加密数字货币交易所-《论语》详解：给所有曲解孔子的人-子曰：不患人之不己知；患其不能也。

Confucius said: “Not to be worried that others do not understand you; worry that they cannot.”

Yang Bojun: Confucius said: Don’t worry about others not understanding me. Only worry about your own lack of ability.

Qian Mu: The master said: Don’t worry that others don’t know me; worry that I cannot understand myself.

Li Zehou: Confucius said: Don’t worry that others don’t know you; worry that you lack talent.

Detailed explanation:

The above three interpretations are quite similar. In fact, a more vivid way to understand it is “The aroma of wine is not afraid of the alley being deep.” In modern society, the absurdity and impracticality of these explanations are self-evident. Such rhetoric is just a form of sophistry—what else could it be if not a false scholarly argument? Not to mention the absurdity of their interpretations, from a grammatical perspective, there are two issues that cannot be avoided: First, does “其” refer to “人” (others) or “己” (oneself)? Second, is “能” a noun or a verb?

Regarding the first question, all three believe that “其” refers to “己,” but “其” as a pronoun generally indicates a third-person possessive relationship, referring to “others.” Translating “其” as “oneself” is not entirely wrong, but why isn’t “其” better understood as “人” (people), which is more grammatically appropriate in terms of function and position? As for the second question, “能” as a noun is acceptable, but in this context, it is more reasonable as a verb because anyone familiar with classical Chinese rhetorical symmetry should know that “不患人之不己知，患其不能也” is actually a shortened form of “不患人之不己知，患人之不能己知也.” Correspondingly, “能” here should be a verb. Therefore, the interpretation of this chapter should be: “Do not worry that others do not understand oneself; worry that others cannot understand oneself.” Here, “人” (people) includes both oneself and others.

First, consider “人” as oneself. For a person, not understanding oneself is a normal state. As long as one is human, this state cannot be completely changed, and there is nothing to fear about it. What is truly frightening is that people cannot continually understand themselves, remaining confused for a lifetime, even taking confusion as a virtue, arrogantly overestimating or undervaluing themselves, losing the desire and possibility to understand oneself. This is the greatest misfortune in life. The primary task for a person is to continually understand oneself; the so-called “inner sage” and the cultivation of oneself also require ongoing self-awareness.

As for “人” referring to others, if others do not understand themselves, then conversely, oneself also does not understand others. When people fail to understand each other, from the perspective of “family, country, and the world,” this is a very common and normal problem. Due to different positions within social structures and interests, mutual misunderstanding is normal and nothing to fear. However, what is frightening is that people cannot continually understand each other, and even busy themselves creating divides. You are an “elite,” they are “commoners”; this is “wealth,” and that is “poverty.” Such distinctions cause various irreparable cracks in social structures, leading to a loss of mutual understanding and the possibility of understanding among people. This is the greatest misfortune for society. Society’s primary task is continuous mutual understanding. The so-called “external king” and the idea of “ruling the family and bringing peace to the world” fundamentally depend on ongoing mutual understanding among people. Without mutual understanding, how can there be a world where “people are not angry”?

So, what is the relationship between the “not worried” and “worried” discussed in this chapter and the previous chapter? In fact, the previous chapter addressed a fundamental issue: from an ultimate perspective, all existence has its “worry,” and “worry” is ranked by the non-worry (“不患”) which has no rank. But the so-called ultimate is relative; within specific systems of existence, there are corresponding “worry” and “non-worry.” In a system where “non-worry” appears to have no rank, it becomes “worry” in another system; conversely, what is “worry” in one system becomes “non-worry” in another. Every real system of existence has its own “worry” and “non-worry.”

The focus of this chapter is precisely the issue of “worry” and “non-worry” within the human social system. From the perspective of human society, for individuals, not understanding oneself is “non-worry.” In an absolute sense, one can never fully understand oneself; the so-called understanding is only relative to the perpetual lack of understanding. “Not understanding” has no rank, while “understanding” is ranked because of “not understanding.” When we say someone has self-awareness or lacks self-awareness, it is all due to the ranking created by “not understanding.” This can be subdivided into various levels. Therefore, the “worry” is not about oneself’s lack of understanding of oneself’s rank, but rather, using this lack of rank as an excuse to believe that one cannot fully understand oneself, leading to arrogance or self-deprecation, losing the desire and possibility to continually understand oneself. Yet, they do not realize that precisely because “not understanding” has no rank, there is the possibility of continually “understanding” oneself, and thus the possibility of “understanding.” Not grasping this point makes it impossible to understand what “inner sage” truly means.

Similarly, from the perspective of human society, regarding the relationship between people, if people do not understand others, then it is “non-worry.” In an absolute sense, people can never fully understand others; the so-called “understanding” is only relative to the perpetual “not understanding.” “Not understanding” has no rank, while “understanding” is ranked because of “not understanding.” Therefore, the “worry” is not about people not understanding others’ lack of rank, but rather, using this as an excuse to believe that people cannot fully understand each other, thus arbitrarily creating divides. This causes various irreparable cracks in social structures, and everyone loses the desire and possibility to understand others. They do not realize that precisely because “not understanding” has no rank, there is the possibility of “understanding” others’ rank, and thus the potential for continual “understanding.” Not understanding this makes it impossible to grasp what “external king” truly means.

What does “能” (can/ability) mean? Using modern terminology, it refers to the conditions of the subject and the object being met. Moving from “cannot” to “can” involves continuous creation to enable the conditions of the subject and object to be fulfilled. For any real society or real person, “people’s lack of self-knowledge” is an absolute fate, without rank, without condition. Because of this, there is the possibility of creating various conditions for the subject and object, so that this unranked “lack of self-knowledge” can continually manifest different levels of “self-knowledge,” thus achieving the continuous elevation from “cannot” to “can.” This is the driving force behind the endless vitality of human society. The so-called “Heaven’s movement is vigorous.” Without understanding this, one cannot comprehend Confucianism, the Analects, or Confucius.

Chánzhōng’s plain translation of Zen sayings:

Confucius said: “Not to be worried that others do not understand you; worry that they cannot.”

Confucius said: Don’t worry about others or yourself not understanding yourself; worry that they cannot understand themselves.