Zhao Jianzi asked Zigong, "What kind of person is Confucius?" Zigong said to him, "I don't know if I gave it." Jianzi didn't say, "Master worked for Confucius for decades and left at the end of his career. I asked my son and he said,' I don't know'. Why? " Zi Gong said, "It's enough to give the thirsty people rivers and seas. Confucius is still a river and a sea, but if he gives it, is it enough to know? " Jane said, "OK, Zi Gong's words are also good!"
Translation:
The monarch of Zhao asked Zigong, "What kind of person is Confucius?" Zi Gong replied, "I don't know him." Zhao Jianzi was very unhappy and said, "Master served Confucius for more than ten years, and then he left him (Confucius) after he completed his studies. I asked you, and you said,' I don't understand'. Why? "
Zi Gong said, "I am like a thirsty man drinking water by the river. I'll stop when I'm satisfied Confucius is like a river and a sea. How can I fully understand him? " Zhao Jianzi said, "Well, Zi Gong's words are very good!"
Confucius' "River and Sea"
Confucius' political thought takes benevolence as the core, advocates "love", "loyalty and forgiveness", and emphasizes "restoring ceremony" and "correcting name" in order to maintain the hierarchical order of nobles. Philosophically, it advocates the concept of destiny and transcendentalism, but it is skeptical about superstition of ghosts and gods. Education advocates "teaching without distinction". It is said that there are 3,000 disciples and 72 famous artists. Can teach students in accordance with their aptitude, attach importance to inspiration, "never tire of learning, never tire of teaching", but despise "learning crops" and "learning nursery".
He edited and deleted books such as Poem, Book and Spring and Autumn Annals, and made great contributions to the collation and dissemination of ancient culture. In literary and artistic thoughts, he not only advocates "being a monarch" and "being a father", but also demands "resentment" and "stabbing" reality. His theories, such as "utmost goodness", "keeping your word", "prosperity, outlook, group and resentment", correctly expounded the relationship between literary content and form, comprehensively summarized the characteristics and social functions of poetry, and made great contributions to later literature.
His theory has become the orthodox feudal culture in China since the Han Dynasty, and I have also been honored as "King of Wenxuan", "King of Dacheng to Shengxuan", "Master of Shengxuan" and "Master of Dacheng to Shengxuan" by the rulers of past dynasties. The existing book The Analects of Confucius is compiled by disciples according to their own words and deeds, and it is the first collection of quotations in the prose of pre-Qin philosophers. The sentences are concise and implicit, and there are many vivid philosophical aphorisms, which have a great influence on later generations.