The Classic of Xue Le and Guo Xue: D4 14
On Mencius' accusation
five
original text
Mencius said, "A man loves his body. If you love both, you will support both. Skin without size doesn't care, so skin without size doesn't care. So, who can test whether [1] is good or not? Take it from yourself. There are nobles and villains. It doesn't hurt to be small or cheap. Small people are raised as villains, and adults are raised. Today, if you have a tian teacher, give up his skills and lift his thorns, it will be a base in tian teacher. Putting up a finger and losing your shoulder and back without knowing it is also a wolf disease [5]. People who eat and drink are contemptible, and it is also important to raise the small and throw away the big. People who eat and drink have nothing to lose, so is the mouth and abdomen suitable for the size of [6] skin? "
To annotate ...
[1] Examination: survey.
[2] Wu (ji m): buttonwood and catalpa (qiū) trees.
[3] (Moore) (èr) Spine: Zizyphus jujuba.
[4] tian teacher: The man who manages the fields.
[5] Wolf disease: confusion.
[6] Appropriate: child "infiltration" (pool), only. Fit: More than that.
translate
Mencius said: "People cherish every part of their bodies. Every part is cherished, so every part needs to be maintained. Without a little skin care, there is no skin care. So is there any other way to see if he is well maintained? It depends on which part he likes. The body also has important parts and unimportant parts, small aspects and big aspects. We can't damage the big aspects because of small aspects, nor can we damage the important parts because of unimportant parts. It is the villain who maintains the small aspect, and the gentleman who maintains the big aspect. Now there is a nursery manager, who has given up buttonwood and catalpa bungeana to plant Zizyphus jujuba and Vitex negundo, and can only be a lower-level nursery teacher. Just to maintain a finger and not even know that the function of the back has been lost, this is a confused person. People will despise the man who pursues eating and drinking, because he gives up the big aspect in order to maintain the small aspect. If the person who pursues eating and drinking has not lost his cultivation of mind, is his appetite just to maintain that one-foot-one skin? "
analyse
Human body and nature need human care. If you can't take care of both, you need to give up taking care of your body and take care of your nature. In other words, different things have different values. Under special circumstances, it is necessary to distinguish between primary and secondary relations and maintain key points.
six
original text
The public asked, "Is Jun [1] a person, an adult or a villain?"
Mencius said: "from its general [2] for adults, from its small body [3] for villains."
Yue: "You are a man, or you are a general, or you are a small man. Why do you do that?"
He said, "the officer of the eyes and ears doesn't think, but covers himself with things." I handed it in. It's just a quote. The official of the heart thinks, thinks and gets it, but doesn't think about it. This day belongs to me. The one standing in the front is the biggest, and the smallest one can't be taken away. This is just an adult. "
To annotate ...
[1] Jun: Same as Jun.
[2] Generally speaking: pay attention to the cultivation of mind and morality.
[3] From its small body: just to satisfy the appetite.
[4] I mean human beings.
translate
Gong asked, "They are all human beings, some are gentlemen and some are villains. Why? "
Mencius said: "People who pay attention to the maintenance of big aspects are gentlemen, while those who pay attention to the maintenance of small aspects are villains."
Gong said, "People are people. Some people pay attention to the maintenance of big aspects, while others pay attention to the maintenance of small aspects. What is the reason? "
Mencius said: "organs like ears and eyes can't think, so they are easily deceived by foreign objects." Once it comes into contact with foreign objects, it is easy to go astray. The heart is an organ that can think, and you can get it if you think, but you can't get it if you don't think. This is a gift from heaven to mankind. Set up the big aspects first, and then don't take away other small aspects. This is the truth of becoming a gentleman. "
analyse
The "heart" in this paper refers to the human thinking organ. Only through thinking can people get what they want, which also echoes Mencius' view that "if you ask, you will get it, and if you give up, you will lose it." In addition, Mencius also advocated that the big aspect should be established before the small aspect can be maintained. In other words, it generally plays a decisive role in corpuscles.