What is the main point of the "Ba Yi" in the Analects? What does the Analects mean when it says that a gentleman is not an instrument?

Since the Song Dynasty, The Analects has been listed as one of the "Four Books" and has become an official textbook for ancient schools and a must-read for the imperial examinations. So, what is the main point of the "Ba Yi" in the Analects? What does the Analects mean when it says that a gentleman is not an instrument? Let's take a look at the introduction of Encyclopedia Knowledge Network to answer these questions!

Contents of this article

1. What is the main topic of the "Ba Yi" in the Analects?

2. What does the Analects of Confucius mean?

3. The sentence in the Analects that encourages honesty in learning is

What is the main topic of the "Ba Yi" in the Analects?

The "Ba Yi" chapter in "The Analects" mainly discusses the issue of "ritual", advocating the maintenance of various institutional and etiquette regulations of ritual; Confucius proposed the proposition of "painting on white background", expressing his ethical thoughts and political and moral proposition of "the ruler should treat his ministers with ritual, and the ministers should serve the ruler with loyalty".

The Analects is a collection of Confucius and his disciples' sayings, and is one of the important Confucian classics. The compilation was completed by Confucius' disciples and their disciples. The origin of the name of the Analects: Ban Gu's "Book of Han·Yiwenzhi" said: "The Analects is the words of Confucius in response to his disciples and contemporaries, and the words of his disciples that they heard from him. At that time, each disciple had his own record. After the Master died, his disciples compiled and edited it, so it is called the Analects." This statement is generally credible. The original records were made by many people, and the final compilation was probably in the early Warring States period, mainly by Zeng Shen's disciples.

What does the Analects of Confucius mean?

It means that a learned and cultured person should not be just a tool for use. That is, when a gentleman cultivates his personal character, he should not focus on certain specific aspects like an object, but should learn a wide range of knowledge and cultivate various talents; in terms of personal temperament and attitude, he should not be like an object, which only has a certain capacity, but should look at everything with a broad mind; in terms of the principles of dealing with people and things, he should not be like an object, which is fixed and unchanging, but should adapt to the time and place and adopt the most appropriate behavior to achieve the greatest and best results.

The sentence in the Analects that encourages honesty in learning is

Learning: When three people walk together, there must be one person who can teach me. Never get tired of learning, and never get tired of teaching.

Honesty: If a person does not have honesty, he is not worthy of it. Honesty is close to righteousness, and words can be repeated. Respect is close to courtesy, and it is far from shame. Because it does not lose its relatives, it can also be respected.

The Analects of Confucius, compiled by Confucius' disciples and their descendants, is an important Confucian classic that records Confucius' words and deeds. The book not only depicts a beautiful blueprint for society and life, but also contains sparks of wisdom from the collision of humanity, politics, morality, and culture, which still has great inspiration for us today.