It means: "I reflect on myself many times every day. Have I tried my best to do things for others? Have I been honest and trustworthy in my interactions with friends? Have I reviewed the studies the teacher taught me? "What?"
From: "The Analects of Confucius·Xue Er".
Original sentence: Zengzi said: "I examine myself three times in a day. Have I been unfaithful in my plans for others? Have I not believed in my friends? Have I not learned to pass them on?"
Interpretation: Zengzi said: "I reflect on myself many times every day. Have I done my best in doing things for others? Have I been honest and trustworthy in my interactions with friends? Have I reviewed the studies the teacher taught me?"
Three provinces: province (pronounced xǐng), inspection, observation. There are several explanations for the three provinces: first, three inspections; second, inspection from three aspects; third, multiple inspections. In fact, in ancient times, numbers were added before action verbs to indicate that the action was more frequent and did not need to be considered three times. ?
Loyalty: The old note said: Doing one’s best is called loyalty. This means that you should do your best to others. ?
Trust: The old note said: Those who believe are sincere. Honesty is called trust. People are required to keep trust with each other according to the provisions of etiquette to adjust the relationship between people. ?
Transmission or not: Chuan, what the teacher taught you. Study, review, internship, exercise, etc.
Extended information:
Historical background of the article
In this chapter, Zengzi also proposed the categories of "loyalty" and "faithfulness". Loyalty is characterized by the word "end", which means doing your best and never giving up. As Confucianism later said, "Doing one's best is called loyalty." "Being unfaithful to others generally refers to treating all people, not specifically the monarch. It means doing your best to help everyone, including the monarch.
Therefore, "loyalty" in the pre-Qin Dynasty was The general moral category is not only used for the relationship between monarch and minister. After the Han Dynasty, the word "loyalty" gradually evolved into "loyalty to the emperor", which is both related to Confucian loyalty and has important differences.
"Faith". "" has two meanings, one is trust and the other is credit. Its content is honesty and non-deception, which is used to deal with the relationship between superiors and subordinates and friends. Letter is especially related to speech, which means telling the truth and keeping what you say. This is a "Xue Er" is the title of the first chapter of "The Analects of Confucius". Generally, the first two or three characters of the first chapter are used as the title of the chapter. Title. "Xue Er" contains 16 chapters, covering many aspects.
The key points are "I will examine myself three times every day"; Confucius (September 28, 551 BC (the twenty-seventh day of the eighth lunar month)) - April 11, 479 BC (the 11th day of the second lunar month)), surnamed Kong, given name Qiu, styled Zhongni, Han nationality, a native of Zouyi (now Nanxin Town, Qufu City, Shandong Province, China) of the State of Lu during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and his ancestors were the Song Dynasty (now Shangqiu, Henan Province) ) Noble. A thinker and educator in the late Spring and Autumn Period, and the founder of Confucianism.
Confucius collected the great achievements of ancient Chinese culture and was known as the "Sage of Heaven" and "The Wooden Duo of Heaven" during his lifetime. ", was one of the most erudite scholars in the society at that time. He was respected by later generations of rulers as the Saint of Confucius, the Holy Saint, the Holy Teacher, and the Teacher for All Times. He was selected by UNESCO as the first of the "Top Ten Cultural Celebrities in the World".
Confucius lost his father in his early years and his family was in decline. He once said: "I am a young man, so I am capable of many despicable things. "When he was young, he worked as a commission official (managing granaries) and Chengtian (managing livestock). Although he lived in poverty, he was eager to learn and motivated and was good at learning from others. He once said: "If three people walk together, I must be my teacher. Choose the good ones and follow them, and change the bad ones. ”
Because of his profound knowledge, he began to give lectures to apprentices. He was the founder of the private lecture style, breaking the tradition of studying in the government, further promoting the downward movement of academics, and making great contributions to the development of my country’s education industry. Zhao Pu, a politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, once said that "half of the Analects governs the world". This reflects the great role and influence of this book in ancient Chinese society. .