Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

Grandma worked in the boiler at the paper mill. She stayed by the boiler in the winter and her body was warm, but when he thought about how she had to do the same in the summer and shovel coal at her age, Fu Yuan's heart sank.

Fu Yuan will start school next year and the family needs money. The old couple is saving for tuition, so Fu Yuan knows very well that no matter how much they try to persuade him, it will be useless.

The conditions in the village are like this. If there were any easy jobs that can make money, the young people in the village would not have to go out to work.

The remaining jobs that could earn a little money had already been taken over by the villagers, including picking up garbage... There wasn't much valuable garbage in the village these days.

Fu Yuan couldn't figure it out anyway, and he didn't have the confidence that his own wisdom could surpass that of the entire village, not to mention that he was only six years old.

All Fu Yuan can do is take over the kitchen at home, cook meals every day, stay at home honestly and not cause trouble, coax the old couple with sweet words at night and provide some emotional value. Otherwise, he can't do anything else.

It can only be kept out of sight.

He understood what Mencius said, "A gentleman stays away from the kitchen." Because of his compassion, he couldn't bear to see killing, but he knew that eating meat was inevitable, so he simply stayed away.

This is the same as when people in the village slaughter pigs and stab the pig's neck with the knife, many people will subconsciously turn their heads away and not look.

There is no such thing as "hypocrisy" and it does not hinder eating meat. It is entirely due to compassion.

Compassion is something everyone has! Mencius also advocated not to act with whimsical kindness.

Having compassion and not being able to bear to see chickens and sheep being slaughtered, so avoiding them, is saintly. Preventing others from killing animals and eating meat out of compassion is saintly bitch...

……

As the Chinese New Year approached, the smiles on grandparents' faces became brighter. They counted the days every day and kept telling Fu Yuan during meals that his parents would be back soon.

And he will bring his sister Fu Rong back with him.

This was the result that Grandpa Fu Guojin achieved after making several consecutive phone calls to the town, and Mr. and Mrs. Fu also agreed.

Fu Yuan was also looking forward to meeting his sister.

Fu Yuan was only three years old when his sister Fu Rong left home. Although he was precocious, he only regarded Fu Rong as his sister. Now he knows that Fu Rong is the sword master in the plot who was cheated of money by a man and hid in the mountains to avoid debt. He feels very complicated.

After making lunch while standing on a stool, Fu Yuan wrapped it in his old cotton-padded jacket and brought the food to his grandparents. He then ate it himself.

After eating, he practiced sword techniques twice with a wooden stick, then brought a stool and sat at the door to read.

Old Man Liu appeared out of nowhere and said in a dissatisfied tone, "When I taught you the basics of Kung Fu, you practiced for seven days straight without a moment's rest. Where did that hard work go? Now you just do two sets a day and that's it."

Fu Yuan was stunned for a moment and said, "Grandpa Liu, I feel like two rounds is enough! What's the point of practicing so hard? I can't sense the Qi... Besides, I've already developed a sense of it, can't you see it?"

Old man Liu said sullenly, "What's that feeling? I can't tell."

Fu Yuan put down the book and said, "Didn't you say before that after I practiced, my Qi took on the charm of a sword?"

Old Man Liu's eyes widened in shock. After a moment, he exhaled and snorted, "Sword Intentions?... I can't see your Qi anymore!"

Fu Yuan asked curiously, "What does this mean? Could it be that the Qi has disappeared?"

Old Man Liu shook his head and said, "Young children give people a sense of spirituality. You know that, right?"

Fu Yuan thought about it and nodded, "Well, many people say that children have spiritual energy, but few people say that adults have spiritual energy... at most they can only say that they have spirituality."

Old Man Liu nodded and said, "This is due to the 'Innate Qi' being released. As children grow up, they become more thoughtful and anxious. The 'Innate Qi' is hidden by all kinds of turbid qi, and the Qi can no longer be seen. When they grow up, those who still have spirituality will become carefree, or even heartless."

Fu Yuan pondered and said, "Overthinking? I don't!"

Old Man Liu grinned and said, "There is another situation. Children can sense and operate the 'Innate Qi' according to the method from a young age. As they practice Qi, they can gather the Innate Qi and let it penetrate deep into their bodies, or develop supernatural powers, which are invisible to outsiders.

So, whether a person is an extraordinary person or has practiced Qi can only be seen when he is a child. I could tell at a glance that you had practiced Qi.

But as the child grows up, this "Innate Qi" is obscured. Whether it is obscured by turbid Qi or by the child's own active practice of gathering Qi, others cannot see it.

Fu Yuan suddenly realized and asked, "Then which one am I?"

Old Man Liu said unhappily, "You've integrated the introductory breathing method I taught you into your daily life. The way you breathe naturally now is that breathing method, right? What do you think?"

Fu Yuan nodded and said, "It seems that I have gathered my Qi and hidden it within my body without realizing it... Is it really not visible at all?"

"Your situation is a bit special..."

Old Man Liu pondered and said, "You know what? Some people who hold high positions, over time, develop a different temperament than ordinary people. This temperament is also an external manifestation of the Qi caused by the environment they live in.

Maybe only strangers can't see it, but everyone should be able to feel this kind of temperament, right?"

Fu Yuan nodded thoughtfully and said, "This is what Mencius said: 'Housing changes the body, nourishment changes the spirit.' In the Shuowen Jiezi, 'housing' means to have enough space. 'Moving' means the crops leaning on each other. When the seedlings are weak, they want to be alone; when they are strong, they want to be together...

The position I occupy nourishes my energy, and we rely on each other... Then what kind of temperament do I have?"

Old Man Liu said vaguely, "You are more upright and steady, right? Anyway, no one can tell that you are an alien... No, you are not an alien at all. You can't even sense Qi, so how can you be called an alien..."

As he spoke, Old Man Liu became angry again.

Fu Yuan smiled and ignored him and continued reading.

After a while, Old Man Liu sorted himself out and said, "What did you see today? Do you want me to teach you?"

Although he said he was teaching, Old Man Liu himself knew that when it came to these ancient texts, he was no different from an illiterate person. Instead, he learned a lot of knowledge from Fu Yuan.

Fu Yuan didn't explain it, saying, "I'm looking at Confucius's idea of ​​universal peace. Confucius said, 'When the great way is practiced, the world is shared by all, and the virtuous and capable are selected.'"

Old Man Liu said happily: "This sentence is simple. Doesn't it mean that when governing a country, one must not have selfish motives and must choose virtuous people?"

Fu Yuan shook his head and said, "Fairness means sharing equally, and it also means betraying selfishness. Those officials in ancient times who were praised for their incorruptibility all held positions, but their families were so poor that they had no food to eat. Is this considered "sharing equally"? What were they seeking by doing this? For their reputation after death or... Is this considered betraying selfishness?"

That’s fine, the key point is the phrase “select the virtuous and capable”…”

Old Man Liu wondered, "Choosing the virtuous, what's the problem with that?"

Fu Yuan said: "In the Shuowen Jiezi, yu means to give to someone, and a spoonful is yu, which is the same as yu. It does not mean "and" or "with". This meaning only came later. So this sentence should not be about choosing "virtuous and capable" people.

Moreover, how many people throughout history have possessed both ability and moral integrity?

If we take this literally, it should be: Choose people with high moral character and grant or share abilities, or rights... Although it makes sense, it feels a little off.

Old Man Liu naturally couldn't give a clue, so he could only ask: "You've been thinking about this for a long time, do you have any clues?"

Fu Yuan nodded and said, "Confucius said this idea to his disciple Ziyou, who recorded it... In the Shuowen Jiezi, the word yu is pronounced the same as yu, and there is a character for ju (raising) that sounds the same as yu.

If it is about "selecting the virtuous and the capable", then it makes sense. A person with high moral character is not necessarily capable, and a person with capability is not necessarily of high moral character.

"Selecting the virtuous" and "recommending the capable" are two parallel terms, which refer to both selecting people with high moral character and recommending people with ability.

Old Man Liu thought for a moment and said solemnly, "We need people with both moral character and ability. 'Selecting the virtuous and the capable' is the right approach!"

Fu Yuan wanted to laugh, but he suppressed his laughter and said, "But in Shuowen Jiezi, xian means talented. The word cai can be interpreted as both talent and wealth... Grandpa Liu, which one do you think is correct?"

Old Man Liu was stunned for a moment and said, "What does the book say?"

Fu Yuan said: "Cai means the beginning of a plant or tree. The first one is the newly grown branches. The next one is the ground. It refers to the new seedlings growing from the ground, and it is extended to mean the beginning of everything."

Old Man Liu was bewildered. "Then your 'select the virtuous and elect the capable' is also wrong. Isn't that repetitive? Could the meaning of 'capable' also be different from what it is now?"

Fu Yuan smiled and said happily: "You are right. The "Inner Canon" says that xian means firm and neng means strong. "Neng" is the main ingredient of the medicine.

So this sentence can also be interpreted as: select many talented people and recommend a leader from them.

Or, choose rich people and let them lead them... What do you think?"

Old Man Liu felt overwhelmed and said impatiently, "Why is it so troublesome? It's just four words, but you have to come up with so many explanations... Old Man Kong is really too bored. Can't you explain it more clearly?

Also, what's the point of all your explanations? From the time I understand things, 'xian' means someone with high moral character, and 'neng' means someone with ability. All other explanations are invalid!"

Fu Yuan smiled and said, "Although it's really useless... I think it's very interesting. It's just four words, 'select the virtuous and the capable'. There are so many similar words in ancient Chinese. If I want to understand it, I can't keep it so vague, right?"

"Then how do you think we should understand it?"

Fu Yuan closed the book, chuckled, and said, “I said before that we should strictly follow the ancient Confucian texts, but now it seems that I was wrong.

I need to follow what I understand! Whichever explanation I think is right, then that’s right! ”

Old Man Liu said disdainfully: "You are just a little brat. No matter how mature you are, how can you know right from wrong?"

Fu Yuan smiled but said nothing.

Children naturally cannot fully distinguish right from wrong.

But he is not really a child...his experience from his previous life is of use here!

At the same time, Fu Yuan also understood why those who had achieved great learning in ancient times liked to annotate books and scriptures, because they wanted to spread their understanding.

If everyone in the world accepts my explanation, does that count as imposing my will on everyone?

Is this what Confucian education is all about?

If establishing destiny for the people means hoping that the people will live according to the order arranged by oneself, then establishing a mind for heaven and earth means imposing one's own will on heaven and earth... through Qi?

It seems that the "Four Sentences of Hengqu" that are so common in the streets also have some meaning of spiritual practice in them!

Then the ultimate ideal of Confucianism is not "cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the country and pacifying the world", but realizing one's own ambitions.

To be more selfish, it is to realize one's own ambitions.

Imposing one's own will on the world, letting billions of people live according to one's own order, promoting the teachings of ancient saints according to one's own understanding, and allowing one's own will and ambitions to be passed down through the ages!

Perhaps this is the true ambition of Confucianism!

"what?"

Old Man Liu suddenly took a step back in surprise, looking Fu Yuan up and down, and said in shock: "Your Qi..."

"What happened to my Chi?"

"Your Qi suddenly feels like it's boiling, as if it's about to soar into the sky..."

"I didn't feel it... but this is probably what 'heroic spirit' means!"

Chapter 7 A gentleman has no power

The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month is the time to let go of things.

According to custom, on this day, not only do you have to do a thorough cleaning, but you also have to get rid of things in the house that have not been used for a long time, which means sending away bad luck.

The cement plant has stopped production, but the paper mill will settle wages in the afternoon.

Grandpa Fu Guojin went to the town early in the morning. He had said on the phone before that Mr. and Mrs. Fu would bring Fu Rong home on the 29th. Although he didn't know when they would arrive, it didn't stop Grandpa from waiting enthusiastically early in the morning.

Grandma was still waiting for her salary at the paper mill, and Fu Yuan was the only one at home cleaning.

When Old Man Liu strolled over, he saw Fu Yuan holding a broom that was taller than him and standing on the back of a chair to sweep the spider webs under the eaves.

The little person, holding a broom, rested on the back of the chair with only one toe, as if he would fall down at any moment, but he always maintained his balance, swaying but steady.

Old man Liu said cheerfully, "You're doing acrobatics here? Why don't you wait for your grandma... Never mind, it won't be too late to do it after your mom comes back."