1. Meaning: People respect themselves first, and then others can respect you; It is inevitable that you will have disorderly behavior first, and then others will be insulted.
2. Source: Mencius on Li Lou.
3. Excerpt from the original text:
Mencius said: What can the unkind person say? Be prepared for danger and benefit from it, and be happy for those who die. If you are unkind and can speak, then you will lose your country and your family! There is a monk who sings: the water in the surging waves is clear, so you can hold my tassel; The water in the surging waves is turbid, which can be used to drown my feet. Confucius said: listen to it, boy, and be clear about it; Turbidity is enough. You deserve it. Madame will insult herself, and then others will insult her; Home will destroy itself, and then people will destroy it; The country will cut itself, and then people will cut it. Tai Jia said: Heaven commits iniquity, but it can still be violated; You can't live if you commit crimes. This is also called.
4. Excerpt translation:
Mencius said: How can an unkind person talk to him about benevolence? When others are in danger, he is indifferent, and when others are in disaster, he takes advantage of the fire to rob them and is happy at the tragic disaster that others have suffered. If an unkind person can talk to him, how can there be a matter of national subjugation and ruin? A child sang: clear blue water can be used to wash my crown tassel; Turbid surging water can be used to wash my feet. Confucius said: Listen, disciples! It depends on the water itself to wash the crown tassel with clear water and wash your feet with turbid water.
People must have insulted themselves before others insult him; Home must be destroyed by itself, and others will destroy it; The country must have been crusaded against itself before others came to crusade against it. "Tai Jia" said: if there is a disaster in the sky, you can still avoid it, and you can't live if you commit iniquity. That's what I meant.
Extended information:
1. Author's brief introduction
Mencius (about 371 BC-289 BC), Ji's surname was Meng's, whose name was Ke, and the font size was unknown (Zi Yu, Zi Ju and other words were all from fake books or invented by later generations), Zou Guo in the Warring States Period (now Zoucheng City, Shandong Province) A famous philosopher, thinker, politician and educator in the Warring States period, one of the representatives of Confucianism, was second only to Confucius, and was also called "Confucius and Mencius" with Confucius.
Han Yu's The Original Way listed Mencius as a figure who inherited the Confucian orthodoxy in the pre-Qin period. In the Yuan Dynasty, Mencius was named "Ya Sheng Gong Shu Chen" and honored as "Ya Sheng". The book "Mencius" is a collection of quotations and essays, which was compiled by Mencius and his disciples, and advocated "benevolence-oriented". Representative works include "I want what I want" and "I get more help when I get it, but I get less help when I lose it".
2. Explanation of words
zāi: the same as "disaster".
Canglang: These four sentences are Chu songs, and Canglang refers to the upper reaches of Hanshui River.
tassel: the ribbon on the left and right of the hat, which is used to tie the chin to prevent it from falling off.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Mencius
Baidu Encyclopedia-Mencius Li Lou.