The Origin and Evolution of Junzi

The term "gentleman" appeared as early as in the I Ching (rumored to have been written by King Wen of Zhou), and was comprehensively cited in the moral qualities of scholars and scholars since the beginning of Confucius, and has been refined by Confucianism since then, and has become a moral model for the Chinese people.

"University" has "Therefore, the gentleman does everything" sentence, in which "gentleman" should be interpreted as "king", there are similar chapters and sentences, such as "The gentleman is virtuous and pro his pro" is also so. It can be seen that the pre-Qin gentleman has the meaning of "monarch".

The Analects of Confucius also describes the gentleman: "The gentleman is a metaphor for righteousness, and the villain is a metaphor for profit." (Analects - Li Ren) "Righteousness" means "appropriateness", which means that the path taken by a gentleman is always an appropriate and righteous path. On the other hand, the small man is always concerned with self-interest, and is easily driven by his own self-interest to take the evil path.

Under the patriarchal system, the first child born to the wife is called the first son, the second child is called the second son, and the child born to the concubine is called the concubine. The family system formed by the first-born son is called the dazong, and the first-born son of the dazong can only be called the ruler. The ruler of a vassal is called the ruler of the state, and the ruler of a great physician is called the ruler of the family. If he is the son of heaven, he is called the son of heaven, the son of a male is the son of a male, and the son of a ruler is the son of a gentleman. The males in the great clan were simply called junzi. The rest of the family system consisting of, for example, the second son and the common son is the small clan, and these males in the small clan are simply called the small man.

The ancients believed that people with a high level of cultivation must have a high status, for example, the people in the big clan have been in a position to receive a good education since childhood, whether it is etiquette, literature, art and so on, have a relatively high level of quality and cultivation, and listen to music to listen to the music is elegant; and the status of the small people are generally not in a position to receive the best education, and can only listen to some shallow music or even popular music on the street. This difference in the quality of education and self-cultivation will naturally affect the moral standard of people.

Confucius first added a moral element to his doctrine of what it means to be a gentleman and a villain. But the patriarchal system did not change. Confucius had a saying, "Only women and small people are difficult to raise; nearness is not a matter of honor, and distance is a matter of resentment." This is generally understood to mean that only women and little people are difficult to treat; if you are close to them they will not respect you, and if you are distant from them they will complain. If placed in the patriarchal environment, should be understood in this way: the women and small people are small clan here, they and the big clan belong to a large family, although divided into large and small clan but must be a family, so dealing with the relationship with the people of the small clan is very difficult, and they are close to them, they will have a non-thinking and the big clan of the people of the same treatment, and distant they will complain that do not treat them as a family. The main point of this statement is the word "difficult".

In his discourse on the gentleman, Confucius also said, "A gentleman has nine thoughts: to see is to think brightly, to hear is to think intelligently, to look is to think warmly, to look is to think respectfully, to speak is to think faithfully, to act is to think respectfully, to doubt is to ask questions, to be angry is to think difficultly, and to see is to think rightly." (The Analects of Confucius - Ji Shi) is a broader statement of the general principles of all aspects of speech and behavior.

Zeng Sen went into more specific requirements. He said, "A gentleman has three expenses, and food and drink are not among them. The gentleman has three joys, the chime and the qin and the sepulchre are not among them ...... There are relatives to be feared, a ruler to be served, and a son to be left behind, this one joy; there are relatives to be feared, a ruler to be gone, and a son to be angered, this two joys; there is a ruler to be likened to, and a friend to be assisted, this three joys ...... Learning from the young and forgetting them as they grow up, this one fee is also; serving the ruler has a way to go, and the son to be angry. This is the first fee; to serve the king with merit, but lightly burdened, this is the second fee; to make friends for a long time and neutralize them, this is the third fee." (The Collected Interpretations of the Extraordinary Biographies of Han Shi) The chapter of "Zeng Zi Li Shi" also contains a large number of strict requirements for a gentleman. For example, "A gentleman does not cut off the pleasure of others, does not fulfill the rites of others, does not hesitate to come, and is not prudent in going. If you don't slander those who go, and if you don't bribe those who go, you can also be called loyal. A gentleman is respectful without being difficult, peaceful without being comfortable, humble without being flattering, generous without being indulgent, favorable without being thrifty, and straight without going, and he can also be said to be knowledgeable." It is also said, "A gentleman who enters the country of others, does not call it taboo, does not violate its prohibitions, does not wear garish clothes, and does not say that he is afraid to speak, so he says, "With its extravagance, it is better to be frugal; with its arrogance, it is better to speak."

Obviously, Zeng Sen's definition of a gentleman is much more specific and rigorous, although it does not go beyond the scope of the "Nine Thoughts" requirement. In the entire history of Chinese thought and culture, this style of succession of masters and disciples is very representative. Because the Zengzi school was excessively strict on the requirements of the "gentleman", it was sometimes not immune to the flavor of the Taoist school. "The gentleman sees profit and thinks of humiliation, sees evil and thinks of criticism, loves lust and thinks of shame, thinks of anger and thinks of trouble, the gentleman keeps this war for life." This kind of careful attitude of being a man, although its requirements are still basically in the scope of Confucianism, but with the logic of Taoism to require a gentleman, its negative avoidance of the tendency has been very obvious. This tendency, perhaps, is what Zeng Sen wanted to avoid in the first place, but the development of thought, like many other things, after a certain degree, will appear its own difficult to grasp deformation.

Later Confucianism made more rules and requirements for "gentlemen", such as the four "no's" of a gentleman: first, a gentleman does not act rashly, but moves in the right way; second, a gentleman does not speak in vain, but speaks in the right way; third, a gentleman does not seek in vain, but seeks in the right way; and fourth, a gentleman does not act in vain, but acts in the right way.

The gentleman does not act rashly, but moves in the right way.

The Analects of Confucius says: "A gentleman is a man of words, but he is forbidden to act. Therefore, when he speaks, he considers the end of his life, and when he acts, he checks what he has done. Then the people are careful with their words and prudent with their actions." A gentleman must have a reason for what he says, they will ask themselves to be careful with what they say and what they do, they will be polite in all things, they will not be casual, and whenever they take action, they will have an intention, which means that they will not act rashly, but will act according to their own way.

The gentleman does not speak in vain, but speaks with reason. Rumors stop at the wise man, therefore, the gentleman is often not polite do not say, keep your mouth shut, do not say empty words, do not speak not real words. But when it is time to speak, he must also speak, for to speak and not to speak is a loss; to speak and not to speak is a loss of words. To be a gentleman, one must neither lose sight of others nor lose one's words. The words of a gentleman are words of meaning, words of compassion, and words of justice. Therefore, a gentleman does not use words in vain; his words must make sense.

The gentleman does not ask for what he wants, and what he asks for must be justified. There is an old saying: "A gentleman loves money and takes it in the right way. A chaste woman loves color and takes it with propriety." Gentlemen cherish their honor, and are restrained in their desires; they do not covet things that do not belong to them, they do not think of profit with a careless mind, and they do not fall on their own sword, seek private gain, and take by force. If a gentleman wants something, it must be for the sake of the country, society, and justice, and it must be for the benefit of the people and on behalf of all living beings.

A gentleman does not act in vain, but acts with integrity. If one is a gentleman, his words and deeds will not be casual, and he will consider everything again and again: will this behavior hurt others? Will this matter be detrimental to others? Only when he has thought it through will he act. Therefore, the behavior of a gentleman must be in accordance with the right way. That is to speak true words, to think right thoughts, to speak right words, to do right things, to correct right behavior.