16. 司马迁·《孔子世家赞》
太史公曰：『“诗有之：“高山仰止，景行行止。”虽不能至，然心乡往之。
余读孔氏书，想见其为人。适鲁，观仲尼庙堂，车服礼器，诸生以时习礼其家，余低回留之，不能去云。
“天下君王，至于贤人，众矣！当时则荣，没则己焉！孔子布衣，传十余世，学者宗之。自天子王侯，中国言六艺者，折中于夫子，可谓至圣矣！” 』
A Eulogy Upon Confucius
Szu-Ma Chen
The odes have it thus: —―We may gaze up to the mountain‘s brow; we may travel along the greater road;‖ signifying that although we cannot hope to reach the goal, still we may push on thitherward in spirit.
While reading the works of Confucius, I have always fancied I could see the man as he was in life; and when I went to Shantung I actually beheld his carriage, his robes, and the material parts of his ceremonial usages. There were his descendants practicing the old rites in their ancestral home; —and I lingered on, unable to tear myself away.
Many are the princes and prophets that the world has seen in its time; glorious in life, forgotten in death. But Confucius, though only a humble member of the
cotton-clothed masses, remains among us after many generations. He is the model for such as would be wise. By all, from the Son of Heaven down to the meanest student, the supremacy of his principles is fully and freely admitted. He may indeed be pronounced the divinest of men.
17. 周敦颐·《爱莲说》
水陆草木之花，可爱者甚蕃。晋陶渊明独爱菊；自李唐来，世人盛爱牡丹；予独爱莲之出淤泥而不染，濯清涟而不妖，中通外直，不蔓不枝，香远益清，亭亭静植，可远观而不可亵玩焉。
予谓菊，花之隐逸者也；牡丹，花之富贵者也；莲，花之君子者也。噫！菊之爱，陶后鲜有闻；莲之爱，同予者何人？牡丹之爱，宜乎众矣。
Love of Water-lily
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Lovers of flowering plants and shrubs we have had by scores, but Tao Qian alone devoted himself to the chrysanthemum. Since the opening days of the Tang dynasty, it has been fashionable to admire the peony; but my favourite is the water-lily. How stainless it rises from its slimy bed! How modestly it reposes on the clear pool — an emblem of purity and truth! Symmetrically perfect, its subtle perfume is wafted far and wide, while there it rests in spotless state, something to be regarded reverently from a distance, and not be profaned by familiar approach.
In my opinion the chrysanthemum is the flower of retirement and culture; the peony the flower of rank and wealth; the water-lily, the Lady Virtue sans pareille.
Alas! few have loved the chrysanthemum since Tao Qian, and none love the water-lily like myself, whereas the peony is a general favourite with all mankind. 18. 韩愈·《师说》
古之学者必有师。师者，所以传道受业解惑也。人非生而知之者，孰能无惑？惑而不从师，其为惑也，终不解矣。生乎吾前，其闻道也，固先乎吾，吾从而师之；生乎吾后，其闻道也，亦先乎吾，吾从而师之。吾师道也，夫庸知其年之先后生于吾乎？是故无贵无贱，无长无少，道之所存，师之所存也。
嗟乎！师道之不传也久矣，欲人之无惑也难矣。古之圣人，其出人也远矣，犹且从师而问焉；今之众人，其下圣人也亦远矣，而耻学于师。是故圣益圣，愚益愚。圣人之所以为圣，愚人之所以为愚，其皆出于此乎？爱其子，择师而教之；于其身也，则耻师焉，惑矣。彼童子之师，授之书而习其句读者，非吾所谓传其道、解其惑者也。句读之不知，惑之不解，或师焉，或不焉，小学而大遗，吾未见其明也。巫医、乐师、百工之人，不耻相师。士大夫之族，曰“师”曰“弟子”云者，则群聚而笑之。问之，则曰：彼与彼年相若也，道相似也， 位卑则足羞，官盛则近谀。呜呼！师道之不复，可知矣。 巫医、乐师、百工之人，君子不齿，今其智乃反不能及，其可怪也欤！
圣人无常师。孔子师郯子、苌弘、师襄、老聃。郯子之徒，其贤不及孔子。孔子曰“三人行，则必有我师。”是故弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子。闻道有先后，术业有专攻，如是而已。
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李氏子蟠，年十七，好古文，六艺经传皆通习之，不拘于时，学于余。余嘉其能行古道，作《师说》以贻之。
On the Teacher
Han Yu
In ancient times those who wanted to learn would seek out a teacher, one who could propagate the doctrine (1), impart professional knowledge, and resolve doubts. Since no one is born omniscient, who can claim to have no doubts? If one has doubts and is not willing to learn from a teacher, his doubts will never be resolved. Anyone who was born before me and learned the doctrine before me is my teacher. Anyone who was born after me and learned the doctrine before me is also my teacher. Since what I desire to learn is the doctrine, why should I care whether he was born before or after me? Therefore, it does not matter whether a person is high or low in position, young or old in age. Where there is the doctrine, there is my teacher.
Alas! The tradition of learning from the teacher has long been neglected. Thus it is difficult to find a person without any doubts at all. Ancient sages, who far surpassed us, even learned from their teachers. People today, who are far inferior to them, regard learning from the teacher as a disgrace. Thus, wise men become more wise and unlearned men become more foolish. This explains what makes a wise man and what makes a foolish man. It is absurd that a person would choose a teacher for his son out of his love for him, and yet refuse to learn from the teacher himself, thinking it a disgrace to do so. The teacher of his son teaches the child only reading and punctuation, which is not propagating the doctrine or resolving doubts as the aforementioned. I don‘t think it wise to learn from the teacher when one doesn‘t know how to punctuate, but not when one has doubts unresolved, for that I find to be the folly of learning in small matters, but neglecting the big ones. Even medicine men, musicians and handicraftsmen do not think it disgraceful to learn from each other. When one of the literati calls another man his ―teacher‖ and himself his ―student‖ people will get together and invariably laugh at him. If you ask them why they are laughing, they will say that since he is almost of the same age and as erudite as another man, it would be degrading for him to call the other man ―teacher‖ if the other man‘s social rank is lower than his; and it would be flattering if the other man‘s social rank is higher. Alas! It is clear that the tradition of learning from the teacher can no longer be restored. Medicine men, musicians
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and handicraftsmen are despised by the gentlemen. How strange it is that gentlemen are less wise than these people!
The ancient sages did not limit themselves to particular teachers. Confucius had learned from people like Tanzi (2), Changhong (3), Shixiang (4), and Laodan (5), who were not as virtuous and talented as Confucius. Confucius said ―If three men are walking together, one of them is bound to be good enough to be my teacher.‖ A student is not necessarily inferior to his teacher, nor does a teacher necessarily be more virtuous and talented than his student. The real fact is that one might have learned the doctrine earlier than the other, or might be a master in his own special field.
Pan, the son of Li‘s family, who is only seventeen years old, loves to study Chinese classics of the Qin and Han dynasties, and masters the six classics (6) and their annotations. He does not follow conventions and is willing to learn from me. I appreciate his ability to act in accordance with the old tradition of learning. Therefore I dedicate this piece to him. (1)The ―doctrine‖ refers chiefly to Confucius‘ teachings.
(2)Tanzi was the king of the State of Tan during the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius learned from him about the titles of officials.
(3)Changhong was an official during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Zhou Dynasty. Confucius learned from him about music.
(4)Shixiang was an official of music in the State of Lu. Confucius learned from him how to play qin.
(5)Laodan was another name for Laotse. Confucius learned from him about the rites. (6)The six classics are six classical works of Confucian teachings. 19. 诸葛亮·《前出师表》
臣亮言：先帝创业未半，而中道崩殂。今天下三分，益州疲敝，此诚危急存亡之秋也。然侍卫之臣不懈于内；忠志之士忘身于外者，盖追先帝之殊遇，欲报之于陛下也。诚宜开张圣听，以光先帝遗德，恢弘志士之气；不宜妄自菲薄，引喻失义，以塞忠谏之路也。
宫中府中，俱为一体；陟罚臧否，不宜异同：若有作奸犯科及为忠善者，宜付有司论其刑赏，以昭陛下平明之治；不宜偏私，使内外异法也。侍中、侍郎郭攸之、费依、董允等，此皆良实，志虑忠纯，是以先帝简拔以遗陛下。愚以为宫中之事，事无大小，悉以咨之，然
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后施行，必能裨补阙漏，有所广益。将军向宠，性行淑均，晓畅军事，试用于昔日，先帝称之曰“能”，是以众议举宠为督。愚以为营中之事，事无大小，悉以咨之，必能使行阵和睦，优劣得所也。亲贤臣，远小人，此先汉所以兴隆也；亲小人，远贤臣，此后汉所以倾颓也。先帝在时，每与臣论此事，未尝不叹息痛恨于桓、灵也！侍中、尚书、长史、参军，此悉贞亮死节之臣，愿陛下亲之信之，则汉室之隆，可计日而待也。
臣本布衣，躬耕于南阳，苟全性命于乱世，不求闻达于诸侯。先帝不以臣卑鄙，猥自枉屈，三顾臣于草庐之中，谘臣以当世之事，由是感激，遂许先帝以驱驰。后值倾覆，受任于败军之际，奉命于危难之间，尔来二十有一年矣。先帝知臣谨慎，故临崩寄臣以大事也。受命以来，夙夜忧叹，恐付托不效，以伤先帝之明。故五月渡泸，深入不毛。今南方已定，甲兵已足，当奖帅三军，北定中原，庶竭驽钝，攘除奸凶，兴复汉室，还于旧都。此臣所以报先帝而忠陛下之职分也。至于斟酌损益，进尽忠言，则攸之、祎、允等之任也。愿陛下托臣以讨贼兴复之效，不效，则治臣之罪，以告先帝之灵；若无兴德之言，则责攸之、祎、允等之咎，以彰其慢。陛下亦宜自谋，以咨诹善道，察纳雅言，深追先帝遗诏。臣不胜受恩感激！
今当远离，临表涕泣，不知所云。
Memorial to the Emperor Before the Northern Expedition
Zhuge Liang
I, your humble subject Zhuge Liang, have this to say: The late Emperor had by far not yet attained his objective of restoring the Han Dynasty before he deceased halfway in his career. Now the country is divided into three camps, and Yizhou has exhausted it resources. It is indeed a critical moment when survival is at stake. However, the royal guards keep vigilant at court while the loyal soldiers with high aim fight selflessly on the battlefield, because they bear in mind the late Emperor‘s special grace, wishing to repay it to Your Majesty. It would be most judicious that you give more open-minded hearing to your counselors, so as to aggrandize his legacy of noble virtues and heighten the armymen‘s morale. In the meantime, it would be inadvisable to strain your modesty or make inapt remarks, thus blocking faithful remonstrances.
The court and the chancellery are one entity. No difference should be made between them in respect of promoting and commending the good or punishing and criticizing the evil. Those who are guilty of misconduct or creditable for devotion and noble character should be referred to the authorities to be penalized or awarded on their merits, so as to manifest Your Majesty‘s justice
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