加密数字货币交易所-《论语》详解：给所有曲解孔子的人-子曰：有教无类

Confucius said: “Teach without discrimination.”

Detailed explanation: “Without discrimination” means “not the same.” This chapter is a concrete expression of the “not the same” principle that a gentleman must adhere to in pursuing the “Way of the Sage” in the realm of superstructure. The key here is “teach.” “Teach” is not in the level tone but in the departing tone, which in ancient times had the following meanings: education, imperial edicts, laws, political and religious instructions, doctrines, principles, schools of thought or sects, religion, etc.

In modern terms, this “teach” encompasses the entire realm of superstructure. “Teach without discrimination” is not just understood from the perspective of education alone but refers to practicing the “Way of the Sage” across the superstructure, which naturally includes general education but also, in modern terminology, laws, public opinion, administration, religion, academia, arts, and all other fields of the superstructure. Correspondingly, one must practice the “not the same” principle. Only with this understanding can one truly grasp what “teach without discrimination” means.

Confucius said: “The gentleman aspires to the Way, and is ashamed of poor clothing and food; such a person is not worth discussing with!”

Detailed explanation: “Ashamed of poor clothing and food” refers to “being the same,” and of course, such a person is “not worth discussing with.” However, there is a question here: who exactly does “ashamed of poor clothing and food” refer to? Zhu Xi’s “Collected Annotations on the Analects” considers the “aspiring to the Way” scholars and those who are “ashamed of poor clothing and food” as the same person. If this interpretation is correct, then the character “gentleman” (士) becomes unnecessary; it could simply be “The gentleman aspires to the Way and is ashamed of poor clothing and food; such a person is not worth discussing with!”

The correct interpretation should be: the “aspiring to the Way” scholar is “ashamed of poor clothing and food,” and this “poor clothing and food” mainly refers to others—those who are “poor in clothing and food.” Of course, it can also refer to the “aspiring to the Way” scholar himself because if he is “poor in clothing and food,” he would also dislike himself and be ashamed of himself, which is also acceptable.

Thus, the meaning of this sentence becomes clear: if a person aspires to practice the “Way of the Sage” but divides people into “those with good clothing and food” and “those with poor clothing and food,” that is, dividing people by wealth, and chooses to be ashamed of the poor and distance himself from them, then his talk of the “Way of the Sage” is merely superficial and hypocritical. Why? Because he cannot practice the “not the same.”

Confucius said: “How virtuous is Hui! He has a bowl of rice and a ladle of water, living in a humble alley. People cannot bear his worries, but Hui does not change his happiness. How virtuous is Hui!”

Detailed explanation: This chapter follows directly from the previous one. “A bowl of rice and a ladle of water, living in a humble alley” is a typical example of “poor clothing and food.” “People cannot bear his worries” refers to “people who do not understand,” that is, those who cannot practice the “Way of the Sage.” They cannot endure such circumstances, but “Hui” (Yan Hui), Confucius’s most famous student and a typical example of someone committed to practicing the “Way of the Sage,” “does not change his happiness.” Therefore, Confucius praises him with “How virtuous is Hui!” twice in the same sentence. Why? Because Yan Hui can “not be the same”—he is truly committed to practicing the “Way of the Sage.”

It must be emphasized that Yan Hui’s “contentment in poverty and joy in the Way” is not because he deliberately chooses to be “poor,” nor because he intentionally wants “poor clothing and food,” nor like some historical periods’ so-called “prefer socialism’s straw over capitalism’s seedlings,” or as some religions teach to deliberately practice asceticism. All these are serious forms of “being the same,” which run counter to the “not the same” principle that a gentleman must uphold in pursuing the “Way of the Sage.”