Chapter 33 Promises must be kept and action must be resolute

Zigong asked, "How can you be called a scholar?" The master said: "It is shameful to act on one's own self, and to spread it in all directions without disgrace to the emperor's life. You can be called a scholar." He said, "Dare to ask the second." Yan, the township party calls you younger brother Yan." Said: "Dare to ask next." Said: "Words must be believed, deeds must be resolute, I am a villain! ——It can be second." Said: "Today's How about a politician?" The Master said, "Hey! How can a person who fights for money be counted?"

——"The Analects of Confucius Zilu" (excerpt) On October 8, 2006, at the invitation of Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid an official visit to China.This is Abe's first visit to China since he took office as Japanese Prime Minister.This is also the first time that a Japanese prime minister made China the first country he visited abroad after taking office.Premier Wen held talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Great Hall of the People on the 8th.During the talks, Premier Wen first welcomed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit and appreciated his positive attitude in relations with China.Subsequently, Premier Wen stressed that to maintain the long-term stable and healthy development of China-Japan relations, we must properly handle the Yasukuni Shrine issue in accordance with the consensus reached by the two countries and remove political obstacles affecting the relations between the two countries.Premier Wen further pointed out that this is an important guarantee to promote the development of Sino-Japanese relations.

"Words must be believed, actions must be resolute" comes from "The Analects of Confucius Zilu", which is one of the definitions of "scholar" given by Confucius when Zi Gong asked Confucius about "scholar".Zigong, whose surname is Duanmu, first name Ci, and style name Zigong, is one of the "Ten Philosophers of Confucianism".Zigong is "slick in speech" and rich in diplomatic ability. He is a representative of the Chinese language department (diplomatic rhetoric) of the ten philosophers of Confucianism.In the time of Confucius, the main material for language training was that Confucius once said: "If you don't study poetry, you can't speak." , only then can we say that the "Poetry" is over, tell the past and know the future." ("The Analects of Confucius Xueer") In the book, Zigong is the leader in the records of the words and deeds of the disciples of Confucius, and many of them are regarded as It is a representative saying of Confucianism, such as "poor without flattery, rich without arrogance" ("The Analects of Confucius Xueer"), "I don't want others to impose on me, and I also want nothing to impose on others" ("The Analects of Confucius". Gongye Chang") and so on.

The content of the passage selected at the beginning of the article is that Zi Gong was asking Confucius about "scholars".According to the question and answer of Zigong and Confucius, "shi" is divided into three grades here: those who do things are honorable and have a sense of shame, and those who are ordered to complete tasks satisfactorily are the first-class scholars; people in the clan praise them for being filial to their parents , the neighbors of the township party praised him for respecting and loving his brother, this is a second-class taxi; he must be trustworthy in his speech, and resolute and decisive in doing things. .

From the above speeches, it can be seen that Confucius did not have a very high evaluation of "words must be believed and deeds must be resolute".Because when Zigong "asked scholars" for the third time, Confucius' answer was "Be sure to keep what you say, and do what you do. You are a villain! ——It can be inferior."Confucius believed that "words must be believed and deeds must be resolute" is a stubborn villain's behavior.Confucius classified "little man" as a second-class scholar. It can be seen that the "little man" here does not mean low character as commonly used in modern society. The "little man" here refers to people with low status, ordinary people , or in other words, refers to those who are not of high realm.In Confucius' view, ordinary people can be regarded as scholars as long as their words and deeds are consistent.

In teaching, Confucius is good at teaching different students according to their aptitude and conducting heuristic teaching. In the quotation at the beginning of the article, Confucius enlightened Zigong step by step according to his talents and personality characteristics, and hoped that he would develop his own advantages and make a difference , to be a qualified scholar.So, can Zigong be called a "scholar" as Confucius said?The answer is yes.Compared with other disciples of Confucius, Zigong is unique in his outstanding talent in financial management and business.Zigong implemented the Confucian concepts of "benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and forgiveness" into the way of doing business, so he is called the ancestor of "Confucian businessmen".Later generations have the evaluation of "Tao Zhu's career, Duanmu's career", "Tao Zhu is not allowed to be rich in business, and he should be a pusher and tribute to the virtuous".Zigong’s adherence to honesty, justice and social responsibility inherited from Confucianism is objectively conducive to maintaining the long-term interests of its business activities.And the combination of "Confucianism" and "Business" has a profound influence on later generations. "Father of Japanese Industry" Shibusawa Eiichi, in his book "The Analects of Confucius" and Abacus, strongly advocated the combination of business talent and Confucian spirit, that is to say: a person must have the integrity of a "scholar", Morality and ideals, but also have the "business" talent and pragmatic spirit.

Zigong's adherence to "scholar" is also reflected in his maintenance of Confucius' reputation.No matter during his life or after his death, Zigong used his words and deeds to uphold the Confucian doctrine of being a teacher for a day and a father for life.Hearing Uncle Sunwu's words that "Zigong is more worthy than Zhongni", Zigong said: "For example, the wall of the palace, the wall of the gift is also shoulder-length, and you can see the goodness of the family. The wall of the master is so high that you cannot enter through the door." , I don’t see the beauty of the ancestral temple, the richness of hundreds of officials. Those who get the family may be few. The master’s cloud, it’s not appropriate!” ("The Analects of Confucius Zi Zhang") Zigong’s defense of Confucius can also be seen below: "Master The articles can be obtained and heard; the master's words and nature and the way of heaven cannot be obtained but heard." ("The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang") "The sages of others, even the hills, can still be surpassed; Zhongni, the Japanese The moon is also beyond the reach of nothing." ("The Analects of Confucius·Zi Zhang")

In the consciousness of modern people, "words must be believed and deeds must be resolute" is no longer limited to the definition of "scholar", and the focus is on the issue of integrity, which specifically refers to words that mean what they say and act decisively, which are what people should do in life attitude and code of conduct.In the talks with Shinzo Abe, Premier Wen Jiabao quoted this sentence, which has very rich meanings.Before and after Abe was elected prime minister, he promised to improve Asian diplomacy, saying that Asian countries should be the first choice when visiting.During Abe’s visit to China, he said that he deeply regrets the huge damage and suffering that Japan has brought to the people of Asian countries, and promised that he will strictly abide by the two sides’ agreement to overcome the political difficulties that affect the relationship between the two countries and promote the healthy relationship between Japan and China. Consensus for stable development and proper handling of historical issues.However, listen to his words and watch his deeds. Premier Wen borrowed the words of the ancients to hope that Shinzo Abe could match his words with his deeds and make concrete efforts to improve and develop Sino-Japanese relations.