talent, how can this be said to be unreasonable and does not know how to speak? In addition, the article is that Han Yu is introducing himself to the prime minister, and it is meaningless to say in the text that an outsider is not talented enough and is not worthy of being recommended by the prime minister. Another type of explanation may also feel that the above statement does not make sense, and interprets "sincerity is not enough to be a virtuous act" as a kind of self-effacing language of Han Yu, which is also very absurd, first of all, Han Yue repeatedly emphasized his talent in the cover letter, hoping to be appreciated by the prime minister, and affirm his talent through an outsider's mouth. Existence is a prerequisite. Immediately after the outsider affirmed himself, he humbly said that his talent was not enough, and his talent was not enough, so what else to talk about? Han Yu had a strong sense of self-confidence everywhere in his cover letter, and it was impossible for him to suddenly humble himself at this juncture.
The more he whispers, the more he does not know what he says, he is honestly not enough to be a wise man. If the so-called time is fixed, the one who is fixed in the upper position is the ear, and it is not the work of heaven. This sentence is Han Yu's response to what the outsider said in the previous sentence. Outsiders say, "If the son speaks, the prime minister knows the son, so why not?" "The "ignorant speaker" is directed at this passage, but only repeats it in reverse." The word "stealing" has the meaning of self-humility, but Han Yu's self-effacing is not because he feels that he is not talented enough, but on the contrary, on the contrary, he and the outsider's opinion are the same at this point, and it is precisely because of this that he affirms his talent with a self-effacing tone. But he disagreed with the outsider's statement that the timing was less than this, and he thought that this was only the responsibility of the prime minister, and had nothing to do with the time of day.
The above is my own opinion after comparing many "Ancient Literature Guanzhi", since all versions I think are wrong, so I hope to be able to confirm my own views in other versions, but I regret that after checking the "Notes on the Collection of Han Changli's Writings" annotated by Ma Qichang, I found that the broken sentence in it is: Or the word is more: "Zi Yan is natural, and the prime minister knows Zi Yi, if not then?" "The more he steals, the more he does not know what to say. Sincerely, its material can not be enough to be the ear of the wise man; if the so-called one is the one who is in the upper position, it is the ear, and it is not the work of heaven. The broken sentence is similar to the second type of sentence in the Guwen Guan Zhi, which obviously describes the "ignorant speaker" as the outsider and describes himself as insufficient. Even the explanations given by the ancient texts did not convince me, but I still firmly understood this passage.
It is very self-defeating to question an expert as an amateur classical scholar at best, and I know this myself. If there is no other circumstantial evidence, it can only be a kind of self-justification. But after extensive searching, I finally found the circumstantial evidence I needed in other books, or even the same insights.
First, let's look at the commentary of the Qing dynasty Jin Shengsi in "The Only Talented People In the World Must Read": Or healed: "The son's words are natural, and the prime minister knows the son' words. "The more he steals, the more he does not know what to say. (And repeatedly) Sincerely, its material is not enough to be a wise man. (Folding) If the so-called time is fixed in the upper position, it is the ear, and it is not the work of heaven. (It's up and down, it's meandering, and it's a pleasure to read.) ）
The text in parentheses is Jin Shengsi's criticism, and the label broken sentence is added by the present person. Here Jin Shengsi's criticism is very clear, "and repeated" refers to the outsider's words of "sub-words are natural, the prime minister knows the sub-words, such as the time can not be" said in reverse, and the current people's broken sentences obviously ignore the meaning of the original text, nor do they understand what "repetition" means in the criticism. Jin Shengsi's second criticism, "folding", refers to Han Yu's objection to the outsider's statement that the timing is not right after agreeing with the outsider's recognition of his talents, so the next sentence is a turning point. Carefully tasting Jin Shengsi's criticism, although it was only five words, it seemed to me that it was a sudden opening.
In addition to finding Jin Shengsi's criticism as circumstantial evidence, I found a broken sentence that was almost identical to mine in the "Notes on the Collection of Han Yu Wenhui" published by Liu Zhenlun and Yue Zhen in the Zhonghua Bookstore. The sentence here in the book is: Or healed: "If the son speaks, the prime minister knows the son, if the time is not what?" "The more it is whispered: those who do not know what to say, honestly, their ability is not enough to be the ear of my virtuous." If the so-called time is fixed, the one who is fixed in the upper position is the ear, and it is not the work of heaven. Here "more and more" directly after the use of colons, "of" here refers to the next two paragraphs, such a sentence I think is more accurate. Preceded by "or more" followed by the words of outsiders, then "more and more stolen", followed by Han Yu's own words, clear and twisted, just as Jin Shengsi's last comment: and article, and twists, reading fast.
Only by finding problems and solving problems in reading books can we harvest real happiness. What is written in the book is correct and wrong, and how to distinguish the true from the false in the reading is the most difficult to extract the essence. I think the best way is that through a lot of comparison, the value of the version of the book is often reflected at this time, and the good version may solve the problem in one, but no matter how many wrong versions there are, it is useless. In order to answer the question here, I compared more than ten versions of the Ancient Literature Guanzhi alone, and there were several other Hanyu anthologies, adding up to a total of nearly twenty versions, and finally I solved my doubts and found the correct explanation I thought. First of all, you have to prove that this evidence is reliable and correct, otherwise you will not draw the correct conclusions, not to mention the hearsay and subjective assumptions, some statements seem to be moral, vibrant, and the grammar and rhetoric are completely correct, but in addition to the logic is confused and unclear. Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by such arguments, so what to do, read more books.
