The original text is Confucius: "Be determined to learn five out of ten, stand at thirty, not be confused at forty, know the destiny at fifty, listen at sixty, and act at seventy without overstepping the bounds." Although not everyone can be a saint of Confucius, later generations often regard these self-evaluations of Confucius as the ideal state of life that should be achieved at different stages of life.
The "standing" in Confucius's "standing at thirty" does not mean getting married and starting a career, but a conscious or relatively conscious consciousness based on a clear understanding of society and oneself, a sense of self-independence. People's consciousness of "standing" is a universal spiritual phenomenon, which has the characteristics of consciousness, independence, stage, process and internal and external unity.
40 years old does not mean that a person will not be confused about anything when he is 40 years old. The true meaning of "40 without confusion" should be: when a person reaches 40 years old, he has experienced a lot and already has his own judgment (mainly referring to value judgment, that is, judging right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness ...).
Extended data
Confucius said, "Five out of ten, I am determined to learn; I am thirty years old; Forty without confusion; At the age of fifty, I knew my destiny; I am obedient at the age of sixty; I am still obedient at the age of seventy; I didn't cross the line. " This series of words is Confucius' self-deprecating expression of learning, understanding and application of Zhou Li. Determined to study at fifteen, you can't do what you want until seventy.
Confucius is a very modest man, and he has been trying to promote the Rites of Zhou all his life. And this passage is in line with Confucius' personality and ideal.
Standing at the age of 30 is to establish one's attitude and principles in dealing with people on the basis of learning and enriching one's self-cultivation in the previous stage.
The same 40 years old is the next stage of 30 years old. At the age of 40, after experiencing many people and things, I am not confused about my principles, not to say that I am not confused about anything. If you are not confused, you will become a god.
Knowing the fate of fifty is not so-called fatalism, but understanding the so-called fate. Everything is done by yourself. Don't blame others and treat others badly.
Obedience at the age of 60, that's when you can understand right and wrong, and you can tell good from bad.
A 70-year-old man does what he wants, without overstepping the bounds. It means that at the age of 70, you are mature in all aspects of dealing with people, and you can't make mistakes. It doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Standing at 30
Baidu Encyclopedia-Forty Don't Confuse