A Probe into the Statement of"Guan Zhong Zhi Qi Xiao Zai"
There has always been different interpretations of the character"Qi(器)"in Ba Yi,Analects of Confucius.He Yan and Zhu Xi interpreted it as"tolerance",while other scholars claimed that it meant"qualification".The character"Qi(器)",however,has never been explained either as"tolerance"nor as"qualification"in any Pre-Qin literature,so there was no literary basis for He Yan and Zhu Xi's interpretation.What's more,according to documents,Confucius thought high of Guan Zhong's historical achievements in such political accomplishments as saving his country,so it's unreasonable for him to interpret"Qi Xiao"as"not tolerant"or"not qualified".In the 6th volume of Tsinghua Bamboo Slips,Guan Zhong asserted that"one can be considered as Qi when he is both cunning and benevolent".This assertion should be considered as the background and context of interpreting Ba Yi.With this being a premise,it is safe to interpret the statement of"Guan Zhong Zhi Qi Xiao Zai"as"Guan Zhong's definition of'Cheng Qi(成器,growing up to be a useful person)'is too narrow".Confucius'making negative comment on Guan Zhong's understanding of"Cheng Qi",the author believes,is caused by his different ideology from that of Guan Zhong.
Analects of ConfuciusTsinghua Bamboo SlipsGuan ZhongQiQi Xiao
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