Fang Yun took up his pen and wrote and recited the first chapter that everyone was familiar with.
"The Master said: 'To learn with a view to practising what one has learned, is it not a pleasure? To have friends come from afar, is it not a pleasure? To be not offended when others do not know one, is it not a sign of a gentleman?'"
After Fang Yun finished reciting, he said, "In this sentence, the word '说' is pronounced the same as 悦, and '愠' is considered an uncommon word for beginners, as it means angry, so we need to annotate its pronunciation first."
As Fang Yun spoke, he first marked the pronunciation of the two characters on the paper, and then began to do exegesis, that is, to explain the characters and words in it.
"In the Spring and Autumn Period, 'shi' often referred to the right time or a certain time. As the language changes, the meaning of shi is closer to often. The same is true for 'xi'. Nowadays, it often means to study and review, but in ancient times, it was more about practice and implementation. The word 'xue' does not only mean to study, but also to complete the study..."
In the process of exegesis, it is customary to quote the explanations of previous famous scholars and conduct differential discussions.
After the exegesis, Fang Yun began to translate the sentence literally, writing as he did so: "Isn't it also a joy to learn and put it into practice at the right time? Isn't it also a joy to have friends coming from afar? Isn't it also a gentleman's behavior to not resent others for not understanding me?"
Fang Yun used vernacular Chinese and simplified Chinese characters for literal translation in preparation for popularizing mass education in the future. He also decided long ago that if he wrote a book in the future, he would divide it into two parts, one in simplified vernacular Chinese and the other in classical Chinese. If even teenagers could understand it, it would be the greatest humanitarian merit.
Fang Yun paused for a moment, glanced at the demons, and continued writing while saying, "If you only understand the sage scriptures literally, it is the same as not reading them at all, so after the literal translation, you should also add a free translation."
"Learning and practicing from time to time is a great pleasure. "Practicing" not only means reviewing, but also means practicing. For example, the six arts of a gentleman are etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics. After learning the skills of archery, you naturally have to practice repeatedly. Just reviewing the knowledge in the book is not considered "practice". Will you feel happy if you learn and then practice?"
"Let's continue with archery as an example. The teacher teaches, we learn, and then we take the bow and arrow to 'practice' by ourselves. This can also be considered practice, but will we be happy just by doing this? I think most people cannot get happiness from it, and may even feel tired. So, is it because Confucius is at a high level that he is not tired? Obviously not. If Confucius learned archery, then what would make him happiest would be to suddenly encounter an external enemy and fight against the enemy with a bow and arrow. Only in this way can the true purpose of archery be brought into play. We can also think from another perspective. If doing this makes you happy, then what will make you most unhappy after learning? Is it not reviewing your lessons after learning? Is it not practicing after learning? None of them. It is when you have no place to use your skills after learning, and you learn in vain. This is what makes people most unhappy."
"So the paraphrase of this sentence is: learning and gaining something, and finally being able to show what you have learned at the right time, isn't this a happy thing?"
"The same goes for the next sentence. If it was just friends coming from afar, why did Confucius mention it specifically? Why did he connect it with the previous sentence? Obviously, the 'happy' in 'not only happy' here does not mean ordinary happiness. So, this sentence should mean that like-minded friends come from afar to communicate and learn together. In addition to enhancing friendship, they improve together and gain something."
"If it forms a progression of meaning with the previous sentence, then the paraphrase has another new meaning: after learning something, even if you are not able to show what you have learned, there are like-minded people coming from afar to exchange ideas, and you find that you are not alone in your path, and this like-minded friend may have the opportunity to realize the same ambitions and what you have learned on your behalf. It can be regarded as making up for the regrets in your heart. Isn't it also a very happy thing?"
"Then, the sentence 'If people do not know you, but you are not angry, is that not a gentleman?' can be translated into: Because we have not really put our knowledge into practice, and are not known and understood by others, even so, what we have learned makes us not angry. This is good moral character and cultivation, isn't it reaching the realm of a gentleman? Therefore, Confucius is saying that as long as you study hard, or have the opportunity to show your ambitions, or have like-minded people to do this, or improve your own cultivation, no matter what, there will be benefits, no harm."
"These three sentences flow together, rather than being fragmented."
"That's why the Analects begins with this paragraph. It's a great first statement and a clear statement. Nothing could be better than this!"
As soon as he finished speaking, holy energy rose and fell in the valley, and confusing voices came from all directions, as if countless sentient beings were reciting every word and sentence that Fang Yun had said before, but upon careful listening, no one could hear clearly.
This sound is like the sound of the Holy Word, but it is not the same.
Under the blood tree, Fang Yun finished the first chapter of the first part of the Analects and breathed a sigh of relief. After writing the paraphrase of this passage, he felt extremely exhausted, as if he had used up all his energy for the whole day. But after the exhaustion, he had a vague feeling of enlightenment, as if he had found a direction he had never had before.
Fang Yun had already spoken the words of heaven, and with the power of the holy way of teaching, the monsters and barbarians present were fascinated by what he said. They had completely forgotten the differences in blood and race, and they were all like human students, immersed in the teachings of Confucius and Fang Yun.
The Snake Emperor woke up a little and was stunned after hearing this. As the holy son of the ancestral god clan, he was forced to learn important scriptures of the human race since he was a child. Although he read more human military strategies later, he was able to recite "The Analects of Confucius" early on.
He had read at least three annotations on the Analects in detail and at least ten in rough reading, but none of them was as simple and clear, yet as profound and thorough as Fang Yun's.
Snake Emperor had a feeling that not only in the demon world, but even for most scholars of the human race, after listening to Fang Yun’s lectures, all their previous reading of "The Analects of Confucius" could be said to have been in vain!
"This is how to read and interpret the scriptures, this is how to guide and encourage others step by step..." Snake Emperor muttered to himself, with a smile appearing on his face involuntarily. This was an instinctive reaction to having learned something.
Phonetic notation, exegesis, literal translation, and free translation are completed in four steps. Since this chapter does not involve history or classical literature, Fang Yun did not carry out the fifth step of discussion. However, the subsequent "Analects" often involve some ancient people and history, so it is necessary to carry out discussion in order to better interpret the scriptures.
After writing this chapter, Fang Yun first re-read the main text of "New Notes on the Analects" and changed a few places to make the sentence order more fluent and the sense of language better. Then he closed his eyes and recalled the process of the lecture in his mind. Only then did he pick up the pen to prepare to annotate the second chapter.
Next, Fang Yun began to explain "The Analects of Confucius" to Yaoman chapter by chapter, and at the same time wrote "New Notes on the Analects of Confucius".
This process is to teach tirelessly, and it is the last effective step in learning.
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