To Yen Hui, the Student I Loved Dearly
“Incomparable indeed was Hui! A handful of rice to eat, a gourdful of water to drink, living in a mean street — others would have found it unendurably depressing, but to Hui’s cheerfulness it made no difference at all. Incomparable indeed was Hui!”
- Confucius to Yen Hui, in Lun Yu (: Influence on his Followers
Who is the right man? What ought to be his nature as a social being living in this world? What does he pursue? These are the things that I, Kung Fu Tzu or Confucius among the non-Chinese, am going to teach you for this moment Yen Hui, the student I loved dearly. I am about to unfold before your eyes these Confucian teachings on what is all about being a man in this world.
At the heart of my social philosophy is the concept of the ren, which implicates “compassion” or “loving others” (). Denotatively, it means “man” or “men” or “humans” or “people”. Digging deeper, it is more than the body physical. It involves an individual’s relationship with the rest of the human beings. Lunyu 15.9 states that, loving others is the very mission that man has to fulfill, even if it will cost him his life ().
Let’s us make use of the analogy of the bow and arrow in hitting the central red dot. That red central signifies the “ideal noble personality”. Make every effort on your own in order to hit it almost perfectly. In my terms, I call this “self-cultivation” (1956 ). Therefore, you have to know how best to handle the bow and the arrow in doing so. However, life is not only limited to perfecting your skill in making use of the bow and arrow. Of utmost importance is educating yourself extensively (1956). Nothing beats understanding the world in a range of perspectives. Continue reading in order to answer your question — why did I say so. But let me conclude first by saying that such is the nature of a gentleman who posses an ideal noble personality.
Yi or righteousness is the duty to do something fair and square. Zhi or wisdom is a capability to weigh incidents. Xin or trustworthiness means being true to the words that you have uttered (2001). These are the essential concepts in order for you to understand further what self-cultivation is. Yi, zhi, and xin define a righteous man’s interaction with his fellow beings. These three should emanate within you.
Furthermore, self-cultivation involves xiao or caring for the family, which is supposed to be one’s primary function. Filial piety, as this is more popularly called and understood by the rest of the world. Lastly, one is supposed to do the way of the li, or being mindful of one’s deeds and behavior, which speaks for one’s status (2001). The li, as a rule, applies to all men, regardless of social status and economic standing. Clearly indeed that I am teaching you to cultivate yourself not only independently, but also “collectively” as how (2001, p. 259) referred to it (one of my present-day scholars), in order for you to be a gentleman of ideal noble personality.
Benevolence is one of the personal characteristics that a gentleman ought to possess. To construe this virtue, it means trying to find and inquiring the most appropriate way of behaving towards the individuals outside of you in accordance with the reference points of those individuals; at the same time, putting faith on the acknowledgment of their essential image to one’s own (2001). This explains further self-cultivation vis-à-vis collective progress from an individual act. Benevolence is not simply doing a good act for the sake of doing something that is good, or because this is one of the way in order for you to possess the ideal noble personality. You interact with others in a benevolent manner because you also take into cognition the good within them. A gentleman sees goodness in others as you see goodness in his own.
Now, what does a gentleman pursue in this world, given his natural states as mentioned above? Life is neither merely a matter of filling in an empty stomach, nor seeking a contented life. There should be diligence in deeds, and prudence in speech. Therefore, he is one who inquires further on his elders’ virtuosity whenever doubt comes his way, and who is enthusiastic to know more about this world. He is one who puts abstractions into concreteness (1956,). Verily indeed, a gentleman is a “scholar sacrificing his life to the pursuit of a moral training” (1956).
A gentleman is in a constant chase for truth, i.e. moral training. He does it not out of necessity, but with burning passion. It is what drives a man in living his life. He ensures that the knowledge that only his mind can perceive is likewise actively existent in the world he is living in. A righteous man is not a contented man, for he constantly seek ways in improving himself and others as well.
Having possessed these nature of a gentleman, does this goes to show that a moral or righteous life is attained? I would say no. Having been a “princely man”, or a gentleman, is not enough. It is useless if it does not serve humanity (1956). I am now talking in the broadest nature of the ren. Humanity is the end-goal of my teaching on what is all about the gentleman, which is my perception of a righteous man. I quote,
“The man of ‘humanity’, desiring to be established himself, seeks also to establish others: and the goals he wishes to attain himself, he helps others to gain. The way of ‘humanity’ is to be able to see others by a rule of near to oneself (1956, p.98).”
Furthermore, a “princely man”, who, by mind, aims for the betterment of humanity, should not be confined to its application on his local community per se. Likewise, he should be prohibited from individualistically attaining this goal. Humanity’s betterment needs not to be conceived in the light of a grand project. The matter is as simple as interacting harmoniously with every individual outside of you — family, succeeding members of the clan, members of the immediate community to another, and even to the global community perhaps at large (1956).
As I have said earlier, the gentleman feels coerced to put what he has learned into reality. It is by doing such realization to the immediate family, and the community at the smallest, and eventually to the highest level, that he can say that his task is accomplished. You can further imagine this humanity purpose of a gentleman in such a way that he deals with every person he comes into contact with in accordance with the nature of a gentleman. What a good Earth to live in if there is an influx of gentlepersons!
Humanity brings you to my conception of tian or heaven. The core principle of my teachings is tianren heyi, which means “the harmonious oneness of Heaven and humanity” (1987, 2000). What I have taught you do exists already in the palms of every man. They just have to grasp it as tightly as they could and unleash its powers. Heaven is therefore possible to exist in the face of the Earth. Man should live in the gentle manner, wherein he lives with the yi, zhi, and xin, on the one hand, and the xiao and li, on the other. Following the analogy of the waves, in return, he becomes benevolent and eventually displays the ideal noble behavior. All of which leads for the Mandate of Heaven to come alive.
“What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others, since you yourself desire standing the help others achieve it, since you yourself desire success then help others attain it” (). Mark this word of mine, my dear student, for it summarizes my entire teaching on being a gentleman. The things that I have taught you are evident in this statement. Read and dissect it and you will see how every piece simply fits the entire puzzle.
The hope of humanity lies in man’s pursuit of moral trainings, which defines his progress. It is like a flame, in which he should not only focus on keeping it alive, but utilize it in burning everyone in a positive light. The ideal noble personality must become a reality. It is as simple as guarding one’s thoughts and actions toward a family member and a community member. Humanity is not the effort of one man, but men.
What I have written before you, Yen Hui, in this letter is relevant for you and your succeeding generations, as they would live in increasingly complex modes of abode. The way I see it, I deem this as the key by which the state will end not in ruins. This will define the stability of states in the world to come. Let this simplified phrase made by those scholars who have gone further in learning from my teachings resonate in your mind and heart — Do unto others what you want others to do unto you.
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