Worthy men and self-cultivation

Introduction

This week we read the first two chapters of the book. 亲士 is about how to treat capable people; 修身 is about how to treat yourself. Both are short and aphoristic, well suited to reading together as a family.

亲士, Cherishing Worthy Men, opens: "To rule a state and not preserve its worthy men is to lose the state. To see a worthy man and not hurry to use him is to neglect one's ruler." This is honoring the worthy again, but the chapter's weight comes later.

Mozi says something important: "A ruler must have ministers who will contradict him; a superior must have subordinates who will argue." Where "those who dispute are many and those who speak out are unafraid," the state can endure. But "when ministers prize their rank and hold their tongues, the near ones fall mute and the far ones fall silent," and "resentment knots in the people's hearts." This is the reverse of 尚同's "circumstances flowing through": when those below dare not speak, the information stops.

Then the famous lines: "A good bow is hard to draw, but it can shoot high and deep; a good horse is hard to ride, but it can bear loads and go far; a good man is hard to command, but he can bring his ruler honor." And: "The great rivers do not disdain the small streams that fill them, and so they are great." An argument about capacity to contain.

At the end, another line: "The sweet well runs dry first; the straight tree is felled first." The able are used up first. A warning to leaders.

修身, Self-Cultivation, turns to the individual. It opens: "In battle there are formations, but courage is the root; in mourning there are rites, but grief is the root; in learning there is knowledge, but conduct is the root." "So one whose root is not secure should not busy himself with the branches."

Then: "Without strong will, wisdom does not reach; without trustworthy words, action bears no fruit. One who holds wealth and cannot share it is not fit to be a friend; one who does not keep the way firmly, know things broadly, and judge right from wrong clearly is not fit to keep company with." Note "one who holds wealth and cannot share it is not fit to be a friend": this is the source of 有财相分, the Community's contribution principle.

The closing sentence is the conclusion: "The way of the gentleman: in poverty he shows integrity, in wealth he shows righteousness, in life he shows care, in death he shows grief." "One who is quick to speak and slow to act, however eloquent, will not be heeded."

Read together, the theme is: toward others, make room for hard-to-manage talent; toward yourself, secure the root before you speak.

The three tests

Both chapters are aphoristic and the three tests are not prominent. 亲士 leans on the first, precedent: Jie and Zhou, Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Huan of Qi, King Goujian of Yue. 修身 is almost entirely the third, application: each maxim is "do this and here is the result."

Ask: how does aphoristic teaching get tested? "Without strong will, wisdom does not reach": is there a precedent? evidence? benefit in practice?

For families

• Tell "a good bow is hard to draw": the most useful things are often hardest to use. Ask: is the smartest kid in class easy to get along with?
• Read the passage "in poverty he shows integrity, in wealth he shows righteousness" together and let each person choose a line as the month's motto.
• Tell "one who holds wealth and cannot share it is not fit to be a friend," and ask: would you want a friend who never shares?

For chapters

• Reading: from 亲士, "a ruler must have ministers who will contradict him" and "a good bow is hard to draw"; from 修身, "without strong will, wisdom does not reach."
• Debate: focus on hard-to-command talent. The chapter lead says whether anyone in the chapter is a "sweet well running dry," someone being used too hard, and what they plan to do.
• Three-tests review: 有财相分 comes from 修身. Ask the contributions assignment to report how sharing is actually working in the chapter.