As ethical norms and moral standards, "sincerity" and "faith" were originally used separately. Mencius said, "If you are sincere, the way of heaven is also true, and the way of man is also true." "The Doctrine of the Mean" also said: "Honesty is heaven, honesty is humanity." The basic meaning of a letter is to keep one's promise, match words with deeds, and be true and credible. The first combination of "sincerity" and "faithfulness" was in Yizhoushu: "Adults don't taste it, they help you sincerely and help you grow rich." "The filial piety of father and son, the friendship of brothers, the loyalty and stupidity of the monarch and the minister, and the sincerity of the township party." The "sincerity" here actually means "sincerity". In other words, honesty in the general sense means honesty, keeping promises, and emphasizing that people should treat each other sincerely.
"Honesty" is the central idea of Confucianism and the way to be a man. We should be honest in this world. Zhu, a Neo-Confucianism scholar in the Song Dynasty, said: "Honest people are true and innocent. Affirming "sincerity" is a virtue that is true but not deceitful. In Xiu De, to ask people to do things, they must follow the example of heaven and be true. Tell the truth, do practical things and oppose fraud and hypocrisy.
Shuo Wen Jie Zi advocates "people's words are true", while Cheng Yi advocates "truth is true". It can be seen that "faith" not only requires people to speak honestly and reliably, but also requires people to do things honestly and reliably. The basic connotation of "faith" is to keep promises, match words with deeds, be honest and trustworthy.
"Honesty" is mainly from the perspective of heaven, and "faithfulness" is mainly from the perspective of human nature. Therefore, Mencius said: "a loyal person is also a heavenly way; Those who think sincerely, the way of people is also. "
"Honesty" is innate, and it is the truth and law to follow the example of heaven and pursue honesty. Although there are philosophical differences between them, from a moral point of view, "honesty" and "faithfulness" are synonymous and equivalent concepts, so Xu Shen said in Shuo Wen Jie Zi: "Honesty and faithfulness are also." "Faith, sincerity." The basic meaning is honesty and trustworthiness, consistency in words and deeds, and what you look like. This is the basic requirement of being a man.
In China's Confucian classics, there are many expositions about the way of honesty. Now, select the important ones to elaborate.
"People don't believe what they say." (The Book of Songs Zheng Feng Yang Zhishui).
People should not believe what people who have no integrity and morality say. Therefore, to make others believe in themselves, we must be honest.
"The gentleman's words are faithful and have rules, so hate is far away; The words of the villain are arrogant and have no sign, so they are responsible. (Zuo Qiuming's "Eight Years of Zuo Zhao")
"Make friends and keep your word." (Confucius "The Analects of Confucius")
A gentleman's words are well-founded, so resentment goes far beyond his body; The villain's words became more and more absurd and unfounded, so he was accused. Please be frank and well-founded, and avoid nonsense without factual basis. "Teach four things: literature, conduct, loyalty and faith." (The Analects of Confucius)
When teaching students, Confucius advocated "literature" (that is, poems, books, rituals, music and other classics), and advocated paying equal attention to "conduct", "loyalty" and "faith", hoping that students could be knowledgeable (literature), diligent (conduct), loyal (loyalty) and honest.
"Confucianism is not gemology, loyalty is treasure." (Dai Sheng, Editor-in-Chief, Book of Rites Confucianism)
Confucianism values virtue, so it values "loyalty" rather than jade. It can be seen that Confucianism regards "faith" as a magic weapon to cultivate self-cultivation and govern the country at home.
"The ancient Yutang ruled the world in good faith, treacherous and treacherous, and there was chaos in the world. So, if you are an expert, you will be cautious and loyal, and then you can do it. This is also the foundation of this gentleman. " (Xunzi "Xunzi Power")
In ancient times, there were saints and Tang dynasties, which followed righteousness and kept promises, and the world was ruled; The tyrant is stubborn and treacherous, and the world is in chaos. Therefore, as a monarch, we must be cautious, loyal and loyal in order to govern the country. This is "the great foundation of the monarch." This proves that honesty is the foundation of governing the country. "or ask a letter and say," don't eat his words. " (Yang Xiong's "Chong Li")
The so-called faith means not breaking your word and forgetting your roots, but keeping your word and keeping your word.
"Believers are sincere and unwavering. (Ban Gu, "White Tiger Yi Tong, Temperament, On Five Sexes and Six Emotions")
In a sense, faith is honesty, and honesty is faith. The two are interlinked, and the basic connotation is truth. No matter what you say or do, you are honest and trustworthy.
"Honesty is the foundation of the five permanent members, and the source of every line. (By Zhou Dunyi and Zhou Ziquan, Shu Tong and Cheng Xia)
Honesty is the foundation of the five permanent members (benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith) and the root of people's doing all kinds of good things. It can be seen that "honesty" is important in the Confucian moral system.
"Believers, there is nothing false." (Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi "Henan Cheng suicide note" Volume 1)
The so-called "faith" means that there is no "false" meaning. Never tell lies or do false things; Neither deceive oneself nor others. All words and deeds are based on honesty, and all hypocrisy and falsehood are excluded. "A husband with faith is a great asset to people. The state is protected by the people and the people are protected by the written language. It is impossible to convince the people, and it is impossible for them to defend the country. Therefore, the ancient king did not bully the four seas, and he did not bully his neighbors. Good for the country, not bullying its own people; A good family doesn't bully relatives. (Sima Guang's Zi Zhi Tong Jian, Volume II)
"Honesty" is a magic weapon for people, because "the country is protected by the people and the people are protected by trust". Without credit, people cannot be achieved, and without popular support, the country cannot be defended. Therefore, the ancient holy king did not bully the four seas, and the five tyrants did not bully their neighbors. Those who are good at governing the country do not bully their people; A man who is good at maintaining family order will not bully his relatives. It can be seen how important faith is in governing the country.
"Honesty is human and falsehood is animal." (Huang Zongxi's Mencius Teacher's Theory, Volume 7).
Honesty is one of the fundamental differences between humans and animals. Only people have the virtue of honesty, and animals don't talk about honesty. If people only seek material selfish desires without honesty, it is an inhuman animal behavior.
Laozi said: "Good words are not beautiful, but good words are not believed." (Lao Zi, Chapter 81).
Honesty is not gorgeous, and gorgeous words are not true, because honesty is simple.
Confucius said, "If you believe in righteousness, you can reply." (Learning the Analects of Confucius)
It is emphasized that a person's credit should conform to "righteousness" and can only be implemented if it conforms to "righteousness".
Mencius said, "Honest people have heaven. If you think sincerely, you will learn from others. " (Mencius Li Lou).
Affirming "honesty" is the law of heaven's operation, and pursuing honesty is the truth of being a man.
Xunzi: "Shame on unbelief, shame on unbelief." ("Xunzi Fei Twelve").
I am ashamed of not having the virtue of "faith", but I am not ashamed of not being trusted by others.
Liu An: "People believe first, then seek energy." ("Huai Nanzi said Xun Lin")
Let's see if he is trustworthy first, and then talk about his ability, which shows that "trust" is more important than "ability".
Zhuge Liang: "Don't break your word with function." ("model")
Don't lose confidence in others just because you have merit and talent.
Wang Tong: "Push with sincerity, but don't keep your word." (Duke of Zhong Shuo)
As long as you can trust each other and treat each other sincerely, it goes without saying that you will trust each other.
Cheng Yi: "Honesty means faith, and faith means honesty." ("Henan Cheng's suicide note" Volume 25)
Honesty leads to credibility, and credibility means honesty. It can be seen that "sincerity" and "faith" are interlinked.
Zhu: "Honest people are really innocent." ("Notes on the Four Books and the Doctrine of the Mean")
Honesty is true, not false.
Cao Duan: "One sincerity is enough to eliminate all falsehood." ("Ming Confucianism Case" Volume 44 "Quotations")
One honest act is enough to dispel thousands of hypocrisy.
Yang Zhen, a famous minister in the Eastern Han Dynasty, whose Yang Zhen was "unaffected by the four knowledge of Jin", passed through Changyi County on the way to Donglai County. Wang Mi, the magistrate of Changyi County, is a scholar he recommended in the past. Wang Mi privately brought ten catties of gold to Yang Zhen in the middle of the night. Yang Zhen said, "Old friends know you, but you don't know old friends. Why? " Wang Mi said: "It's late at night, and no one knows." Yang Zhen replied: "Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know. How can you say that no one knows? " Hearing these words, Wang Mi left in shame. The story of Yang Zhen's "ignorance of four things" shows that his moral cultivation has reached the realm of "cautious independence" without self-deception. Only in the absence of supervision, will we not deceive ourselves, which is the real "integrity."
Hu Xueyan and Hu Xueyan, a Huizhou merchant, hung a plaque of "No Cheating" at Huqingyutang Pharmacy in Hangzhou. In the postscript, he wrote: "It is a lie to go its own way", "I intend to help the world, and I will never take advantage of inferior products", and "the procurement should be honest and the system should be perfect, so as not to deceive the rest of the people to deceive the world. Huqingyutang drugstore is well-known at home and abroad, and the secret of its prosperous business lies in the word "don't lie". This story shows that the word "quit bullying" is the secret of enterprise success and the priceless treasure of entrepreneurs.
I can change "Zuo Zhuan Gong Xuan Two Years": "Who is wrong? It's hard to change after that. Confucius said, "To be born unchanged is to live too long." Han Yu said, "The person who accuses me of being my teacher is also my teacher. Lu Jiuyuan said: "If you have heard of it, you will be happy. If you already know, you will be outspoken (taboo) and not afraid (fear). " The ancients Shen Juyi said, "villains are all decorated, and gentlemen can only change." Therefore, ancient philosophers in China thought that how to deal with negligence was one of the important differences between a gentleman and a villain. The ancient philosophers in China emphasized that if you know it, you should change it, which is a sign of honesty. There is a fable in Mencius under Teng Wengong: A man steals his neighbor's chicken every day, and he is advised to say, "This is not the behavior of a virtuous man. The man replied, "well, I'm going to cut it down and steal only one chicken a month until next year, and then I won't steal chickens again." This fable shows that if you already know that this is immoral, you should correct it immediately, so why wait until next year! Therefore, people should "correct their mistakes like the wind and change like thunder." We must make a clean break with mistakes and correct them completely.
Su Dongpo and Wang Anshi have a close personal relationship, and they often study poetry together. On one occasion, Su Dongpo visited Wang Anshi's house, which coincided with Wang Anshi's absence. Su Dongpo only saw an unfinished poem on his desk, with only two sentences: "Last night, the west wind crossed the garden, blowing yellow flowers and gold everywhere. Su Dongpo was amused when he saw it, thinking that chrysanthemums, like spring flowers, could end up with petals all over the floor overnight. So he went on to say that "autumn flowers are not better than spring flowers, so sing them carefully with poets", mocking Wang Anshi. Wang Anshi went home to see the sequel and thought, "What a rarity! Later, Su Dongpo was demoted to Huangzhou, Hubei Province, and became Ying Yong's assistant. One night, after an autumn wind, the chrysanthemums in the yard were blown golden the next day. Su Dongpo was deeply ashamed at this time. He continued his poem and was short-sighted. After returning to Beijing, he immediately apologized to Wang Anshi. Wang Anshi praised: "It's commendable to know your mistakes and correct them! From then on, Su Dongpo was very modest and prudent, and wrote many well-known masterpieces.
Keep your promise "Zuo Zhuan Xi Gong Fourteen Years" said: "If you abandon your trust and neighbor, who will take care of you?" If you don't believe it, you will die. It means that if you lose your credit and turn your back on your neighbor, who will sympathize with you when you encounter disaster? If you lose your credit, once a disaster happens and no one comes to support you, you will surely perish. Therefore, it is very important to keep your promise. If we make promises to others, we should take them seriously and be responsible for our own promises. Don't take it lightly and break our promise to others. When you communicate with people on weekdays, you can start from punctuality, and then keep your promise to your family and friends and treat others honestly.
Liu firmly married a blind girl. Liu is a farmer's child and has an agreement with his neighbor. After several years of separation, Liu entered imperial academy and was admitted to Jinshi. When Liu returns to his hometown, he intends to marry his neighbor. Only then did I know that my neighbor was dead, my daughter was blind and my family was ruined. However, Liu did not violate the engagement, and also chose a date to get married. My neighbor is going to divorce. She said, "I'm blind now, like a basket case. How can I marry you? " Liu Yue said, "I have made an appointment with my neighbor. Since Weng is dead and ill, will he break his word? As a result, the two of them finally got married, had a harmonious family and had several children.
Ji Zha presented a sword to Ji Zha, the imperial clan of the State of Wu. On his way to the north, he dropped in on Xu Guoguo. Xu Jun likes the sword very much, but he knows it is the national treasure of Wu, so he is embarrassed to ask for it. Ji Zha knew that Xu Jun liked this sword very much and wanted to give it to Xu Jun immediately. However, because he still needs to travel to other countries, he needs to take this sword to represent Wu. Therefore, Ji Zha secretly promised Xu Jun: "When I finish this trip and go to Guo Xu, I will definitely give you this sword." Later, when Ji Zha returned to Guo Xu, prosthodontic was already dead. Ji Zha came to Xu Jun's tomb and hung his sword on a tree next to Xu Jun's tomb. The attendant hurriedly asked, "Why give him a sword when everyone is dead? Ji Zha said, "I promised to give this sword to Xu Jun in my heart. Now that Xu Jun has passed away, I still have to keep my promise.