Chapter 5 Part Four Ran You

Ran Qiu, courtesy name Ziyou, was born in the state of Lu. Confucius was thirty years old and was the second batch of students of Confucius. The surname Ran comes from Ran Jizai, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou, who was a scholar class in Lu State.Judging from historical records, the Ran family should have been the Jisun family's retainers for generations, and their family background and education level are good.Ran You's upbringing and political ability are second to none among Confucius' disciples, and his achievements in politics are also the greatest. Ran You's character is stable and introverted, he is thoughtful and cautious, and has a wealth of knowledge in all aspects. Confucius therefore values ​​him very much and is very relieved of him.Ran You successively served as the governor of Feiyi and then the housekeeper in Jisun's family, both of which are powerful positions in Jisun's family. This shows Ran You's personal ability and the relationship between Ran's family and Jisun's family.

After Ran You entered Confucianism, Confucius usually took him with him when he went out because he was well-informed and well-mannered.After Ran You returned to Lu State and became Jisun's steward, he tried to persuade Ji Kangzi to invite Confucius back to his country. Afterwards, he took good care of Confucius and his brothers. He had a high prestige among Confucius.However, because Ran You fulfilled his duties for Jisun's family, and Confucius opposed many of Jisun's family's policies, Confucius believed that Ran was helpful to the tyrant and abused him, and his master and apprentice turned against each other.

Ran You has first-class political ability and character. His contribution to Confucianism is comparable to that of Zigong, and he is tied for the first place. He can be said to be a great contributor to Confucianism.However, because Confucius criticized Ran You repeatedly, later generations of Confucianism did not wait to see Ran You, and rarely mentioned it.In addition, Ran You concentrated on government affairs and made no achievements in theory. Zi Shiwei, Ran Youserve.The Master said: "It's so common!" Ran You said: "If you are too common, how can you add it?" Said: "Be rich." He said: "If you are rich, how can you add it?" Said: "Teach it."

When Confucius went to the state of Wei, Ran You drove the chariot for him.Confucius said: "The population is really large!" Ran You said: "The population is already large enough, what else should I do?" Confucius said: "Make them rich." What should I do?" Confucius said, "Educate them." This is the order in which Confucius managed a country. First, let the people get rich, and then educate them.This remark reminds people of Guan Zhong's granary, but he knows etiquette. At this time, Confucius' thoughts have been influenced by Guan Zhong's thoughts.According to Confucius' previous thinking, it should be self-restraint and ritual restoration before pursuing prosperity.

This was the second time Confucius was on his way from Lu to Wei. At that time, Confucius’ good friend Qu Boyu was highly valued in Wei, so Confucius went to join him from Lu.Confucius was full of ambition, thinking that he could make great achievements in Weiguo under the strong push of Yun Boyu, so he was planning how to govern Weiguo on the way.Influenced by Confucius' optimistic thoughts, Ran You was also very optimistic, so the master and his apprentice talked about how to govern the country on the road.Regrettably, Duke Ling of Wei had long lost interest in Confucius, and would never use him even if he was recommended by Yun Boyu.Therefore, Confucius was unable to practice this passage.

The practical significance of this passage is very strong. First of all, China has a large population, and then opened up the country, and the country began to become rich.However, education has not kept up, and the spiritual and cultural quality of ordinary people still needs to be further improved. On the other hand, you should keep a low profile before being promoted. If you act like Confucius, once the expected things fail, you will be hit hard. Ran You said: "Master, is the king of Wei?" Zigong said: "No, I will ask." Entering, he said: "Who are Boyi and Shuqi?" Said: "An ancient sage." Said: " Do you complain?" He said: "If you seek benevolence and get benevolence, why do you complain?" When he came out, he said: "Master, I don't do it."

Ran You asked Zigong, "Will the teacher help the king of the state of Wei?" Zigong said, "Yes, I will ask him." So he went in and asked Confucius, "What kind of people are Boyi and Shuqi?" Confucius Said: "The sages of ancient times." Zi Gong asked again: "They gave up the position of the king, do you have any resentment?" Said: "The teacher will not help Wei Jun." After the death of Wei Linggong, because the prince Kuaikui was driven away, the position of the monarch was directly passed on to the grandson, that is, Kuaikui's son Ji Zhe, who was Wei Chugong.Kuai Kui knew that his son had become the king, and came back to fight for the throne. With the help of Zhao Jianzi of the Jin State, he occupied Qidi in the State of Wei as a stronghold.But Wei Chugong resolutely refused to give way to his father, and sent heavy troops to guard against it.The fight between father and son was in stark contrast to Boyi and Shuqi's abdication of each other's seats.Here, Confucius praised Boyi and Shuqi, but expressed disdain for the contention between Wei Chugong and his son.

The background of this matter is very complicated, so we have to explain each one.Boyi and Shuqi were the eldest and third sons of the monarch of Guzhu Kingdom in the last years of the Shang Dynasty. After their father died, they were unwilling to succeed to the throne, so they both fled Guzhu Kingdom and died of starvation in Shouyang Mountain.Later generations, they were revered as saints and one of the four great saints of Confucianism. Kuaikui was originally the prince of Duke Ling of Wei. Because he couldn't understand Nanzi cuckolding his father, he planned to assassinate Nanzi. After he failed, he went into exile in Jin and was deposed as a prince.

From the perspective of the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, Kuai Kui was a rebel; but from the perspective of the relationship between father and son, Wei Chugong was unfilial.Therefore, Confucius' attitude is that these two people are not good people. When the father and son of the king of the state of Wei confronted each other, it happened to be during the period when Confucius' master and apprentice were in the state of Wei.Why didn't Ran You ask this question, but asked Zi Gong to ask it?Ran You is very cautious and principled, but he doesn't talk much.Confucius admired Ran You's ability, but there was not much communication between the two.And Zigong is a student that Confucius likes, and he can speak well, so Confucius likes it very much.Ran You and Zi Gong are very irreverent friends, so Ran You felt that it was inconvenient for him to ask some questions or he didn't know how to ask them, so he asked Zi Gong to help.

Therefore, in just a short paragraph, we can see the subtle relationship between the three. The kind of family fighting, father and son fighting against each other, and internal fighting among interest groups are often very nasty.Don't get involved in this kind of dog-eat-dog thing. Zilu asked: "Wear this and do it?" The Master said: "If you have a father and brother, how can you do it after hearing this?" Ran You asked: "Wear this and do it?" Hua said: "You also asked Wen Si Xingzhu, and the son said, 'There is a father and brother here. "Seeking also retreats, so advance; because you also have people, so retreat."

Zilu asked: "Should I do it when I hear it?" Confucius said: "With my father and brothers around, I should listen to their opinions first. How can I do it when I hear it?" Ran You asked: "I heard it. Do you just do it?" Confucius said, "Do it when you hear it." Gong Xihua said: "Zhong You asked, 'Do you do it when you hear it', and the teacher replied, 'There are fathers and brothers. Now, it's time to listen to them', Ran Qiu asked, "Do you do it when you hear (a good idea)?" The teacher replied, "Do it when you hear it." I was confused, so I dare to ask again." Confucius said: " Ran Qiu always shrinks back, so we have to push him; Zhong You is too reckless, so we have to pull him a little." Confucius is a very good teacher. He teaches students in accordance with their aptitude. The answers to students' questions are not stereotyped, but according to the personality characteristics of each student. This is why Confucius' students admire and respect Confucius very much.The same question received different answers, which not only benefited Zilu and Ran You, but also inspired Gongxihua next to him.This passage was obviously recorded by Gong Xihua, which shows that this matter had a great influence on him. However, the nature is hard to change, Ran You has always been a cautious person, and Zilu is always reckless, and eventually died of it. This passage should be from the time when Confucius traveled around the world, because only during this time, Zilu, Ran You and Gongxihua were under Confucius' door at the same time. For Confucius, "what you hear and what you do" depends on the character of the student.Today is different, "what you hear and do what you say" depends on the leadership?This paragraph should be kept in mind.Likes and dislikes, if the leader says yes, it will do; if it says no, it will not work. Zihua was envoy to Qi, and Ranzi asked millet for his mother.Confucius said: "With the cauldron." Please benefit.Said: "with him Geng." Ran Zi gave him five grains.The Master said: "The red one is suitable for riding a fat horse, and the clothes are light. I heard it: a gentleman is anxious and cannot continue to get rich." Zihua Jisun went to Qi State as an envoy, and Ran You decided to give his mother corn as a subsidy for the trip, so he came to ask Confucius for advice.Confucius said: "Give him six buckets and four liters." Ran You felt that it was too little.Confucius said, "Give him sixteen dou." Ran You gave him eight hundred dou.Confucius said: "Gongxi Chi went to Qi State, rode in a chariot driven by a fat horse, and wore a warm and light leather robe. I have heard that a gentleman is only a person who helps the needy, not a rich person. "(Traditional explanations all think that Zihua is on a business trip for Confucius, and Ran Youfa's subsidy is from Confucius. Big mistake.) Confucius advocated that "a gentleman is in a hurry to get rich", and believed that it should be "giving charcoal in the snow" instead of "adding flowers to the cake".However, in this matter, there are other reasons. The background here is also a bit complicated, let's take it slowly. Gongxi Chi, styled Zihua, is also called Gongxihua.Judging by the name, you can tell that it belongs to the Duke of Lu, and the family is probably richer.In fact, the family does have a lot of money.Gongxi Chi was proficient in Zhou rituals and was one of the students appreciated by Confucius.Gongxichi was very young, and he was a student with Zixia and others, forty-three years younger than Confucius.According to records, Ran You returned to Lu State when Confucius was sixty-four or sixty-five years old, and Gong Xichi was only twenty-one or twelve years old at this time.So, who is Gongxichi serving as an envoy?What period is it? First of all, Confucius has nothing to do with Qi State, so it is impossible to send people to Qi State; secondly, even if he sends people, he will not send the young Gong Xichi there.Again, if Confucius was still in Weiguo at this time, would Ran You still send food to Luguo to Gongxichi’s old lady?Again, with Ran You's character, if he is still Confucius' steward at this time, it is impossible to disobey Confucius' orders; and again, if Ran You is still Confucius's steward at this time, can Confucius tolerate Ran You's actions? Therefore, this must have happened after Confucius returned to the state of Lu, and Gong Xihua must have been an envoy to the state of Qi for Ji Sun.With Gongxihua's talent, he must be outstanding in Jisun's family. It is likely that Ji Kangzi ordered Ran You to subsidize him, and Ran You, the housekeeper of Jisun's family, was worried that he could not grasp the standard, so he came to ask the teacher for advice.However, Confucius' family business is relatively weak, and his sales are relatively low.And Ran You is the housekeeper of Jisun's family. Jisun's family is as rich as an enemy country, and spends a lot of money. The little subsidy Confucius mentioned is simply not available to Jisun's family.So in the end, did Ran follow Confucius' suggestion and give subsidies according to the standards of Ji Sun's family? Although this matter did not use the food of Confucius' family, Confucius was still very annoyed by Ran You's actions.One is whether Ran has listened to his own opinion, and the other is that Gong Xichi can earn so much on business trips, what will those senior brothers think?Doesn't everyone want to work at Ji Sun's house, how many people are willing to work and study at home?Thirdly, as Confucius was getting older, his personality was inevitably a little weird and narrow-minded. Confucius was unreasonable in this matter. Spending other people's money will benefit his own students, so he should be happy. Why should he be idle? Not long after this incident, Confucius gave his housekeeper Yuan Xian a substantial salary increase, just to make a bet with Ran You. Nowadays, people who really need relief have no chance to get subsidies. According to Confucius' principle of "a gentleman never gets rich when he is anxious", it is really hard to find a gentleman. The Ji family traveled to Mount Tai.The son asked Ran You and said: "Can a woman save you?" He said to him: "No." The son said: "Whoa! It was once said that Mount Tai is not like a forest!" Ji Sun's family went to Mount Tai to worship heaven.Confucius said to Ran You, "Can't you dissuade him?" Ran You said, "No." Confucius said, "Ah! Could it be said that the God of Mount Tai is not as good as Lin Fang?" Confucius was dissatisfied with Jisun's violation of Zhou rituals, so he hoped that Ran You, the housekeeper of Jisun's family, could stop Jisun.However, Ran You refused, and Confucius was very annoyed. Ran You accompanied Confucius to travel around the world, and then returned to the state of Wei.When he was in the state of Wei, through the activities of Ran's family, Ji Kangzi, who had always admired Ran You's talent, sent someone to invite Ran You back to serve as the housekeeper of Jisun's family.Given such an opportunity, Ran You would of course go back.Before going back, Zigong secretly told Ran You to find a way to get the teacher back, and Ran You agreed. Later, Ran You's ability was affirmed by Ji Kangzi, and he led the Lu army to defeat the invading Qi army.Ji Kangzi asked him where he learned the art of war. Ran You said he learned it from Confucius, and took the opportunity to fool Ji Kangzi into asking Confucius to come back.Therefore, Ji Kangzi sent someone to invite Confucius to return to the country, and Confucius was able to return to the country.Why did Confucius have to ask Ji Kangzi to return home?Because when Confucius left at the beginning, he left without saying goodbye, and he left before resigning from the position of Da Si Kou. Confucius was able to return to the state of Lu, and it can be said that Ran You made great contributions.However, Confucius has always been worried about Jisun's family, and he is still very dissatisfied with Jisun's various indecent behaviors, complaining and criticizing all the time.From this point of view, Confucius is an old cynic. Because Ran You was very loyal to Ji Sun's family and always considered the interests of Ji Sun's family, he had a huge disagreement with his teacher, so that Confucius later had a lot of opinions on Ran You. Why did Confucius object so much to Jisun's family offering sacrifices to Mount Tai?This has to start all over again.Mount Tai is between Qi and Lu, but it does not belong to any country, but directly belongs to the royal family of Zhou Dynasty.From ancient times to the present, from the Yellow Emperor to King Cheng of Zhou, they all enshrined Zen in Mount Tai.Therefore, Fengchan has always been the emperor's business.What happened to Feng Chan?Feng Chan is divided into two parts: Feng and Zen: Feng Taishan, built an altar on Mount Tai to worship heaven, and praised the power and grace of heaven; Zen Liangfu (the hill below Mount Tai), in Liangfu, cleared the ground to worship the earth, and thanked the earth The grace of upbringing.Once, Duke Huan of Qi, the first tyrant in the Spring and Autumn Period, wanted to sacrifice to Mount Tai, but Guan Zhong stopped him. Now Ji Sun's family is going to Mount Tai to worship the heavens, which is far beyond their own level.From the perspective of maintaining Zhou etiquette, Confucius certainly opposed it.However, it was useless for Confucius to object, so Ran You could only dissuade him.Who knew that Ran You refused without hesitation, of course Teacher Kong was very angry. Who is Lin Fang?A native of the state of Lu once asked Confucius for courtesy, which is recorded in the book (see the second chapter of this book). Confucius was a cynic, an old cynic, who thought he could change anything, but in fact he couldn't change anything. If Confucius was in Ran You's position, I don't know if he would still be so jealous. Ran Qiu said: "If you don't talk about Zi's way, you will not be strong enough." Zi said: "If you are not strong enough, you will be in the middle way and give up. Today's female painting." Ran Qiu said: "It's not that I don't like what you teach, but my ability is not enough." Confucius said: "Insufficient ability means that you stop halfway. Now you have drawn a limit for yourself and don't want to move forward. " This is Ran You explaining his helplessness to the teacher. After all, he also works for others. He knows that what the teacher said is right, but he can't do what the teacher said. I hope the teacher will understand.However, Confucius did not accept such an explanation. "Jin Ruhua" seems to be missing characters. Ran You respected the teacher in his heart, but felt that the teacher was too rigid.Therefore, Ran hoped to gain the teacher's understanding.But Confucius was getting old, he liked to dig into the horns, and he didn't give Ran any face at all.After this conversation, Ran You was very disappointed, and Confucius also had no illusions about Ran You. Give up halfway, this idiom comes from here. Whether Ran followed the Zhou etiquette was not noble.However, it is understandable to take the salary of Ji Sun's family to work for Ji Sun's family.And people who take taxpayers' hard-earned money but don't serve taxpayers are really abominable. The Master said: "Wealth and honor are what people desire; if you don't get them according to the way, you don't get along with them. Poverty and lowliness are what people hate; if you don't get them according to the way, you don't want to go. A gentleman loses benevolence Is it evil to become famous? A gentleman will never end up violating benevolence, making mistakes will inevitably happen, and failure will inevitably happen." Confucius said: "Wealth and nobility are what everyone wants, but if you don't get them in a proper way, you won't enjoy them; poverty and lowliness are what everyone hates, but you don't get rid of them in a proper way. You will never get rid of it. If a gentleman leaves benevolence, how can he be called a gentleman? A gentleman does not have a meal time to deviate from benevolence, and he must act in accordance with benevolence even at the most urgent moment. At that time, I will definitely act according to benevolence." This passage follows the previous paragraph, and it is Confucius criticizing Ran You, criticizing him for not disregarding benevolence for the sake of wealth and honor, which is a continuation of the previous paragraph. First of all, Confucius admitted that people pursue wealth and honor, and he himself pursued wealth and honor.However, the means must be justified.It's just, what kind of means is justified.According to Confucius, when the monarch is not wise, he should not be an official, but Confucius himself did not abide by it. So in this matter, Confucius had too high a requirement for Ran You, even he himself could not do it. But no matter what, Confucius admitted that people pursue wealth and honor.In the following thousands of years, while denying their pursuit of wealth and honor, people obtained wealth and honor by improper means. Later Mencius said: To be rich is not benevolent, and to be benevolent is not to be rich.Later, Tai Shigong said: People are rich and benevolence and righteousness are attached.Later, Marx said: Wealth and benevolence are a contradictory unity, both contradictory and interdependent. The Master said: "I have never seen those who love benevolence and hate those who are not benevolent. Those who love benevolence have no respect for them; those who hate inhumanity are considered benevolent, and those who are not benevolent are not allowed to be added to their body. Is it possible for one day to exert force on benevolence? I I haven't seen anyone who is lacking in strength. It's covered, and I haven't seen it." Confucius said: "I have never seen a person who loves benevolence, nor has I seen a person who hates inhumaneness. People who love benevolence can no longer be found, so people who hate inhumanity become benevolent, and it is just to prevent others from being benevolent. Just impose it on yourself. Don’t tell me that your ability is not enough, can you devote yourself to benevolence one day? Maybe there is, but I haven’t seen it.” (The translation of this paragraph has always been vague. ) This passage is obviously a continuation of the above two sentences, and it also emphasizes the "insufficiency of strength" in order to continue to refute Ran You's "insufficiency of strength".The meaning of the whole passage is to accuse Ran of not trying his best to change Jisun, but to be satisfied with his "uncreative" help. Confucius spoke very absolutely, without giving any face.And what about Ran?Likely to walk away. Why is this sentence in 中文 close to 5.5 (4.5), but far away from 5.4 (6.12)?This is because it was completed by Zeng Shen and his disciples, no matter what, he wanted to save some face for his brother Ran You, so it was separated and blurred. There are no more officials who plead for the people, so officials who do not harm the people become good officials.There are no more officials who don't accept bribes, so those who can still do things after receiving bribes are good officials.The moral standard is getting lower and lower, not because they are incapable of being a good person, but because they simply don't want to be a good person. The Ji family was richer than the Duke of Zhou, and Qiu also gathered for it and benefited it.The master said: "It's not my disciple, it's okay for the boy to beat the drum and attack him." The Ji family was richer than the Lu state's monarch, and Ran Qiu also helped him search to increase his wealth.Confucius said: "He is not my student anymore, you can attack him with weapons!" (The Duke of Zhou refers to the king of Lu, because the king of Lu is the descendant of Boqin, the eldest son of Duke Zhou. Of course, so is Ji Sun's family.) Confucius didn't really want his disciples to attack Ran You, but he actually wanted to express that the master-student relationship between him and Ran You was severed from now on, and he no longer recognized this student. Ji Sun promoted Tian Fu, and Ran Youlai implemented it in detail and vigorously promoted it.Confucius believed that the implementation of land tax would increase the burden on the common people, so he strongly opposed it.Seeing that Ran You worked so hard for Ji Sun's family, Confucius was furious.Therefore, he asked his disciples to attack Ran You.Confucius hated evil like hatred, and he hated his student so much, and this student had helped him a lot and had always respected him, and he was the most powerful person in Lu State.We can say that Confucius is righteous, but on the other hand, when people are old, they are very stubborn, and sometimes they are even unreasonable. Simply put, they have symptoms of dementia. Of course, no one would attack Ran You, that would be courting death. In fact, after Zigong's mediation, the relationship between master and apprentice was eased.Later, under Ran You's deception, Ji Sun's family decided to give Confucius a subsidy every year.Confucius was very grateful to Jisun's family for this, and the attacks on Jisun's family were greatly reduced.However, Ran You is still not pleasing to the eye. Teachers and students have different concepts. Such things are very common today. The vulgar point is a generation gap, and the elegant point is a difference in values.Let's seek common ground while reserving differences, it's not easy for teachers and students. Ran Zi retreated.The Master said: "He Yan?" Confronted: "There is politics." The Master said: "It's a matter. If there is politics, even if I don't like it, I will hear about it." When Ran Qiu came back from court, Confucius said, "Why did you come back so late?" Ran Qiu said, "There are political affairs." Confucius said, "Is it just a general matter? If there are political affairs, even though the king does not use me, I would like to Know." Ran You came to visit the teacher, but it was later than the agreed time. When Confucius asked, Ran You said that he had gone to court.Please note that Ran You is Jisun's retainer and usually does not go to the court, unless there is a major event, Jisun will take him to the court with him.Therefore, Ran has to go to court, there must be something important.And because it was late to go to court, this matter may be particularly important.Confucius wanted to know what happened, so he asked. Judging from the time point, we can roughly infer that Ran You went to court to discuss the killing of the monarch by Tian Chang of Qi State.After Confucius knew about this, he went to Lu Dinggong and Sanhuan and asked them to send troops to attack Tian Chang.Therefore, this time is after Confucius reconciled with Ran You, so this passage is placed at the end of this article. If he is not in his position, he will not seek his own government.This is also what Confucius said.Therefore, Confucius had to explain why he wanted to understand political affairs. In fact, although Confucius did not become an official in his later years, he still regarded himself as an official everywhere.Alas, heart knot ah. A humble person dare not forget to worry about the country, let alone an official who has become an official? Among all the students of Confucius, Ran You was the most successful official.Therefore, Confucius is most optimistic about Ran You's ability.Regrettably, Ran You did not work for the monarch, but for the Jisun family. This led to the stronger the ability, the farther away from the teacher's expectations. This is also the root of the repeated conflicts between the master and the apprentice. Ran You was of great help to Confucius. It was Ran You's credit that Confucius was able to return to China and received financial support from Ji Sun's family.As a person who is like a fish in water in the officialdom, Ran You is very generous and considerate, but unfortunately, Teacher Kong is a person who cares about face, sometimes he feels very uncomfortable with Ran You's consideration. Such a thing is recorded in the Book of Rites. Bo Gao, a man of Wei, was a friend of Confucius. After Bo Gao died, his family went to report the funeral to Confucius. "Where should I cry for him?" Confucius was a little troubled, he was very particular about such questions. "When my brother died, I went to the ancestral temple to cry for him; when my father's friend died, I went to cry for him outside the temple gate; when the teacher died, I cried for him in the inner bedroom; when a friend died, I cried outside the bedroom door He; the person I knew died, and I went to the field to cry for him. Given the relationship between me and Bogao, it seemed too distant to cry in the field, and too heavy to cry in the bedroom. What should I do? If Zigong knows him, I'll go to Zigong's house and weep for him." After a while, the old man took the matter to Zigong's house. After crying, Confucius sent Zizhang to Bogao's house to express his condolences, but ran into Ran You on the way. "Brother, don't go, I happened to be in Weiguo two days ago, so I prepared a bundle of silk and four horses, and went to mourn in the name of the teacher." Ran You asked Zi Zhang to go back, and he had already offered to mourn for the teacher Passed, and the gift was very heavy, very face-saving.What a peace of mind to have such subordinates. Confucius should be very happy or even moved by this matter, right?Ran You should be praised, right? "Hey, Ran You didn't do this properly, wouldn't I be disrespectful to Bogao?" Confucius was not only unhappy, but blamed Ran You for meddling in his own business. Having said that, the old man may not understand in his heart.