“学而时习之”与《论语》的开端

“To Learn and at Due Times to Apply What You Have Learnt":The Beginning of the Analects

《论语》以"学而时习之"开端,导向的是人的自修之道,不同于旧约以创世的开端导向以信仰为基础的归顺之路。但《论语》并非止于自修之路,而是在自修的基础上探寻对天命的归顺、因应之路。从这个视角看,《论语》的开端实际上构成了层层上达的阶梯:从"学而时习之"到"有朋自远方来",最终到"人不知而不愠",它体现的是作为中国文化精神肉身化表达的孔子下学而上达的踪迹,其间包含了深邃的哲思。

The Bible begins with Genesis,God's creation of the world,and leads man down the path of obedience to God's will on the grounds of belief.On the contrary,at the outset of the Analects,Confucius advocates 'to learn and at due times apply what one has learnt,' which instructs human beings to realize the propensities of nature(tianming) through self-cultivation.The first paragraph of the Analects actually tells us the three spiritual stages of Confucius,who is regarded as the spiritual symbol of Chinese culture.