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昔之君子成德立行，身沒而名不朽，其故何哉？學也。學也者、所以疏神達思、怡情理性，聖人之上務也。民之初載，其矇未知，譬如寶在於玄室，有所求而不見，白日照焉，則群物斯辯矣。學者、心之白日也，故先王立教官，掌教國子，教以六德，曰智、仁、聖、義、中、和，教以六行，曰孝、友、睦、婣、任、恤；教以六藝，曰禮、樂、射、御、書、數；三教備而人道畢矣。學猶飾也，器不飾則無以為美觀，人不學則無以有懿德。有懿德，故可以經人倫；為美觀，故可以供神明。故《》曰：「若作梓材，既勤樸斲，惟其塗丹雘。」夫聽黃鐘之聲，然後知擊缶之細；視袞龍之文，然後知被褐之陋；涉庠序之教，然後知不學之困；故學者如登山焉，動而益高；如寤寐焉，久而愈足。顧所由來，則杳然其遠，以其難而懈之，誤且非矣！《》云：「」好學之謂也。 |
| | In former times, virtuous men cultivated virtue and established conduct; their bodies perished but their names remained imperishable. What was the reason for this? It was learning. Learning is the means by which one clarifies the spirit and attains insight, brings joy to emotions and rationality, and it is the highest pursuit of a sage. At the beginning of life, people are ignorant and unaware; it is like a treasure hidden in a dark room—though one may seek it, he cannot see it. When sunlight shines upon it, then all things become distinguishable. Learning is the sun of the mind; therefore, previous kings established officials in charge of education to oversee the instruction of the sons of the state. They taught the Six Virtues: wisdom (zhi), benevolence (ren), sainthood (sheng), righteousness (yi), moderation (zhong), and harmony (he); they also taught the Six Conducts: filial piety (xiao), friendship among brothers (you), harmonious relations with relatives (mu), proper conduct in marital relationships (yin), trustworthiness (ren), and compassion (xu). They taught the Six Arts: rites (li), music (yue), archery (she), chariot driving (yu), writing (shu), and mathematics (shu). When these three teachings were complete, the way of humanity was fully realized. Learning is like ornamentation; an object unadorned cannot be considered beautiful, and a person without learning cannot possess virtuous character. With virtuous character, one can thus regulate human relationships; With beauty, one can thus offer to the deities and spirits. Therefore, the Book of Documents says: "If you are making a piece of timber for construction, after diligently planing and chiseling it, apply only its red dan and hu pigments." Hearing the Huangzhong pitch, one then knows how refined is the sound of striking a pottery jar; Seeing the embroidered dragon patterns on the gǔn robe, one then realizes the coarseness of being wrapped in a rough hemp coat; Receiving education in schools, one then understands the difficulties of not learning; Therefore, learning is like climbing a mountain: with each movement, one ascends ever higher. It is also like waking from sleep; the longer it lasts, the more fulfilling it becomes. Looking back at where one has come from, it appears distant and obscure; to become lax because of its difficulty is a mistake and wrong! The Book of Songs says: "High mountains are objects of admiration, noble paths are the way one walks." This is what it means to love learning.
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倦立而思遠，不如速行之必至也；矯首而徇飛，不如循雌之必獲也；孤居而願智，不如務學之必達也；故君子心不苟願，必以求學；身不苟動，必以從師；言不苟出，必以博聞；是以情性合人，而德音相繼也。孔子曰：「弗學，何以行？弗思，何以得？小子勉之，斯可謂師人矣。」馬雖有逸足，而不閑輿，則不為良駿；人雖有美質，而不習道，則不為君子；故學者求習道也。若有似乎畫采，玄黃之色既著，而純皓之體斯亡。敝而不渝，孰知其素歟？子夏曰：「日習，則學不忘；自勉，則身不墮；亟聞天下之大言，則志益廣。」故君子之於學也，其不懈，猶上天之動，猶日月之行，終身亹亹，沒而後已；故雖有其才，而無其志，亦不能興其功也。志者、學之師也，才者、學之徒也，學者、不患才之不贍，而患志之不立。是以為之者億兆，而成之者無幾。故君子必立其志。《》曰：「君子以自強不息。」 |
| | Tiring from standing and thinking about the distant, is not as good as moving quickly toward it and being certain of arrival; Lifting one's head to chase after flight is not as effective as following the female bird, which ensures success; Living in solitude and desiring wisdom is not as effective as diligently pursuing learning, which will surely lead to attainment. Therefore, a gentleman does not make hasty wishes in his heart; he necessarily seeks learning; His body is not moved without purpose; he necessarily follows a teacher; His words are not spoken carelessly; they must be based on broad knowledge; Therefore, his nature and disposition harmonize with others, and virtuous influence continues in succession. Confucius said: "Without learning, how can one act properly? Without reflection, how can one attain understanding?" Strive diligently, young ones, and this may be called learning from a teacher." A horse may have swift legs, but if it is not trained to pull a carriage, it cannot become a fine steed; A person may possess excellent natural qualities, but without cultivating the Way, he will not become a gentleman; Therefore, learning is seeking to cultivate the Way. If one merely imitates like painting colors, once the black and yellow hues are applied, then the pure white original form is lost. Though worn but not changed, who would know its original purity? Zixia said: "Daily practice ensures that learning is not forgotten; Self-motivation ensures the body does not fall into decline; Hearing great words of the world frequently, one's aspirations become ever broader." Therefore, a gentleman's pursuit of learning is unceasing; it is like the movement of Heaven, like the course of sun and moon—diligently continued throughout life, ceasing only with death. Therefore, even if one possesses talent but lacks the will, he still cannot accomplish great achievements. Will is the teacher of learning, and talent is but a follower of learning. In learning, one need not fear insufficiency of talent, but must be concerned about the failure to establish will. Therefore, those who attempt it number in the tens of millions, yet few actually succeed. Therefore, a gentleman must establish his will. The Book of Changes says: "A gentleman strengthens himself ceaselessly."
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大樂之成，非取乎一音；嘉膳之和，非取乎一味；聖人之德，非取乎一道。故曰：學者、所以總群道也。群道統乎己心，群言一乎己口。唯所用之故，出則元亨，處則利貞，默則立象，語則成文。述千載之上，若共一時；論殊俗之類，若與同室；度幽明之故，若見其情；原治亂之漸，若指已效。故《》曰：「」其此之謂也。夫獨思則滯而不通，獨為則困而不就，人心必有明焉，必有悟焉。如火得風而炎熾，如水赴下而流速。故太昊觀天地而畫八卦，燧人察時令而鑽火，帝軒聞鳳鳴而調律，倉頡視鳥跡而作書，斯大聖之學乎神明而發乎物類也。 |
| | The completion of great music does not come from a single note; The harmony of an excellent meal does not come from a single flavor; The virtue of a sage does not derive from a single principle. Therefore it is said: Learning is the means to integrate all principles. All principles are unified within one's own mind, and all words converge into one's own mouth. Only through such mastery does one, when acting outwardly, achieve the great openness and harmony (yuanheng), and when remaining inwardly, embody benefit and integrity (lizhen); in silence, one establishes images, and in speech, one forms coherent discourse. Narrating events from a thousand years past is as if experiencing them at the same time; Discussing different customs and peoples is as if conversing with those in the same room; Measuring between the profound and the evident, one perceives their essence as though seeing it clearly; Tracing the gradual causes of order and chaos is like pointing out something already demonstrated. Therefore, the Book of Songs says: "Learning brings clarity to brightness." This is what is meant by that statement. Thinking alone leads to stagnation and lack of understanding; acting alone results in difficulty and failure. The human heart must necessarily have illumination, and it must necessarily attain insight. Like fire that gains intensity from the wind, or water that flows swiftly downward. Therefore, Taihao observed Heaven and Earth to draw the Eight Trigrams; Suiren examined seasonal commands to drill for fire; Emperor Xuan heard the cry of a phoenix and thus regulated musical pitch; Cangjie observed bird tracks and created writing. These were great sages who studied from deities and spirits, yet their insights arose from observing things in the world.
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賢者不能學於遠，乃學於近，故以聖人為師。昔顏淵之學聖人也，聞一以知十；子貢聞一以知二，斯皆觸類而長之，篤思而聞之者也。非唯賢者學於聖人，聖人亦相因而學也。孔子因於文、武，文、武因於成、湯，成、湯因於夏后，夏后因於堯、舜。故六籍者、群聖相因之書也。其人雖亡，其道猶存。今之學者勤心以取之，亦足以到昭明而成博達矣。凡學者、大義為先，物名為後，大義舉而物名從之。然鄙儒之博學也，務於物名，詳於器械，矜於詁訓，摘其章句，而不能統其大義之所極以獲先王之心，此無異乎女史誦《》、內豎傳令也。故使學者勞思慮而不知道，費日月而無成功，故君子必擇師焉。 |
| | A worthy person cannot learn from what is distant, so he learns from what is near; therefore, he takes the sage as his teacher. In former times, Yanyuan studied the sage and, upon hearing one thing, understood ten. Zigong, upon hearing one thing, could understand two; these were all cases of grasping related categories and extending understanding through earnest thought. It is not only the worthy who learn from sages, but sages also learn from one another in succession. Confucius learned from Wenwang and Wuwang, who in turn learned from Chengtang and Tangwang, who learned from the Xia Hou dynasty, which itself learned from Yao and Shun. Therefore, the Six Classics are writings passed down through successive sages. Though those people may have perished, their Way remains. Those who study today and diligently seek to obtain it can also attain clarity and become broadly knowledgeable. In learning, the primary concern is the great principles, while knowledge of things and names comes afterward; when the great principles are grasped, knowledge of things and their names follows naturally. However, the so-called "broad learning" of petty scholars focuses on knowledge of things and names, dwells in detail upon tools and instruments, boasts over interpretations and annotations, and plucks at individual passages and phrases, yet fails to grasp the ultimate meaning of great principles or attain the mind of previous kings. This is no different from a female scribe reciting the Book of Songs or an eunuch conveying orders. Therefore, such study causes scholars to exhaust their thoughts without understanding the Way, wasting days and months with no real achievement. Hence, a gentleman must necessarily choose his teacher carefully.
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