加密数字货币交易所-《论语》详解：给所有曲解孔子的人-孔子曰∶生而知之者，上也；学而知之者，次也；困而学之，又其次也。困而不学，民斯为下矣！

Confucius said: “Those who are born knowing are the highest; those who learn and then know are the next; those who encounter difficulties and learn from them are next after that. If one encounters difficulties and does not learn, the people are considered the lowest!”

Yang Bojun: Confucius said: “Those who are born knowing are the top grade; those who learn and then know are the second grade; those who face difficulties and learn from them are the third grade; if they encounter difficulties and do not learn, the common people are of the lowest grade.”

Qian Mu: The master said: “Those who are born knowing are the highest. Those who learn and then know are the next. After experiencing hardships and then learning, they are the next. If after hardships, one still does not learn, then they are considered the lowest.”

Li Zehou: Confucius said: “Those who are born with knowledge are the top; those who learn and then have knowledge are the next; those who learn again when faced with difficulties are the next; those who face difficulties and do not learn are truly the lowest.”

Detailed explanation:

People are born with difficulties. Survival difficulties, life-and-death difficulties, and the like—resolving these difficulties

can only rely on wisdom. Without wisdom, one does not understand their difficulties, does not know what causes them, and even less how to overcome them. What is “difficulty”? The original character “困” means threshold, serving as a metaphor for a door; the concept of dividing into categories without actual doors, or having a position without a physical one, thus creating “困”. But this “困” has both objective and subjective aspects. Objectively, a person enters the “door” of being human at birth; the social environment, physical and mental capabilities at that time become unavoidable “doors” for any individual. Subjectively, one can set up barriers, draw boundaries, and trap oneself. To break through “困”, “捆” (binding), and these barriers, the only reliance is on practical wisdom and the practice based on that wisdom.

How to obtain wisdom? In previous chapters, Confucius already pointed out that wisdom comes from practice. For individuals, learning the crystallization of the wisdom of predecessors is a fundamental practical process. “Hao, min, qiu” (love,敏, seek) are the three main steps of learning from predecessors’ wisdom. Confucius said he was “not born knowing,” but here he also said, “those who are born knowing are the top,” is this contradictory? Actually, this reflects the rigor of Confucius and the Analects. Confucius does not absolutely deny the possibility of “being born knowing,” because if he did, that would become an a priori proposition, which contradicts his emphasis on practice and active effort. In fact, this similar view is also reflected in his attitude towards ghosts and spirits. Confucius does not outright deny the existence of spirits and ghosts, nor does he consider “the absolute non-existence of spirits” as an unchangeable truth. He only admits that “being born knowing” and spirits are beyond the scope of current practice and wisdom, so he remains doubtful, speaks less about them, and respects them from afar. But he does not exclude their existence or the possibility of understanding them through future practice. This attitude is more objective than that of so-called materialists.

So, can “being born knowing” exist? Taking a purely technical example, without invoking spirits or ghosts. For instance, if someday humanity fully masters the secrets of thought, and the secrets of the human brain’s memory, it could make a person “born knowing.” For example, implanting certain programs into fertilized eggs, filling the brain with interpretations of the Analects, Zen teachings, or stock trading instructions, so that a child, upon birth, can trade stocks or recite Confucian classics—this is not impossible. In such cases, Confucius would say this is “top” (上). “Top” here does not refer to human hierarchy, nor to any genius theory. The character “者” here is not necessarily referring to “people” as understood by the three previous figures or common interpretations. Interpreting “者” as “people” is merely a play on elitism. Dividing humans into categories a priori is nonsense. Moreover, this explanation cannot account for why the later “困而学之” (encounter difficulties and learn) and “困而不学” (encounter difficulties and not learn) do not include “者.” Do they not refer to “people”? Here, “者” is just a modal particle. “Born knowing,” “those who learn and know,” “encounter difficulties and learn,” “encounter difficulties and do not learn” are just four possible life situations, unrelated to dividing people into categories. Subjectively dividing people into categories is setting up barriers, creating “困” (difficulty). In reality, people do have such divisions—these are objective “困” in history and society, which must be resolved.

Obviously, the best possibility for humans is “born knowing,” but for Confucius, “born knowing” exceeds the present, and “learning and knowing” is most relevant to the current situation. Learning first requires understanding one’s difficulties, and recognizing that overcoming difficulties depends on learning. Therefore, “encounter difficulties and learn,” then “learn and know,” so wisdom can resolve difficulties. “Encounter difficulties and do not learn” results in “the people are considered the lowest.” And “the people are considered the lowest” is because of “not learning when encountering difficulties.” No one is naturally willing to fall into the trap of “encounter difficulties and not learn” and be unable to extricate themselves. Usually, “not learning” in such cases is not due to laziness but due to social environment. Especially in Confucius’s time, “learning” was monopolized by the so-called elite aristocracy. “Encounter difficulties and not learn” essentially means “being hindered by difficulties and unable to learn.” The historical reality divides society into categories, preventing the common people from having the conditions to learn. Confucius does not discuss how individuals acquire wisdom in an abstract, a priori manner. Individuals must live within the real social structure. “Learning and knowing” does not apply a priori to everyone because individual reality often forces people into “encountering difficulties and learning,” or even “encountering difficulties and not learning.”

In historical reality, people must learn to resolve their difficulties. Resolving these difficulties has two meanings: one is overcoming objective conditions that create difficulties; the other is overcoming ideological “困” (difficulty). Therefore, “learning” becomes the most important prerequisite for everyone’s survival. A society that makes people “encounter difficulties and cannot learn” is ugly and vile and must be transformed. Confucius emphasized education and advocated “education without discrimination,” which is closely related to this. Anyone who treats “encounter difficulties and not learn” as a certain type of person cannot explain the phrase “the people are considered the lowest.” Why does this sentence suddenly add the word “民” (the people)? The previous Qian Mu and Li Zehou simply swallowed this “民” and did not translate it. This is not a serious attitude; they are confused themselves and have no qualification to publish books. Many current trash books deceive readers, and this is common. Yang is even more shameless, falsely accusing Confucius of thinking “those who encounter difficulties and do not learn are the lowest of the common people,” which is a distortion. All those who distort Confucius to oppose him are despicable.

The sage’s way is to transform “people do not know” into “people do not anger.” In reality, the most practical aspect is “learning and knowing.” But the biggest characteristic of “people do not know” is that they set up their own “困” (difficulty), dividing people into categories a priori. Marx said that the comprehensive development of humans—what does comprehensive development mean? First, it must eliminate “困.” Opposing dividing people into categories a priori based on intelligence, origin, social division of labor, or class status. Social division of labor is “困”; officials and commoners are also “困”; class is “困”; intelligence level is also “困.” In a society of “people do not know,” “困” is the fundamental state. Where there is “困,” there will be “愠” (anger); they must be “not in conflict” to transform a “people do not know” society into a “people do not anger” society. Correspondingly, social reform must first transform the social state of “encounter difficulties and not learn” into “encounter difficulties and learn,” then into “learning and knowing,” so that a society of “learning and knowing” can be achieved. Only then can all people develop comprehensively, have the possibility of “born knowing,” and create a society where “people do not anger.” Otherwise, even if science makes it possible for people to “be born knowing,” the social “困” (difficulty) will only deepen the social structure’s “困.” For human society, technological science is just a means. To realize a society where “people do not anger,” we must start by transforming its “困.”

Chánzhōng Shuō Chán plain translation:
Confucius said: “Those who are born knowing are the highest; those who learn and then know are the next; those who encounter difficulties and learn from them are next after that. If one encounters difficulties and does not learn, the people are considered the lowest!”