Appreciation of the original text of "Pre-Qin Prose·Han Feizi·Wai Chu Shuo Bottom Right"
Gongyi Xiuxianglu was addicted to fish①, and a country tried its best to buy fish and offer them, Gongyi The son does not accept it. His younger brother admonished him and said: "Master is addicted to fish but doesn't accept it. Why?" He replied: "I just like fish, so I don't accept it. If you accept fish 3, you must have the appearance of a servant 4; there are servants." If you are addicted to fish, you will be free from the appearance. Although I am addicted to fish, this does not necessarily cause me to fish ⑥, and I cannot feed myself with fish. Even if I am addicted to fish, I will not be exempted from the appearance. "It is better to rely on others than to rely on oneself, and it is better to rely on oneself than to rely on others."
Notes ① Gongyixiu: A person from the Warring States Period. In the State of Lu, he was appointed as the prime minister of Duke Mu of Lu from a doctor. Xiang Lu, the prime minister of Lu. Love fish and eat fish. ②Fuzi: a respectful title for elders. ③That is: if. ④下: Refers to concession and accommodation. ⑤ In vain: Qu, violation. ⑥To: Give. ⑦ And: then. ⑧Ming: understand, understand. Rely on, rely on, rely on.
Modern translation Gongyixiu was appointed as the prime minister of Lu. He liked fish, so people all over the country rushed to buy fish as offerings to him, but Gongyizi did not accept it. His younger brother dissuaded him and asked, "Why do you like to eat fish but don't accept other people's fish?" Gong Yixiu replied, "It's because you love fish that you don't accept it. If you accept the fish, there will be some accommodation." If you tolerate their behavior, you will violate the law; if you violate the law, you will be dismissed from the position. Although the fish is delicious, you may not be able to give me the fish after you are dismissed, and I cannot provide the fish myself. I won’t remove the phase, even if I eat fish, I can always provide fish myself.” This is the principle of knowing that it is better to rely on others than to rely on yourself, and to understand that it is better to rely on others for yourself than to do it for yourself.
This paragraph is very tortuous. Anyone who is an official can avoid it and encourage himself to be honest. "Japanese Fujisawa Nanyue's "Commentary on the Complete Works of Han Feizi": "Everyone who is greedy for profit will lose himself. , Those who lose their reputation by losing their moral integrity, how can they be so honest and secretly honest!"
The general case Gong Yixiu refused to accept the fish, not out of integrity and service to the public, but because he was afraid of losing his position. Moreover, he also understood that if he lost his official position, no one would come to curry favor with him, and if his salary was reduced, he would not be able to afford fish. In the long run, I believe the income will be more than the fish received. This kind of "do it for yourself" philosophy is not noble, but it is still a smart person who has not lost his mind. Gong Yixiu's first sentence, which seemed to be self-contradictory when he replied that he would not collect fish, made it clear that he "grows fish to feed himself". Looking back at this sentence, it has some meaning. The following uses the most literal syntax to make the logic of the reasoning clear at a glance. The two sentences "It's not necessary" are based on people and me. They are said in two layers, and the truth is even more obvious. The last two sentences of the answer are a reference to the first two sentences. The meaning is complex but the words are not emphatic. Several three-character sentences: "Only addicted to fish", "I am addicted to fish", "Although addicted to fish", the sentences are short and have obvious meaning. They are used as the leading sentences of each layer, which have a wake-up effect. This passage is sincere and thoughtful, yet the transformation is tortuous and full of reason. In Pingtan's pure spoken language, Xu Xu talked about the truth that required some thinking.