Do what you know you can't do(zhī qí bù kě ér wéi zhī)

Do what you know you can't do

source:

The Analects of Confucius

Zilu sleeps in Shimen. The morning gate said, "Xi Zi?" Zilu said, "since Kong." He said, "is it the person who knows it can't be done?"

(1) Shimen: place name. The outer gate of the capital of the state of Lu. (2) Morning gate: the man who guards the gate in the morning.

Zilu lived in Shimen at night, and the gatekeeper asked, "where are you from?" Zilu said, "from Confucius." The doorman said, "is it the one who knows he can't do it but still wants to do it?"

[comment and analysis] it's the great principle of being a man to "know what you can't do but do it". People should have a little persistent pursuit spirit. Many things come from hard work and struggle. Confucius "knew it was impossible to do it", reflecting his tireless dedication. From the words of the gatekeeper, we can also see the common people's comments on Confucius at that time.

an introduction to

We can't do it without knowing it. (Chapter 14 of Zhi Bo Zhong Shu written by Zhang Binglin) he also knows that he can't do it, and he knows that he can't do it

Old solution 1

Knowing that it is impossible to do it is not to point out that if you know that you can't do it, you have to do it. Instead, you don't ask if you can do it, just ask if you should. And refers to not seeking the result, only seeking the process, no matter how the result, but seeking a clear conscience.

The old logical relation

Knowing that it is impossible to achieve, and then doing it no proposition not knowing that it is impossible to achieve, and then not doing it inverse proposition and then doing it, because knowing that it is impossible to achieve inverse proposition and then not doing it, because not knowing that it is impossible to achieve

A new explanation

For example: first, I know it's not my own work, but I embezzle the trademark and use other people's reputation to write my own work second, I know a little about it, but I think I'm smart, and I have to compete with the ancients in history to win or lose Gan Bao's sou Shen Ji is so famous that it's not uncommon for me to use the title of the book, Also called "SouShen", there are at least Tao Qian's "SouShen postscript", tanyong's "SouShen theory" in the Northern Wei Dynasty, goudaoxing's "SouShen Ji" in the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty's "SouShen Zongji", the Yuan Dynasty's "new Lianxiang SouShen Guangji", Luo MAODENG's six volume edition of "SouShen Ji" in the Ming Dynasty, Jiao Lu's "SouShen Lu" (i.e. "poor mysterious garden"), and an eight volume edition of "SouShen Ji" Ganbao's "SouShen Ji" in the Ming Dynasty The original book of Shenji seems to have been lost in the song and Yuan Dynasties. Third, Zixia said, "the faults of villains must be written.". In the ninth year of Xianggong in Zuozhuan, zhiwuzi said: "a gentleman works hard, a villain works hard, and the system of the former king." All of them are the opinions of Yiqu, which are far away from the theories of Neo Confucianism and orthodoxy in song and Ming Dynasties.

come from

Zilu sleeps in Shimen. Chen men said, "Xi Zi?" Zilu said, "since Kong." He said, "is it the person who knows it can't be done?" (the Analects of Confucius · Xianwen)

notes

① Shimen: the outer gate of the capital of the state of Lu. Morning gate: the man who opens the gate in the morning

translation

Zilu spent the night at the outer gate of the capital of the state of Lu. The man who opened the gate in the morning asked, "where are you from?" Zilu said, "from Kong." The man who opened the gate in the morning said, "is that the one who knows he can't do it but still wants to do it?"

unscramble

It's a challenge

"If you don't climb a high mountain, you don't know the height of the mountain; if you don't face a deep stream, you don't know the thickness of the land" (Xunzi · quanxue), "knowing it can't be done" is only a preliminary judgment based on experience, which is not necessarily accurate, and it's not the actual "can't be done". Whether it can be done or not can only be verified through practice, that is to say, practice is the only standard for testing truth. if you know what you can't do, you can't do it. It's the same as admitting that you don't have to insist on everything. When you encounter difficulties, just give up and let nature decide. Then there will be no force to turn the tide, turn the tide around, turn the bad into the good, turn the crisis into safety, such as God's help and so on. There is a proverb in English: God helps those who help themselves. In Yao Ming's words, it is: if you work hard, you won't succeed, but if you don't work hard, you won't succeed.

It's a spirit

This is a profound generalization of Confucius. Obviously, the man guarding the city gate was not an ordinary person, but a hermit with high cultivation who was invisible in the city court. Back to the sentence "knowing it is impossible to do it" itself, this is the image of an idealist. A man knows that what he is engaged in is expected to succeed, so he sticks to it and finally succeeds. Of course, he is a successful man, but he is nothing special. However, a man knows that what he is engaged in is impossible to succeed in his lifetime, but he still sticks to it meticulously. "When the silkworms die, the wax torch turns to ashes and tears begin to dry." It is very difficult and valuable to devote oneself to one's belief and ideal. Just like Yugong moving mountains and Sisyphus pushing stones up the hillside, the sage did not know that "self-restraint" has a long way to go. However, he traveled all over the world, "like a lost dog" and did not change his spirit. In his later years, he retired to give lectures, and still took ritual and music culture as the core content, contributing to the implementation of "benevolence". As Zeng Zi said: "benevolence is our duty, isn't it also important? Is it not too far to die? " It is the spirit of this aspect that highlights the characteristics of Confucianism's active entry into the world, which is quite different from Taoism.

It's a mission

(Chenmen) it is a kind of knowledge of destiny to ridicule Confucius for knowing that he can't do what he can't do. It is the will of heaven that the world cannot be done, but it is the will of heaven that I cannot be done. It is destiny whether the way can be done or not, and it is destiny whether the man can't be done or not. Confucius learned to be up to standard and learned to be down to standard. Shangda, I know my destiny. However, if Chen men's words were revealed in his whole life, and if he was granted a word (the Analects of Confucius Bayi Er4: "heaven will take master as Mu Duo"), heaven's heart will never be happy, and it is beyond his knowledge. (Qian Mu's new interpretation of the Analects of Confucius). It is known that Tao is not good. " (the Analects of Confucius) the so-called "can't do" is not that you can't do it, but that in the eyes of ordinary people, there is no possibility to achieve it. It's a "thankless" thing, so you don't think it's necessary to do it. We must ensure that we can do it only when it is effective soon. We must do it only when it is beneficial to ourselves. We must do it only when it is beneficial to all of us. We must do it only when it is beneficial to the times at that time. Although these situations are different, they are all from the perspective of merit. What sages and gentlemen value in doing things is morality and justice, and the realization of merit is embodied in morality and justice, rather than putting merit on morality and justice. If it is not in line with morality, even if there are partial and temporary interests, it will cause serious future trouble. If we do things according to morality and justice, even if we don't see local or temporary interests, the overall and long-term interests are among them. Confucius didn't decide whether to do it or not because he was successful, but because he should do it. The Confucian theory of "doing without doing anything": one can't do nothing, because everyone has something he should do. However, when he does these things, he is "doing nothing", because the value of doing these things lies in the doing itself, not in the external results. "the general of the Tao is also related to? It's my life. Will Tao be abolished? It's my life (the Analects of Confucius · Xianwen) he made every effort, but it was his destiny. Destiny refers to destiny, that is, the order or will of heaven, which is regarded as a purposeful force. But later Confucianists only regarded life as the condition and power of all existence in the whole universe. To achieve external success in our activities, we always need the cooperation of these conditions. But this kind of cooperation, on the whole, is beyond our control. So what we can do is to try our best to do what we know is what we should do, regardless of success or failure. To do so is to know one's fate. in the process of scientific experiment, scientific research, artistic creation, academic discussion, and the formation of new theoretical system, there are numerous examples of making ourselves a stepping stone, a paving stone, and a prelude to epoch-making breakthroughs. If we don't know what we can't do, we can't do it. If we don't know what we can't do, we can't make it possible. If we don't know what we can't do, we can't make it possible. If we can't make progress in history and science, we can't make progress in human civilization Accumulation and brilliance, there is no history, today and future. You must have the spirit of knowing that you can't do it. You must have the determination and courage to not be afraid of bumping into a wall, not afraid of failure, not afraid of risk, not afraid of giving, not afraid of devotion, while pursuing success, excellence and high realm. but there is another point, a heavy one. I must tell the readers: Although I firmly believe that virtue is necessary, wisdom, light, mind and realm are necessary and have wonderful effects, these good things are not destined to be invincible as soon as they appear. It still takes a process for them to be recognized, and their exertion, application and success. Before, during and after this process, there are still people who hate virtue and wisdom. The reason is very simple, your kindness reflects his or her viciousness, your wisdom highlights his or her stubbornness, your broadness indicates his or her narrow mindedness, your light shines on his or her darkness, and your learning and studiousness show his or her confusion and obstinacy. In this way, your existence will become a challenge to the villain, the fool and the fool, a great disgrace to him or her, and a thorn in his or her eye. What shall I do? Being able to do so is not kind, not easy to learn, not wise

Chinese PinYin : zhī qí bù kě ér wéi zhī