Being Humble Enough to Consult One’s Inferiors不恥下問

Confucius was a great thinker and educator in the Spring and Autumn Period.Nearly all of China’s ancient feudal1rulers accepted him as a sage2with great learning and ability.Yet Confucius once said that nobody,not even himself,was born knowledgeable.

Once upon a time,Confucius went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple where the king of the Lu State was holding a ceremony to offer sacrifices to3his ancestors.As Confucius entered it,everything in the temple was strange to him.So he began asking others about what they were doing.Soon people started to sneer at4him,saying,“Who said the son of Zou was well educated and knew the etiquette5? He asked about nearly everything in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.Isn’t that ridiculous?”(Confucius’ father used to be an official in Zou County (鄒縣) and thus people call Confucius the son of Zou.) When Confucius heard what people said about him,he was not at all annoyed.Instead,he calmly replied,“Asking about everything I don’t know exactly shows my sincere request for knowledge and my good manners.”Indeed,pretending to know what he doesn’t know only makes one arrogant.And from this story we know Confucius was truly a modest person.

Zi Gong (子貢),one of Confucius’followers who was also from the State of Wei,once didn’t think Kong Yu (孔圉) deserved the posthumous title of Wen (文).So he asked his teacher,“I’m not denying that Kong Yu was a learned man,but so many people were much better than him.Why on earth6was he the one honored this title?”Hearing that,Confucius smiled and said,“Kong Yu was very diligent and brilliant.Besides,every time he had a question that he didn’t fully understand,no matter how simple it was,he would consult others.Sometimes,he happened to ask people who were below himself in rank and education,and he didn’t feel ashamed at all.Compared with other qualities,modesty is much more noteworthy7.That’s why he was granted the title.”Zi Gong was convinced and decided to follow Kong Yu’s example.

Nowadays,the idiom“be humble enough to consult one’s inferiors”is used to encourage people to learn from others with modesty.Everyone has his strengths and shortcomings.Only by asking and learning will we improve ourselves.

Notes

1.feudal n.封建制度的

2.sage n.圣人

3.offer sacrifices to...向……獻(xiàn)祭

4.sneer at...嘲笑……

5.etiquette n.禮節(jié)；規(guī)矩

6.on earth 究竟

7.noteworthy adj.值得注意的