Confucius: Not Easy to Know a Person 孔子：知人不易

Yan Hui 颜回

Yan Hui, also known as Zi Yuan and Yan Yuan, was one of the outstanding students in the early teaching career of Confucius. He is from the country Lu. He also followed Confucius as he travelled around the countries. He was the most accomplished student in the category of morality and had great success in virtue and the classics. He was the only person to be praised by Confucius as a humane man. His hair went white when he was twenty-nine, and he died when he was thirty-one years old.

It was recorded that a small action by Yuan Hui had caused Confucius to misunderstand him. Although the misunderstanding was finally cleared up, the incident led Confucius to sigh with emotion that it is not easy to know a man well. Even a sage like Confucius can be confused, how about ordinary people like us?

Here is a story selected from the Lu’s Spring and Autumn Annals:

Confucius and his followers were once stranded in the bordering area between the state of Chen and the state of Cai, where he was in such adversity that for seven days he hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice and had to relieve his hunger with only weeds from the woods. As he was taking his nap at midday, his pupil Yan Hui brought back some rice obtained by begging and started cooking. As the rice was almost done, Confucius saw Yan Hui eating some of it. When the rice was done, Yan Hui offered the rice to Confucius with great respect. Confucius pretended not to have seen anything, got up and said, "I have seen my deceased father in my dream, and would like to make an offering to him with this meal."

"You can’t offer the rice, it is not pure," Yan Hui said. "During the cooking, there was coal dust in the pan. Since it is a pity to throw away food messed with coal dust, I picked out the dirty grains and ate them."

After a deep sigh, Confucius said, "I always rely on my eyes to judge, but at times my eyes cannot be trusted; I always rely on our hearts to judge, but our judgment is not always reliable. People, please take note: it is not easy to know a man well."

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颜回，又称子渊与颜渊，是孔子早期的一个杰出的学生。他来自鲁国，跟随孔子周游诸国。在孔子的弟子中，颜渊以“贤”而著称，是唯一被孔子称赞为仁者。他的头发29岁时变白，31岁就去世。

据说，有一次颜回的一个小小的举动，却招致了孔子的误会。虽然误会最终冰释，孔子却不由得发出“知人不易”的感慨。连“圣人”孔子在“知人”方面都有困惑的时候，何况我们常人呢!

以下故事选自《吕氏春秋》：

孔子穷乎陈蔡之间，藜羹不斟,七日不尝粒，昼寝。颜回索米，得而 之，几熟，孔子望见颜回攫其甑中而食之。选间食熟，谒孔子而进食。孔子佯装不见之。孔子起曰："今者梦见先君，食洁而后馈。"

颜回对曰："不可，向者煤 入甄中，弃食不祥，回攫而饮之。"

孔子叹曰："所信者目也，而目犹不可信;所恃者心也，而心犹不足恃。弟子记之，知人固不易矣！"

Fairy Fox Repaid Previous Debts 狐女还债

The following story is from ‘Gossips from the Micro-reading Hall’.

Mr Chu had a young maid servant; she was rough and robust. But as she grew up she became a very pretty and charming lady. So Chu married made her his concubine. She was also bright and managed the household matters well. None of the servants would dream of cheating her on household or financial matters, as surely they would be caught. She was also quite adroit in business dealings and financial investment. Soon she acquired a considered fortune for Chu who loved and treasured her even more as years went by.

Then one day, she asked Chu, ‘Do you really know who I am?’ Chu laughed and said, ‘Are you kidding?’ He said out her pet name and asked her, 'aren’t you the former young maid?’

She said, ‘No, that young maid had already absconded from your house many years back. She is now married in the next village and had a seven year old son. I am actually a fairy fox. Nine generations ago you were a very rich merchant, I was your trusted accountant and you had treated me very well. Yet I misappropriated three thousand taels of gold from you. I was punished and was later born as a fox while you continued to be born as human beings. I have since been practicing the art of ascetics for hundreds of years and have completed the training. I was able to ascend to the next world but for the debt I still owe you. So when the ugly maid ran away I replaced her and later became your concubine. In the past years I have worked very hard and had earned enough money for you to repay the debts. SO I am now leaving you. And when I leave I will leave behind my fox carcass, and you ask your servant to bury me, he will certainly remove the skin of the fox to sell elsewhere. Do let him do it without stopping him, for in my previous existence as a fox I had consumed the corpse of his previous life four generations ago when I was hungry. I have to let him mutilate my body, as I have to repay that debt too.’

She then dropped on to the floor. The fairy fox left the dead body and ascended slowly out of the house. She looked completely different from the concubine. Chu didn’t want the dead body to be mutilated, he buried it secretly. But the servant knew about it and dug it out, skinned the carcass and sold the fur. When Chu heard about it he could only sigh.

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以下故事来自《阅微草堂笔记》：

朱某一婢，粗材也，稍长，渐慧黠，眉目亦渐秀媚，因纳为妾，颇有心计，摒挡井井，米盐琐屑，家人纤毫不敢欺，欺则必败。又善居积，凡所贩鬻，来岁价必贵，朱以渐裕，宠之专房。

一日忽谓朱曰：君知我为谁，朱笑曰：尔颠耶？因戏举其小名曰，尔非某耶？

曰：非也，某逃去久矣，今为某地某人妇，生子已七八岁。我本狐女，君九世前为巨商，我为司会计，君遇我厚，而我乾没君三千余金，冥谪堕狐身，炼形数百年，幸得成道，然坐此负累，终不得升仙，故因此婢之逃，幻其貌以事君。计十余年来，所入足以敌所逋，今尸解去矣。我去之后，必现狐形，君可付某仆埋之。彼必裂尸而取革，君勿罪彼。彼四世前为饿殍时，我未成道，曾啖其尸，听彼碎磔我，庶冤可散也。

俄化狐仆地，有好女长数寸，出顶上，冉冉去，其貌则别一人矣。朱不忍而自埋之，卒为此仆窃发，剥卖其皮，朱知为夙业，浩叹而已。

Han Feizi: Zheng Man Buys Shoes 韩非子：郑人置履

Han Fei, or Han Feizi (ca. 280 BC – 233 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who developed the doctrine of the School of Law or Legalism. Unlike the other famed philosophers of the time, Han Fei was a member of the ruling aristocracy, having been born into the ruling family of the state of Han during the end phase of the Warring States Period.

Han Fei's philosophy centred on the ruler who could firmly controls the state with the help of three concepts: his position of power, proper techniques, and laws. Legalism assumes that everyone acts according to one principle: avoiding punishment while simultaneously trying to achieve gains. Thus, the law must severely punish any unwanted action, while at the same time reward those who follow it.

His handbook for the ruler deals with the problems of strengthening and preserving the state, the way of the ruler, the use of power, and punishment and favour. Ironically, the ruler most influenced by Han Feizi, the king of Qin, eventually sent Han Feizi to prison, where he later committed suicide.

Here is a fable cited by him on a person who rigidly adheres to rules and regulations (or established convention), while at the same time ignoring the reality of a situation.

A man from Zheng, needing some shoes, measured his feet, but left the measurements behind on his chair. When he got to market, he forgot to bring the measurements. He found some shoes, but he murmured, ‘I forgot to bring the measurements.’ He turned around to return home and get them. By the time he got back to the market, it was closed, and so he did not get any shoes.

Someone said, "Why didn't you just try them on your feet?" The man said, "I trust the measurements, not my feet."

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韩非，或韩非子（大约公元前280年至233年左右）发起法学说的中国哲学家。与当时其他的著名哲学家不同的是，韩非生长在战国时代韩国统治者的贵族家庭。

韩非的哲学主要是集中在统治者以势、术与法牢牢控制国家。法家假设每个人都以一个原则来行动：避免惩罚的同时获取最大利益。所以，法律应该惩罚不必要的行为，并奖励那些遵守守法的人。

他为统治者书写的指导涉及加强及维持统治的问题，统治者之道，权力的应用，奖与罚，等等。有讽刺意味的是，秦王受韩非的影响很大，最后却把韩非关进监牢，他就在牢里自杀。

这里是他讲的一个有关一个人拘守礼法而无视于现实情况的寓言：

郑人有且置履者，先自度其足，而置之其坐。至之市而忘操之。已得履，乃曰：“吾忘持度。”反归取之。及反，市罢，遂不得履。

人曰：“何不试之以足？ ”曰：“宁信度, 无自信也。”