“君子喻于义,小人喻于利”正名

On Confucius's Works: Junzi Yu Yu Yi, Xiaoren Yu Yu Li

对孔子所说“君子喻于义 ,小人喻于利” ,历来解释都是相同的 ,即 :君子明白的是义 ,小人明白的是利。但无论从孔子本意还是从历史环境或语言文字角度看 ,这都是不当的。该句意思为 :在上位的人应当晓之以仁义 。

All the explanation remain the same to confucius's words: Junzi Yu Yu Yi, Xiaoren Yu Yu Li. That is: gentlemen know only about virtue; Villains know only about benefits. This explanation is not proper from the view of confucius's original meaning and the historical background or language itself. The real meaning should be: a person on a high position should value virtue; a person on a low position should value benefits.