Cryptocurrency Exchange - "The Analects" Detailed Explanation: To All Those Misinterpreting Confucius - The Way of Friendship

“Learning and constantly reviewing it,” with the heavens and their timing, the wind and clouds gathering, waves following the tide, and feeling the joy of “friends coming from afar.” “Having,” not the “having or not,” or “holding” of “having,” but from the Zuo Zhuan “It is not having few rulers,” where “friend” is a phonetic loan. Almost all explanations interpret “有” as “having or not,” or “holding,” which is a great error.

What is “friend”? “Comrades as friends,” those with the same aspirations. In oracle bone script, “友” depicts two hands side by side, symbolizing joint effort and mutual assistance for a common goal—that is “friend.” But later, everything was distorted. The word “comrade,” especially after the baptism of the last century, has become quite ridiculous. Now it is even more inappropriate. Today, when a duck does not want to be a duck and wishes to be a “goose,” it becomes a “comrade.” Evolving from “duck” to “goose,” it truly becomes bigger and more promising.

Not to mention those “ducks” and “geese,” in the Analects, the common aspiration of “having” or “friend” is to attain the “Way of the Sage.” The “Way of the Sage” is not a private, secret path for personal pleasure, but a universal, great benevolent path for all under heaven. To achieve the “Way of the Sage” and become a “sage,” one must first “be sage” of the time. Without “saging” the time, how can one “sage” the people? A sage must “sage” the time, the land, and the people, and also “sage” other times, lands, and people. When a gentleman practices the “Way of the Sage,” it must be inherent and aligned.

“Friend” (朋), an ancient character for “phoenix,” originally meant the phoenix. “Friends coming from afar” signifies “the phoenix arriving in ceremony.” The Book of Shang says, “Xiao Shao nine times, the phoenix arrives in ceremony.” And “Having friends come from afar, is it not a joy?” is rooted in this. The place where the phoenix arrives is a sacred land, a place to practice the “Way of the Sage.” A gentleman who practices the “Way of the Sage” is “the phoenix among men.” When such a gentleman “comes from afar,” it is “the phoenix arriving in ceremony.” “Ceremony” (仪) refers to rules and standards. Why do “friends come from afar”? To uphold the rules and standards. Using the “Way of the Sage” as the law and standard, to educate and transform, to manifest the “Way of the Sage” throughout the world—that is the true practice of the “Way of the Sage.”

“Far” refers to distant and long-standing, not only spatially. The “Way of the Sage” does not arise out of nowhere; it has deep roots and a long flow. “Fang” does not mean direction, but is a phonetic loan meaning “side” or “broad.” The Book of Documents states, “Fang travels across the world, reaching the seas,” indicating the “practice” of the “Way of the Sage” is “broad practice.” When a gentleman “practices” the “Way of the Sage,” it is “broad practice”—“broadly practicing” the “Way of the Sage” across the world, reaching the seas. This is the true “practice” of the “Way of the Sage.”

“Zi” (自) is not a preposition. Classical Chinese is not garbage vernacular; each character can express a specific meaning. “Zi yuanfang lai” (自远方来) in classical Chinese is not the same as the vulgar “coming from afar.” Each character has its own meaning. To treat “Zi” as a preposition indicating time or direction from the beginning is a result of excessive vulgarization. “Zi” still means “again” or “still.” Still, “having phoenix arrive in ceremony” and the “Way of the Sage” continue. “Lai” (来), from there to here, from far to near, vast and surging, like the sun rising in the east or the tide returning—an image of the universe’s righteous energy rising. The “Way of the Sage” is a great path flowing widely, distant and broad.

“Having friends come from afar,” the gentleman, united by common aspiration, walks together to attain the “Way of the Sage,” like the phoenix among men, still and enduring, riding the righteous qi of heaven and earth, flowing from distant to near, like the sun rising in the east or the tide returning, spreading the “Way of the Sage” throughout the universe and to all directions. Using rules and standards, educating and transforming, manifesting the “Way of the Sage” and illuminating the world—that is the true practice of the “Way of the Sage.” Only then can it be “not less joyful.” “Joy” (乐) here is not le (the musical note), but yue, symbolizing the nine achievements of Xiao Shao, representing a prosperous age. **$POLYX **$VANRY **$DYM **