Pragmatism?

Pragmatism means being practical and seeking truth from facts, which is a kind of national spirit formed earlier in Chinese farming culture. Confucius did not talk about "strange, forceful, chaotic, God", has focused on social life. Wang Fu's "Treatise on the Diving Husband" said, "Adults are not flashy; gentlemen are pragmatic." Wang Shouren's Chuanxilu said, "The name and the reality are opposite; if the pragmatic mind is one point heavier, then the pragmatic mind is one point lighter." These ideas are the embodiment of the spirit of Chinese culture, which emphasizes reality and advocates pragmatism. It excludes delusion, rejects empty dreams, despises the flashy and unrealistic, and pursues a full and energetic life, creating the splendid civilization of ancient Chinese society. Pragmatism, as a traditional virtue, still shines in our contemporary life.

Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing.

Sourced from the Analects of Confucius - For the Government.

The general idea that to know is to know, and not to know is not to know, is the wise attitude.

HintsThe ancients demanded honesty in being a human being, which is manifested in learning that to know is to know, and not to know is not to know. Moreover, this kind of honesty is even wiser, knowing that there is something you don't know is in itself a kind of progress. If one knows by not knowing, not only is it dishonest, but it will affect one's progress.

The gentleman is ashamed of his words over his deeds.

Originally from the Analects of Confucius - Xianqian (宪问).

The general idea is that a gentleman is ashamed of saying more than he does.

It suggests that in daily life, one should pay attention to the consistency of one's words and deeds; if one only boasts but accomplishes nothing in action, one will be regarded by others as "a giant in speech but a dwarf in action".

While the scholar is learned, the behavior is not.

From "Mozi - Cultivating the Body".

To wit, although a scholar is learned, hands-on practice is fundamental.

HintsAmong the hundred schools of thought in the pre-Qin era, Mozi was the most practical. Both he and his disciples practiced the Moist ideas of governance. Since ancient times there have also been many thinkers and scholars who have made useful explorations on the issue of knowledge and action. Li Shizhen traveled to many southern provinces, collected folk remedies, verified them one by one, and wrote the monumental pharmacological masterpiece "Compendium of Materia Medica". Those who rely only on book knowledge and lack practice can hardly become great scholars.

The way is far away, but not to; things are small, but not for not.

From "Xunzi - Cultivating the Body".

The idea is that although the road is near, if you don't walk, you can't reach the destination; although the matter is small, if you don't do it, you can't succeed.

The hint is that any undertaking has to be accomplished by practice. The road to success is under your own feet, if you can't walk on the ground, always immersed in the wonderful fantasy, it will only achieve nothing.

Hearing and not seeing, although the Bo must be fallacious; see and do not know, although the knowledge must be delusional; know and do not, although the Dun must be difficult.

Source: Xunzi - Confucianism.

To wit, if you have heard of something but have not seen it with your own eyes, even though you have heard a lot about it, much of it is bound to be wrong; if you have seen it but cannot understand it, even though you have memorized it, much of it is bound to be delusional; if you know it but do not put it into practice, even though you have a great deal of knowledge, you are bound to meet with trouble.

Hint: In the ancient world, hearing, seeing, knowing, and practicing are the four ways to know things, but "practicing" is the most important. The reason is that the "practice" can not only test the knowledge gained through the first three ways, but also further promote the understanding and grasp of the knowledge learned.

Whoever speaks well of the ancient world will have a section in the present, and whoever speaks well of heaven will have a sign in the human world.

Source: Xunzi - Sexual Evil.

The person who is good at talking about the ancient times must necessarily look for a basis in the present, and the person who is good at talking about the Way of Heaven must necessarily look for proof in the personnel.

HintsNo matter what one says, if one wants others to believe one, then one must have sufficient evidence. And evidence often shows how things are related, so be sure to look at things in a developmental, dialectical way.

Be careful what you say and be careful what you do.

Sourced from "Rituals - Velvet".

The general idea is to be rigorous in speech and prudent in action.

This sentence warns people that a cultivated and moral person should be responsible for his own words and deeds, so he should think carefully before he speaks or acts, and should not act recklessly on impulse.

The gentleman learns by force.

Sourced from Yang Xiong's "The Words of the Law - Cultivating the Body".

The moral man encourages himself to learn and to act.

HintsStrong learning and vigorous action both require a person to have perseverance. Study hard to study, need to have the perseverance to delve into, will learn to apply the knowledge to the practice of life, at the same time to think carefully, to learn and use the organic combination. Therefore, learning is not the ultimate goal, learning to use is more important.

Practicality.

Originally from "The Book of Han - The Biography of Liu De, King of Hetian".

The general idea is to study from the objective facts and come up with laws.

Hint Liu De, King of Hetian, was the younger brother of Emperor Wu of Han. He had a life of good learning and was not fond of boasting. The greatest hobby in his life was collecting ancient books. When he met folk who sent him good books, he found someone to transcribe them and then gave the copied books to others, keeping the original for himself. Tang Dynasty Yan Shigu commented on his behavior "to get the facts, every seek really also", meaning that he treasured the ancient books are really good books, the contents of the ancient books are in line with the ancient facts. This is the original meaning of "seeking truth from facts". Later generations have extended this phrase to mean that everything should respect the facts, start from the actual situation, and speak from the facts.

It is better to hear than to see.

Originally from "The Book of Han - The Biography of Zhao Chongguo".

The general idea is that it is better to hear someone say something a hundred times than to see it once with one's own eyes.

While both "hearing" and "seeing" are the main ways for humans to acquire knowledge, in many cases the truthfulness of what we hear is doubtful because we are often deceived by rumors, and only what we see with our own eyes is more certain. "Hearing is believing, seeing is believing" is exactly what it says.

It's better to be envious of fish than to retreat to the net.

Source: Han Shu - Dong Zhongshu's Biography.

To wit, it is better to stand on the edge of a deep pool in the hope of getting the fish in it than to go back and quickly weave a fishing net.

TipIt is meaningless to imagine without practicing, just as it is meaningless to want to taste the deliciousness of fish but not to weave a fishing net, but just to stand by the edge of the water and envy. The best way is to start from the small things, from now on, towards the ideal goal, down-to-earth to strive for, and ultimately to achieve the purpose.

Things are not clear in the effective, the argument is not set in evidence.

Originally from Wang Chong's "Lun Heng - Thin Burial".

The best proof of a thing is to see whether it is valid, and the best test of a theory is to see whether there is evidence for it.

HintsWang Chong was an Eastern Han Dynasty philosopher who was most concerned with empirical evidence. He absolutely did not believe in anything without sufficient evidence, even though it was said to be divine. In "On the Balance", he took great pains to debate and point out that things like ghosts do not exist at all. This kind of thinking was unique in ancient times.

Famous names must have reality, and things must have merit.

Source: Xun Yue's Shen Jian (申鉴-俗嫌).

To wit, fame must be matched by facts, and doing things must be confirmed by results.

HintThis sentence reminds people to pay attention to the fact that sometimes a person has a great fame but not necessarily a name to match it, and sometimes doing a thing with a good intention but not necessarily a good result. Therefore, when observing people or things, it is important to look at their real situation or actual results, rather than listening to false names.

After playing a thousand songs, one learns the sound; after observing a thousand swords, one learns the weapon.

Originally from Liu Innocent Diao Long (文心雕龙-知音).

The general idea is that only after practicing a thousand pieces of music can one know music, and only after observing a thousand swords can one know how to recognize the weapon.

The hint is that it is not easy to learn a skill; to be a connoisseur, you also need to observe more physical objects, and talking on paper will not do. Reading to break ten thousand volumes, the pen can be as God's help. Doing anything, without a certain accumulation of experience, there will not be very high attainments.

The ancients learned no effort, young and strong work old began to become.

The paper is the ultimate shallow, absolutely know this matter to be practiced.

Source: Lu You, "Winter Night Reading".

The ancients spared no effort in their studies, and they studied hard when they were young until they were old enough to accomplish something. What you learn from books always feel shallow, to really understand but also rely on their own personal practice.

Prompted by Lu You's winter night reading, he wrote eight poems to his young son, of which this is the third. This poem emphasizes the importance of perseverance in study on the one hand, and the importance of social practice on the other. Because even if the knowledge learned from books is true and correct, it is still divorced for oneself. Without hands-on practice, one cannot understand the knowledge in books well. Therefore, in the process of learning, hands-on practice is extremely important.

The more one knows, the more one acts; the more one acts, the more one knows.

From Zhu Xi's Zhu Zi Yu Zi, Volume 14.

The clearer the understanding, the more solid the practice; the more solid the practice, the clearer the understanding.

HintThis sentence illustrates the relationship between understanding and practice. Recognition and practice are two aspects that are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Understanding is the premise and guide of practice, and in turn practice will further promote the in-depth development of understanding. Only by combining the two aspects can one's understanding come closer to the truth and make faster progress.